Who is who in the Gita
Shri Krishna
Arjuna’s kinsman, friend and charioteer; in the Gita, his guru and Bhagavan.
Shri Krishna is one of the four who actually speak in the Gita. How many verses, and where they turn →
Who is Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita?
Arjuna’s kinsman, friend and charioteer; in the Gita, his guru and Bhagavan. The relationship changes before our eyes. Arjuna first instructs Krishna where to place the chariot; by 2.7 he asks Krishna to instruct him. Krishna then teaches as friend, guru and Lord, culminating in the Vishvarupa of Chapter 11 and the call to refuge in Chapter 18.
Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life
Family and relationship
Krishna is Arjuna’s kinsman and intimate ally; Arjuna is married to Krishna’s sister Subhadra. At Kurukshetra Krishna has chosen not to fight with weapons and serves as Arjuna’s charioteer. This makes the opening reversal striking: the warrior initially tells the charioteer where to drive, but by 2.7 the warrior asks the charioteer to become his teacher.
Before Kurukshetra
The wider epic presents Krishna as deeply involved in Pandava affairs and in attempts to prevent war. He therefore enters the Gita neither as a stranger nor as a detached lecturer. The battlefield teaching occurs after political conciliation has failed (Vyasa, trans. Ganguli, 1883–1896, Udyoga Parva).
What changes inside the Gita
Krishna is progressively disclosed as friend, guru, knower of ancient Yoga, source and sustainer of beings, Bhagavan, and revealer of the Vishvarupa. A new reader should allow that disclosure to unfold rather than importing the full Chapter 11 revelation into every earlier scene.