Who speaks in the Gītā

The outer frame: a blind king and his minister

The Gītā opens with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind king of the Kauravas, asking a question: what did his sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu do when they gathered on the field of Kurukṣetra? This is his only verse in the whole Gītā.

He asks Sañjaya, his minister and charioteer. The sage Vyāsa has granted Sañjaya divine sight, so he can see and hear everything on the distant battlefield and report it to the king. Everything that follows is Sañjaya’s report.

The inner dialogue: Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa

Between the two armies, Arjuna asks his charioteer Kṛṣṇa to drive forward so he can see whom he must fight. Seeing teachers, cousins and friends on the other side, he puts down his bow and refuses to fight.

From the second chapter on, the Gītā is mostly Kṛṣṇa’s answer, with Arjuna’s questions breaking in to steer it: how should a person act, what is the self, what is devotion, how can one live free of fear and grief?

Who says how much

By the usual count, Kṛṣṇa speaks about 574 of the 700 verses, Arjuna about 84, Sañjaya about 41, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra one. Sañjaya returns at key moments: to describe the armies in chapter 1, Arjuna’s grief at the start of chapter 2, the vision of Kṛṣṇa’s universal form in chapter 11, and the closing verses of chapter 18.

How the names change

Speakers rarely use plain names. Kṛṣṇa calls Arjuna Pārtha (son of Pṛthā), Kaunteya (son of Kuntī), Bhārata (descendant of Bharata), Dhanañjaya (winner of wealth) and more. Arjuna calls Kṛṣṇa Keśava, Mādhava, Janārdana, Govinda and Vārṣṇeya. Each name carries its own shade of meaning, so Vedyatra’s translations keep them.

Following the speakers on Vedyatra

Every Gītā verse on Vedyatra names its speaker and listener under the verse number, for example “Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna”. When a new speaker begins, the translation starts with “Arjuna said:”, “The Lord said:” or “Sañjaya said:”, as the Sanskrit does.