Line #12 Literature/BhagavadGita


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/essense_of_bhagavat_gita.jpg]]
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3	->''"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."''
4	-->-- '''UsefulNotes/RobertOppenheimer''', translating Krishna's famous line[[note]]A rather liberal interpretation, nevertheless the most well-known one. See below for a different translation.[[/note]]
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6	The ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita Bhagavad Gita]]'' (''The Song of God'') is a book within a larger epic based on the conversation in the Hindu Epic ''Literature/{{Mahabharata}}'' between {{Warrior Prince}} Arjuna and his charioteer [[GodInHumanForm Krishna]] during the [[CivilWar Kurushetra War]]. Arjuna had to fight his cousin EvilPrince BigBad Duryodhana, his [[TheDragon archnemesis]] [[CainandAbel Karna]], his teacher and mentor [[RageAgainstTheMentor Drona]] and Kuru Patriach and beloved grandfather Bhishma after exhausting all other legal means in order to get back his Kingdom. Arjuna gets a [[HeroicBSOD Hamlet moment]] and is unresolved on whether to take part in the battle and in consequence, kill his kinsmen and teachers on the other side of the war. [[GodWasMyCopilot Krishna]] talks him into [[HonorBeforeReason fighting in the war]] and along the way, talks about subtle philosophy regarding the nature of the soul, the doctrines of yoga, the nature of man and the way to love God. The conversation ends as he shows his real form as God to Arjuna and convinces Arjuna to trust his judgement.
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8	Like the ''Mahabharata'', it is a narrative poem written in Sanskrit and is one of the major books in Myth/HinduMythology. Because of its complex subject matter, it is subject to countless [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpretations]].
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10	!! Tropes in ''Bhagavad Gita'':
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12	* AdaptationDistillation: A lot of people are more influenced by the Bhagavatam's take on the Gita than the Gita.
13	* GodInHumanForm: Hindu mythology is the TropeMaker. Though God can reincarnate in nonhuman form as well, according to the Gita.
14	* GodWasMyCopilot: Arjuna's charioteer turns out to be the god Krishna in human form.
15	* MessianicArchetype: The most famous verse of the Gita states that God reincarnates on earth to preserve dharma, or righteousness.
16	* PhysicalGod: What Krishna ultimately is. UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi's commentary famously asserted that this was not literally the case; Krishna was simply a very exceptional human being who obtained the title "Incarnation of God" by virtue of simply being that awesome.
17	* {{Reincarnation}}: See Messanic Archetype.
18	* WeAllDieSomeday: When Krishna urges Arjuna to fight, he dispels Arjuna's scruples about killing his enemies with the argument that they will all die anyway sooner or later.
19	-->''I am time grown old, creating world destruction, set in motion to annihilate the worlds; even without you, all these warriors arrayed in hostile ranks will cease to exist. Therefore, arise and win glory! Conquer your foes and fulfill your kingship! They are already killed by me. Be just my instrument, the archer at my side!''

Context Literature / BhagavadGita