Did you know this about Gita Jayanti?

In present days, the word “jayanti” is loosely used for someone’s birthday. However, this word is not meant for mortal beings. What most people don’t know about Gita jayanti is, when Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, it was not the first time that He spoke it. Gita jayanti is not the birthday of Bhagavad Gita. It is the day when Bhagavad Gita was spoken the first time on this planet during this particular yuga cycle.

This is clearly mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita itself when Lord Krishna says:

imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha manur iksvakave ‘bravit

Translation: The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣhvaku. (B.G. 4.1)

In the very next verse Lord Krishna says that the knowledge he imparted to King Ikshvaku through parampara, or disciplic succession, got gradually lost. “This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.” (B.G. 4.2)

This shows the message of Bhagavad Gita is eternally present and Lord Krishna delivers it in its original form as and when it needs to be revived.

In recent days, after the revolutionary preaching on the teachings of Bhagavad Gita by ISKCON’s founder-acharya Srila Prabhupada, Gita Jayanti has become one of the most important festivals across the world.

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, which is Srila Prabhupada’s translation of the original Sanskrit text along with purports, has been translated in practically every language of the world and millions of copies have been distributed.

On Gita Jayanti day, especially in India, people spare a few hours to read all 18 chapters of Bhagavad Gita. Devotees also offer oblations in fire sacrifices (yajna) and distribute prasad to devotees.

There are some mental speculators who try to define Gita in their own ways by comparing it with human body saying the battlefield of Kurukshetra actually refers to our body, five Pandavas are five senses of the body, and so on. This less intelligent people forget that the place where Lord Sri Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to His dear devotee Arjuna, Kurukshetra, is still present in North India and millions of people visit this holy place in memory of that historical event and offer their homages.