Vāṇi

Kṣetra

The Gītā, mapped.

Stories counted from the 700 verses of the Bhagavad Gītā.

Kṣetra is a map of the Bhagavad Gītā. Each of its 18 stories starts from one small, checkable fact about the text: where a word falls, which verse is spoken by whom, how many verses sit between two moments that seem to answer each other. The counts are made on the 700-verse text and never from memory, and every story shows the verses it counts, set out in Sanskrit, transliteration and English.

To use it, pick a story from the grid below, watch the short film, then read the count and the verses under it. The film is the quick way in, and the page is where you can check it. Each story also has a paragraph called Going deeper, which sets the verse in its place in the conversation between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna and links to the chapter and the verse pages.

Every verse of the Gītā is free to read at getvani.app/gita, all 700 of them, with no account needed. The list under the grid gives the same stories as plain links in number order, with the one line each film opens on.

All Kṣetra stories

  1. Kṣetra No. 1 Set it downThe Gītā opens on dharma. 687 verses later, Kṛṣṇa says, let it go.
  2. Kṣetra No. 2 The last wordsKṛṣṇa's last words in the Gītā are two questions. Not an order.
  3. Kṣetra No. 3 Two me'sThe Gītā's hero begins by giving up. Then Kṛṣṇa answers with the same word.
  4. Kṣetra No. 4 The infinite goes quietArjuna finally sees who Kṛṣṇa is. Kṛṣṇa goes quiet. Arjuna can't stop talking.
  5. Kṣetra No. 5 Awe made his verses longerWhen Arjuna saw the infinite, his verses got longer. You can count it.
  6. Kṣetra No. 6 Cured twiceArjuna was cured of his confusion twice. The first cure didn't hold.
  7. Kṣetra No. 7 Joy and terrorIn one breath, Arjuna is delighted and afraid. And he asks for the same thing twice.
  8. Kṣetra No. 8 The secret already saidKṛṣṇa saves his greatest secret for last. Then he repeats himself.
  9. Kṣetra No. 9 Not the endThe Gītā's most famous verse isn't the end. What Kṛṣṇa says next is about you.
  10. Kṣetra No. 10 Non-violence in a war bookThe Gītā is a war book that keeps saying ahiṁsā. Non-violence.
  11. Kṣetra No. 11 Devotee and friendThe Gītā wasn't given to a sage. It was given to a friend. Kṛṣṇa says so himself.
  12. Kṣetra No. 12 The centreThe exact middle of the Gītā is a choice. Between verse 350 and 351.
  13. Kṣetra No. 13 One tear, one smileThe Gītā has one tear and one smile. Nine verses apart.
  14. Kṣetra No. 14 GoosebumpsThree moments in the Gītā give goosebumps. Fear. Awe. A story.
  15. Kṣetra No. 15 The gamblerKṛṣṇa says he is the gambling. Of cheats.
  16. Kṣetra No. 16 Sorry, friendAfter seeing God, Arjuna says sorry. To his friend.
  17. Kṣetra No. 17 Grieve notKṛṣṇa's first lesson is about grief. So is his last instruction.
  18. Kṣetra No. 18 The last wordKṛṣṇa doesn't have the last word in the Gītā. The narrator does.
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