Esoteric Limericks about the Bhagavad Gita

One of the best-known and most widely read texts of the classical Hindu canon, the Bhagavad Gita tells the story of a young hero prince named Arjuna on his way to a major battle. When he realizes that the battle pits him against many members of his own kith and kin, he recoils in horror. At this point, his charioteer reveals himself as Krishna, an incarnation of the great Hindu god Vishnu.

By way of consoling Arjuna, Krishna explains that the young prince has nothing to fear. In a long, beautiful and sometimes cryptic dialogue, Krishna lays out some of the core principles of Indian philosophy, essentially presenting himself as the personification of the universal mind, the ground of all being, the quintessence of existence. The personal individual is an illusion, Krishna says, and by transcending the ego, Arjuna and the rest of us can participate in the divine One.

If that sounds like a lot to swallow, perhaps the following short series of limericks will make the Indian epic easier to digest.

Onward Charioteer
On the field of battle Arjuna grows nervous
Encountering Krishna who offers his service
As Vishnu’s top warrior
And ego destroyer
Revealing one’s duty and ultimate purpose

Krishna Nature
Acknowledge your selflessness sooner or later
The soul may take refuge in something much greater
Transcend the unique
For the One that you seek
The supreme and immutable Self, the Creator

Bhagavad Gita
Confronted by battle Arjuna disputes
But Krishna proposes more pious pursuits
Accepting one’s duty
With transient beauty
Concerned with right action but not with its fruits

Moksha
Escaping the cycle of grasping desire
Extinguish the ego like snuffing the fire
Now peacefully enter
The unmoving center
What more could a soul-searching person require?