Arjuna, Friend and Disciple

Arjuna, Nara of the divine pair Nara-Narayana, Krishna's dear friend, who received the Bhagavad Gita at Kurukshetra.

Arjuna was the third of the Pandavas, the son of Queen Kunti and Indra, king of the gods. Kunti was the sister of Vasudeva, so Arjuna was also Shri Krishna's cousin. But their bond went far deeper than family. According to the Mahabharata, Krishna and Arjuna are the ancient sages Narayana and Nara, who performed austerities at Badarikashrama and descended together to protect dharma.

Their friendship shines through many episodes. They were together at the burning of the Khandava forest. Krishna's sister Subhadra married Arjuna with Krishna's support. Before the war, when both Arjuna and Duryodhana came to ask for help, Arjuna chose the unarmed Krishna himself over Krishna's vast Narayani army. So Krishna became his charioteer and is called Partha-sarathi, the charioteer of Partha.

At Kurukshetra, seeing his own kinsmen arrayed against him, Arjuna was overcome by confusion and grief and laid down his bow. Then Krishna gave him the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. In the Gita (4.3) the Lord says that he is revealing this ancient yoga because Arjuna is his devotee and his friend. In the eleventh chapter, after seeing the cosmic form, Arjuna begs forgiveness for having casually called him "O Krishna, O Yadava, O friend", thinking of him only as a companion. In the eighteenth chapter the Lord calls him very dear, and at the end Arjuna says, "nashto mohah smritir labdha... karishye vachanam tava": my delusion is gone, I will do as you say.

Arjuna teaches that a true friend and disciple is one who lays all his doubts openly before the Lord and then takes refuge in him with complete trust.

Relation

Friend, cousin and disciple

Source

Mahabharata; Bhagavad Gita 4.3, 11.41–42, 18.64–73