Arjuna
The central protagonist of the Mahabharata and one of the two primary characters in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is a Pandava warrior who fights his cousins, the Kauravas, over his kingdom of Hastinapura…
read analysis of Arjuna
Krishna
Arjuna’s charioteer Krishna is actually a worldly manifestation of God (also known as Vishnu or the Supreme Being). He speaks the vast majority of the verses in the Bhagavad Gita, convincing Arjuna to…
read analysis of Krishna
Sanjaya
Dhritarashtra’s minister, who is gifted with the ability to see everything that occurs between the Pandavas and Kauravas on the battlefield and to overhear the entire dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna. He reports…
read analysis of Sanjaya
Minor Characters
Dhritarashtra
The blind king of Hastinapura and father to the Kauravas. Sanjaya, the king’s minister, narrates the entirety of the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna to Dhritarashtra.
Vyasa
The sagacious, immortal poet who composed the Mahabharata and appears throughout it. Krishna declares that, among the wise, he is Vyasa.
Duryodhana
The eldest son of the Kauravas and leader of their forces against the Pandavas.
Bhima
Arjuna’s younger brother, a powerful Pandava warrior who leads his family’s forces into battle.
Bhishma
The great-uncle of the entire Bharata clan, Bhishma sides with the Kauravas and leads them into battle at the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita.
