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The Uddhava Gita

CHENNAI : There are several independent scriptural texts by the name Gita though this name has come to be synonymous with the Bhagavad Gita because of its popularity. Another Gita, which was also taught by Lord Krishna, is the Uddhava Gita known after His dear friend Uddhava when he was inconsolable at the very thought of separation from Him when He was about to leave the world. While the Bhagavad Gita is part of the Mahabharata, the Uddhava Gita occurs in the Bhagavata Purana, which was composed by Vyasa to highlight the glory of the Lord's descents in the world, especially the Krishna incarnation.

In his discourse, Sri N.V.Devi Prasad said a similarity that could be seen in both these texts was that Krishna taught the ultimate truth only when their minds were ready to receive the abstract teaching. The Bhagavad Gita teaching commences with Arjuna's surrender to the Lord saying, "With my very being tainted by the vice of faint-heartedness and my mind puzzled with regard to duty I am asking You. Tell me that which is decidedly good; I am Your disciple. Pray instruct me, who have put myself in Your hands." The Uddhava Gita, on the other hand, commences with Uddhava's perplexity after he saw the impending destruction of the Yadava community, in which Lord Krishna was born, during His lifetime itself.

Uddhava was an exceptional devotee and a dear friend of Krishna but even he could not fathom why the Lord who could have prevented this calamity did not do so. Brahma, the creator, and the celestials implored the Lord to return to His divine abode after the purpose of His descent was over. Krishna then explained why the Yadavas had to be exterminated, "Made insolent by prowess, heroism and fortune, and inclined to take possession of the whole world, this celebrated race of Yadu has been kept in check by Me as the ocean by its shore. If I depart (from this world) without destroying the huge race of the Yadus, who have grown insolent the entire humanity will meet its destruction... " That such a fortunate lineage in which the Lord chose to incarnate should meet such an ignominious end came about because of a curse. Greatly saddened by this Uddhava approached Krishna and beseeched Him to take him along when the Lord expounded the truth to him.

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