Arjuna Tattoo Meaning

Duty, the warrior, dharma, and the bow set down and taken up again.

Arjuna is the supreme warrior who faltered and found his duty — the peerless archer of the Mahabharata who, on the brink of battle, was paralyzed by the cost of what he must do, and through Krishna's counsel in the Bhagavad Gita took up his bow again in clarity. To carry Arjuna is to carry duty, the warrior, dharma, and the bow set down and taken up again — the chosen warrior of the Pandavas, the competent one paralyzed by the weight of action, the one who learns to act from dharma without attachment to the fruits.

In the great Indian epic, Arjuna is the peerless warrior at the heart of the story: Arjuna is the third of the five Pandava brothers and the supreme warrior of the Mahabharata — chosen by the gods, trained by Indra himself, the wielder of the divine bow Gandiva; his crisis of conscience on the battlefield of Kurukshetra occasions the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna is the greatest archer and warrior of his age, a hero of divine favor — son of the god Indra, trained in arms by the gods themselves, wielder of the mighty divine bow Gandiva, matchless in battle.

His most important moment comes at the start of the great battle of Kurukshetra, where the Pandavas face their kinsmen, the Kauravas, in a terrible war. As the armies stand ready, Arjuna looks upon the opposing host and sees among them his own relatives, teachers, and friends — and he is overcome, unable to bear the thought of the slaughter to come, and lets his bow fall, refusing to fight. It is this crisis that occasions the Bhagavad Gita: the sacred dialogue in which Krishna, serving as Arjuna's charioteer, counsels him on duty, action, and the nature of the self, and leads him to take up his arms again. The Hindu Arjuna is thus the supreme warrior of the Mahabharata — the divinely favored archer whose battlefield crisis of conscience occasions the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna is the supreme warrior of the Mahabharata, third Pandava and wielder of Gandiva, whose battlefield crisis occasions the Bhagavad Gita. The Hindu Arjuna is the supreme warrior of the Mahabharata — Arjuna is the third of the five Pandava brothers and the supreme warrior of the Mahabharata, chosen by the gods, trained by Indra himself, the wielder of the divine bow Gandiva, his crisis of conscience on the battlefield of Kurukshetra occasioning the Bhagavad Gita; the greatest archer and warrior of his age, a hero of divine favor (son of Indra, trained in arms by the gods, wielder of the mighty Gandiva, matchless in battle), his most important moment coming at the start of the great battle of Kurukshetra where the Pandavas face their kinsmen the Kauravas — as the armies stand ready, Arjuna looking upon the opposing host, seeing among them his own relatives, teachers, and friends, and overcome, unable to bear the thought of the slaughter to come, letting his bow fall and refusing to fight, this crisis occasioning the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred dialogue in which Krishna, his charioteer, counsels him on duty, action, and the self and leads him to take up his arms again.

Arjuna's name means 'bright,' 'white,' or 'clear' — the pure one, the transparent one. He is the most complete warrior in Sanskrit epic tradition: trained by his father Indra (the thunder god), given divine weapons by Shiva, Yama, Varuna, and Kubera, the possessor of the Gandiva bow which was made by Brahma and can shoot thousands of arrows simultaneously. His friendship with Krishna — who serves as his charioteer — is the most significant relationship in the epic. The Bhagavad Gita begins with Arjuna's collapse: he sees his teachers, his cousins, his grandfather across the battlefield and puts down his bow and sits in his chariot and says he cannot fight. Krishna's eighteen chapters of response constitute one of the most influential philosophical and spiritual texts ever written. Arjuna picks up his bow.

Arjuna across cultures

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