Krishna-Niti: Timeless Strategic Wisdom

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How often have you been advised to follow the teachings of Krishna but wondered what those teachings were? This book brings forth eleven of the most important lessons delivered by Krishna at critical junctures in the Mahabharata. These practical lessons are different from the spiritual wisdom imparted to Arjuna in the celebrated Bhagavad-Gita.

Krishna's role in the Mahabharata is not just as a knower of dharma (dharmajna) but also as its upholder and institutor (dharma-samsthapaka). Therefore, unlike other great works on niti, Krishna's instructions are not theoretical but have an immediate relation to the situation at hand.

In Krishna-Niti: Timeless Strategic Wisdom, the authors draw upon their extensive research into the Mahabharata to present a unique gem of nitishastra that is distilled from the quintessential Itihasa of India. They analyse Krishna's practical wisdom through his interventions on numerous occasions. Rooted in the vision of the epic, the book paints the authentic picture of Krishna as a statesman-an enduring image that is deeply relevant to our times.

Kushagra Aniket is an economic and management consultant based in New York. He graduated with highest honours from Cornell University as a Tata scholar with degrees in economics, mathematics, and statistics. He completed his MBA in finance with Dean's Honours as a fellow from Columbia University.

Kushagra has received multiple awards in India and the U.S. for his poetry and prose in English, Hindi, and Sanskrit. He is known as an aśukavi (extempore poet) in Sanskrit and has presented his compositions at several institutions in India and abroad. Kushagra is a scholar-in-residence at Indic Academy, where he focuses his efforts on showcasing Sanskrit poetry as a living tradition on the international stage.

Nityananda Misra is a Mumbai-based finance professional in the investment banking industry. He specialises in quantitative finance, equity market microstructure, algorithmic trading, and execution consulting. He is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore (2007) and a gold medallist from Gujarat University (2004).

Nityananda has a multifaceted personality-a Sanskrit scholar, a polyglot, a grammarian, a litterateur, an instrumentalist, a musicologist, a researcher, an editor, an author, and a book designer. He has authored twelve books, including several bestsellers. He is also a professional onomastician specialising in Sanskrit names. Nityananda is passionate about Indic culture, literature, music, and arts.

यतो धर्मस्ततः कृष्णो यतः कृष्णस्ततो जयः ।

"Where there is dharma, there is Krishna. Where there is Krishna, there is victory."

यतः कृष्णस्ततो धर्मो यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः ।

"Where there is Krishna, there is dharma. Where there is dharma, there is victory."

WITH slight variations, these two oft-quoted statements are repeated throughout the Mahabharata. For instance, in the Udyoga- Parvan, as emissaries are exchanged between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Vidura counsels the aged king Dhritarashtra to seek peace with the Pandavas, adding, "Where there is truth, dharma, humility, and uprightness, there resides Govinda.

Where there is Krishna, there is victory."

Later, in the Bhishma-Parvan, before the first day of the great war, Arjuna prays to Devi Durga. Durga blesses him by saying that he would be victorious in the upcoming war. After narrating this account to Dhritarashtra, Sanjaya warns him of the inevitable victory of the Pandavas, "Where there are righteous conduct, dignity, brilliance, humility, prosperity, intelligence and dharma, there is Krishna. Where there is Krishna, there is victory."

In the same Parvan, on the first day of the war, Yudhishthira goes to the enemy camp to seek the blessings of Kaurava elders before the war starts. Drona blesses him by saying that his victory is sure, for Krishna is his minister. Drona then adds, "Where there is dharma, there is Krishna. Where there is Krishna, there is victory. O son of Kunti! Go ahead and fight."

After facing reverses on the battlefield, when Duryodhana asks Bhishma the reason why the Kaurava warriors cannot stand the might of the Pandavas, Bhishma reveals that Krishna is none other than Narayana and adds, "O King! Krishna is present in everything. He is without any ignorance and attachment. Where there is Krishna, there is dharma, and where there is dharma, there is victory."

In the Shalya-Parvan, after Duryodhana is defeated by Bhima, the Pandavas arrive at the Kaurava camp. Krishna congratulates Yudhishthira for the victory in the war.

Yudhishthira responds by saying that he remembers what Vyasa had told him in Upaplavya, "Where there is dharma, there is Krishna, and where there is Krishna, there is victory."

Finally, at the end of the Anushasana-Parvan, when Bhishma is about to die after lying on the bed of arrows for many days, he requests Krishna to save him and asks for his permission to leave his body. He then remembers that he had taught Duryodhana, "At that time, I had told that wicked and foolish Duryodhana: Where there is Krishna, there is dharma, and where there is dharma, there is victory. "

BHAGAVAN Sri Krishna is the most complex character in our literature. He is also a historical figure 4 of immense importance. In him we see the ideal combination of pravrtti and nivrtti, activity and detachment. He is the foremost of acharyas for he practised what he preached and established the ideals he espoused in tradition. People rarely live up to their ideals, nor do they elucidate their thoughts for the benefit of posterity. Sri Krishna differs on both these counts: his life is the best exposition of his teachings enshrined in the Bhagavad-Gita. He is also the best representative of Sanatana Dharma. Like our dharma, Krishna too appears to have an apparent contradiction-difficult to understand completely and yet easy to experience!

Sri Krishna was born on the night of Shravana-Ashtami, the eighth day in the waning period of the moon in the rainy season. According to our calendar, he was born in Dakshinayana-the part of the year that represents the night of the deities. Further, his birth was in the Krishna-paksha, the time of the month that represents the night of the pitrs, departed souls/manes. In this manner, Sri Krishna was born when the guiding forces of the world comprising the deities, manes and sages were in deep sleep. The natural sources of light-sun, moon, lightning, and fire-were conspicuous by their absence on the dark, rainy night of Sri Krishna's birth. In such a time of all-pervasive darkness, the dark child Krishna was born to dispel the darkness of humankind!

This paradox reveals the nature of Sri Krishna: he was not a king but went on to become a kingmaker; he was not high-born but was revered by holy saints; he was not a celibate per se, but he practised the highest level of detachment; he was a great warrior but did not fight in the Kurukshetra battle as a soldier; he was not a Vedic seer but produced a work that stands on par with the Vedas. In the words of Kulapati K.M. Munshi, he was "wise and valorous, loving and loved, far-seeing and yet acting in the living present, gifted with sage-like detachment and yet intensely human; a diplomat, a sage and a man of action with a personality as luminous as that of a divinity".

Unfortunately, Krishna's well-rounded personality has not been understood well. What's more, it is often misunderstood. Devotees and adherents of various traditional faiths oftentimes truncate Sri Krishna's personality, although they mean no disrespect to the deity they revere. They take him to be a magician, a romantic, a manipulator, a preacher, and a cause of ceaseless wonder. On the other hand, the detractors of Sanatana Dharma wilfully twist Sri Krishna's personality: they ridicule him as a war-monger and put down the Bhagavad-Gita as a manual of violence and hatred.