RAS question
The Bhagavad Gita, part of the Mahabharata, is a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna in which Parva?
Correct answer: (C) Bhishma Parva.
The Bhagavad Gita is part of the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata and is presented as a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Explanation
The Bhagavad Gita belongs to the Bhishma Parva, Book 6 of the Mahabharata. The cited eGyanKosh text states that it is a Sanskrit text from the Bhishma Parva and that it takes the form of a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, just before the war begins. This matches the standard explanation: the Gita has 700 verses and frames Krishna’s teaching to Arjuna around duty, action, devotion and knowledge. The clue in the question is therefore not merely the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue, but its placement within the war narrative under Bhishma’s command, which identifies the Parva as Bhishma Parva.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Adi Parva is the introductory section of the Mahabharata, so it does not contain the Kurukshetra battlefield dialogue identified as the Bhagavad Gita.
- (B) Drona Parva concerns Drona’s command, whereas the Bhagavad Gita is placed in the Bhishma Parva.
- (D) Shanti Parva deals with peace and governance, not the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Concept
This tests source-text identification within ancient Indian history: knowing not only what the Bhagavad Gita teaches, but where it sits in the Mahabharata. RAS repeatedly uses such questions to check precise links between texts, authorship traditions, themes and historical-literary context.