PANTHEON
ExploreBuild My Library
© 2026 Pantheon — an atlas of the ideas that shaped how we think.
person3000 BCE (traditional)

Arjuna

Disciplines:
ethics
philosophy of action

Summary

The warrior hero of the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita — whose moral crisis at the battle of Kurukshetra provides the occasion for Krishna's philosophical and theological teachings.

Core Contribution

Represents the philosophical problem of duty versus compassion — his refusal to fight his kinsmen raises questions about dharma, the nature of the self, and the justification of violence that the Gita systematically addresses.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • His moral crisis is philosophically sophisticated: seeing his teacher Drona, grandfather Bhishma, and cousins across the battlefield, he collapses and refuses to fight — a genuine ethical dilemma about kinship duty versus warrior duty.
  • Gandhi interpreted Arjuna's crisis and Krishna's response allegorically — the battle is internal, the killing of relatives represents the destruction of selfish attachments.

Historical Influences

Vedic Tradition

Intellectual Lineage

Vedic Epic Tradition

Contemporaries & Peers

Krishna

Minds Influenced

No recorded minds influenced.

Intellectual Posterity

Bhagavad Gita

Discussing

Arjuna

Ask anything about Arjuna — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.

Sign in to start a conversation.