Sarathi (name of Krishna)

Krishna as the charioteer of Arjuna in a procession at Varkala, Kerala.

Sarathi (Sanskrit: सारथि, romanized: Sārathi, lit. 'charioteer', also anglicised as Sarathy) is an epithet of the Hindu deity Krishna used in the epic Mahabharata.[1] It is also a common personal name in South India.

In the Mahabharata, Krishna initially counselled peace to the Pandavas and Kauravas, two closely related families that chose to fight over the Kuru kingdom in northern India. Eventually siding with the Pandavas, he offered his services as a charioteer to Arjuna, the Pandavas' greatest archer. Krishna is thus accorded the title Pārthasārathī, which translates to "charioteer of Partha" (another name for Arjuna), or Sanātana Sārathi "eternal charioteer". The Bhagavad Gita, considered by many traditions to be Hinduism's most important religious text, consists of a dialogue between Krishna, the charioteer, and Arjuna just before the actual battle begins, where Krishna instructs Arjuna in the principle of dharma in response to his hesitation to fighting against his own relatives.[2]

  1. ^ The Spirit of the Unborn. Notion Press. 28 March 2018. ISBN 9781948230421.
  2. ^ Debroy, Bibek; Books, Penguin (December 2005). The Bhagavad Gita. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-400068-5.