The Bhagavad Git? is an ancient text which was spo- ken by Lord ?ri K???a to His friend Arjuna more than 5000 years ago. They both belonged to a society which adhered to the principles of var???rama-dharma - a social system based on injunctions or moral codes from the teachings of the Vedas' and Smrtis�. Thus, some of the terminology used here may seem archaic and sound offensive to the modern mind, but this is how these words were used. The instructions given herein are most relevant even today. The Bhagavad G?t? is not an independent book, but part of the Mah?bh?rata, which was written by sage Veda Vy?sa mainly for people who were not eligible to study the Vedas, i.e. they did not belong to the first three classes (the brahma?as, ksatriyas and vaisyas) of the varn??rama society. The Mahabharata gives the same essential knowledge as found in the Vedas but in a sim- plified manner through the use of stories. It narrates the history of famous dynasties of India. There were two major dynasties, namely, the sun dynasty and the moon dynasty. In the Bhagavad Gita, the focus is on two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and Pandavas, who appeared in the moon dynasty. The Kauravas were the 100 sons of Dhrtar?stra, who was blind since birth. Duryodhana was the eldest of them. The Pandavas were the five sons of Pandu, who died while they were still very young. At a later point, when Yudhisthira grew up to be a young man, Dhrtar?stra gave him a small part of the kingdom and thus Yudhisthira became a king. He was a very righteous and moral king who became very famous and opulent. His brothers and subjects loved him very much. When Duryodhana saw this opu- lence and popularity, he became extremely envious of Yudhisthira. He convinced his father Dh?tar?stra to in- vite Yudhisthira to a gambling match with the Kaura- vas. Yudhisthira, being very respectful and obedient to his uncle, consented. Duryodhana used the help of his maternal uncle ?akuni, who was an expert in gam- bling, to cheat Yudhisthira and win over his kingdom. Duryodhana later agreed to return the kingdom to Yu- dhisthira and his brothers on the condition that they spend twelve years in the forest and one year incognito.