Often, some get the impression that Krishna is more inclined and partial towards girls than towards boys. Some come up with their imperfect conclusions that 'Krishna is for women'. Some are even baffled that how can a male fall in love with Krishna who is also a male. All these are material considerations. Love for Lord is totally on the spiritual platform, lying beyond the distinction between male and female. How Lord can be loved even while having a male body and how beautifully He reciprocates are nicely illustrated in the strong bond of friendship between Krishna and Arjuna.
Eventhough Lord Krishna was with the Pandavas through thick and thin, it was the unique good fortune of Arjuna to have had the Lord inseparably with Him throughout the Kurukshetra war. In the battlefield, after imparting the Karmayoga (Gita, Ch.3) the Lord tells Arjuna " Since you are at once my devotee and friend, I have imparted this ancient and the best yoga to you which is a secret and hence should be well guarded".
Because Arjuna was very dear to the Lord, He not only expounded the great Divine message of the Gita, the very essence of the Upanishads, but also made Arjuna perceive His Vishwarupa. In the words of the Lord "This Supreme Divine Form ,which is at the same time effulgent, the first of everything and endless (as you had witnesed) was shown to you by My powers of yoga and by My grace and has not been seen by any one other than you.
Many instances portraying the ideal bond that existed between the Lord and Arjuna can be found in several places in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana.Sanjaya testified to this great and unique friendship to Dhritarashtra when he came back after visiting the Pandavas. He said that such was the friendship between the Lord and Arjuna that there was no secret or privacy between them. In another context, when the Lord went to the forest to meet the Pandavas, Krishna told Arjuna " You are mine, similarly I am yours. My friends are your friends. Whoever shows enmity to you he is my enemy too; whoever stands by you also stands by me."
The very Duryodhana, Pandava's arch enemy himself acknowledged the special affection that existed between the Lord and Arjuna. He said "Krishna will sacrifice even the celestial world for the sake of Arjuna. In the same way, Arjuna will not hesitate even to part with his life for the sake of the Lord".
In the war Bhishma was annihilating the Pandava forces . Nine days were over after the war started. That night Udhishtira expressed his anxiety and sought the advice of the Lord as to what should be done under these circumstances. The Lord consoled Udhishtira and told that either He or Arjuna single-handed could slay Bhishma if Udhishtira commanded. "Your brother is my friend, relative and disciple. You know the great bond between Myself and Arjuna. I shall not hesitate to cut off my flesh for the sake of Arjuna Similarly, Arjuna will sacrifice even his life for my sake ; there is a vow that each would stand by the other" said the Lord.
This clearly brings out the intensity of friendship between the Lord and Arjuna.
The chief of the celestials, Indra had presented Karna the unfailing sakti missile with the condition that anyone on whom this was aimed would sure meet his end, but this should be used only once. Karna had kept it to be hurled at Arjuna. Duryodhana and others in the Kaurava camp were prodding Karna to destroy Arjuna with that missile. But when Karna met Arjuna in the battlefield, the charioteer of Arjuna who was none other than the Lord cast His Maya on Karna so that he would forget to use the missile against Arjuna. In the meanwhile, Gatotkacha, son of Bheemasena was destroying the Kaurava forces with vengence. Frightened at this, Duryodhana and others urged Karna to destroy Gatotkacha with the sakti missile, as otherwise, none would be left behind in their army. This compelled Karna to use that missile against Gatotkacha, with the result he was killed. At this, though the Pandavas were steeped in sorrow , the Lord alone was happy because this way Arjuna had been saved. Such a great bond existed between the Lord and Arjuna.
So far Arjuna was considering the Supreme Lord as his playmate and companion only because Krishna was with the Pandavas constantly and was their messenger, servant and Arjuna's charioteer. The great devotee Lilasuka provides a picturesque account of the saulabhya of the Lord in his work, Krishnakarnamrutam saying that He with half-bare body with the stick used for driving the horses, stuck on His headgear, with the reins firmly held between His teeth, daily bathed the horses of the chariot of Arjuna with water held in His palms, at the same time soothing the itching of these horses by scratching gently with His nails.
Only on seeing the Divine Form, Arjuna felt a great remorse and was astonished at the easy accessibility of the Lord. Seeking the Lord's pardon, Arjuna said that since he had not known the Lord's greatness, glory and Universal Lordship, he had perpetrated many wrongs by word or deed, thinking Krishna to be merely his friend.
After the war, when the time for Arjuna for alighting from the chariot came, the Lord asked Arjuna to alight first and He got down thereafter.. Arjuna thinking he was the master, asked the Lord that why this peculiar advice as it was customary for the servant to alight first and then help the master to do so. The Lord replied that since the chariot had borne the brunt of various deadly weapons, if He had alighted first, Arjuna would have been killed as the chariot would have become ablaze. Accordingly, after the Lord got down from the chariot after Arjuna , it went into flames. This way also the Lord saved Arjuna's life.
Since the Lord could not stand separation from his dear friend, Arjuna, He ascended to Vaikunta earlier to the swargarohana of the Pandavas . After ascending to heaven, Udhishtira with divine body reached Vaikunta where the Lord was shining in His resplendent form. There, the various divya astras and weapons in their celestial bodies were serving the Lord. Among them, Udhishtira saw Arjuna also serving the Lord , the unique privilege which even great yogis and sages yearned for.
This goes to prove that if one studies the Gita and recites it with unfailing faith such a person will have the divine grace as that enjoyed by Arjuna. In fact, the Lord and Arjuna were the very embodyment of the nara-narayana incarnation.
Arjuna is very, very dear to Lord Krsna. It is said that when Krsna first met Arjuna tears came to His eyes and He embraced Arjuna wholeheartedly—this was because Arjuna reminded Krsna of His intimate cowherd friend in Vraja of the same name. Krsna and Arjuna became instant companions and spent many years together in deep friendship. In the Mahabharata(Sauptika Parva, XII), Krsna states, “I have no dearer friend on earth than Arjuna, and there is nothing that I cannot give to him including my wives and children.” In the Drona Parva of the same text, Krsna reiterates, “O Daruka, I shall not be able to cast my eyes, even for a single moment, on the earth bereft of Arjuna…Know that Arjuna is half of my body.” Once, when Krsna had to leave Hastinapura for Dvaraka, He quickly hurried to the apartments of Arjuna and spent the entire night with him in happy slumber, even at the risk of upsetting His temperamental wife, Satyabhama.
The Lord is controlled by love, no matter, whether the devotee is male or female.
Thank you!
Hari bol!
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