I under that Arjuna chose Krishna as his charioteer and adviser and not to lead his vast army. That Arjuna chose to have Krishn'a knowlege, wisdom, and counse; over the army. But is there any significance to the fact that Krishna was driving the chariot?
I think it is because he is blue. No, really I grew up with this stuff and it still confounds me! I'm going to hook you up with a pretty good article on exactly what you are asking. You can check it out in the source link below.
Here is something specific,
The discourse of Bhagavad Gita took place just before the start of the Kurushektra war. This is the brief history prior to that:
After several attempts at reconciliation failed, war was inevitable. Out of pure compassion and sincere love for His devotee and best friend, Arjuna, Lord Krishna decided to become his charioteer during the battle. The day of the war finally came and both armies gathered on the battlefield face to face. Just as the battle was about to start, Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to drive the chariot to the middle of the battlefield in between both armies to have a look at the opposing armies.
The Bhagavad Gita tells the story of how it is necessary to invoke and trust in Divine Guidance, so we may gain Peace and Enlightenment. This battle is an individual one, everyone has to fight alone, although we are never really alone because we have divine guidance. Krishna's driving of the chariot is symbolic; he symbolizes our own personal charioteer, the one who will assist us in every battle we're forced to fight.
Bhagavad Gita
dear friend,acyually it was the planning of LORD KRISHANA to be the driver of chariot of arjuna.only HE knows all about present past and future persons i.e. VEDAHAM SAMTEETANI........SARGE YANTI PARANTAPA ||gita..26/07||.HE also has purpose to take birth on earth i.e. PARITRANAY SADHUNAAM ..........SAMBHAVAMI YUGE YUGE ||gita...08/04||. so to fulfil the purpose of taking birth on earth HE choosed HIS role of chariot driver not chosen by arjuna.
Source(s): prabhu prasad shrimadbhagwadgita
It is significant that God Himself drives the chariot of Arjuna. Krishna being the supreme and the Omnipotent driving the chariot of a mere human signifies that Lord Himself drove Arjuna from darkness and the shackles of Maaya to the light of knowledge.
No specific source
My feeling about this, FWIW, is that Arjuna accepting Krishna as his driver for the battle is the equivalent of accepting him as his guide, or guru in life, rather than going with worldly power as represented by the army. Life can be somewhat like a battle, full of trials and tribulations, not to mention moral dilemmas.
You can see it also as if one's body is like the chariot or vehicle in which our soul traverses this physical life. Giving over the reins over to God (in whatever form or name you personally best relate to) is like saying you will live your life primarily for God, not for individual self/ ego. Another way to see this is that you invite God in to your body, to use it to experience His/Her creation and interact with it.
