“In this same way, every woman is a form of Lakshmi — the very power that bestows wealth. — Do not despair, Krishna; take up your weapon.”
Lakshmi bestows wealth; she is not herself wealth. In this same way, every woman is a form of Lakshmi — the very power that bestows wealth. — Do not despair, Krishna; take up your weapon. Why do you harbor a wish to be defeated?
Chapter 21 of 35 — a single teaching, 1 min in total.
The Mahabharata is less a story with a moral than a very long argument about how to act. Its characters are given impossible situations and are judged not on the outcome but on the quality of their reasoning and the honesty of their motives.
Krishna's role throughout is the counsellor who refuses easy answers. He does not remove the difficulty; he changes what the person is able to bring to it.