Dear Friends, 

does anyone know specifically in the BhG where the comparison of the Pāṇḍavas occurs with each relevant cakra? I've just read through a bunch of websites and blogs and youtube videos by prominent gurus and other less prominent people. But, none actually mention any specific verses. They just say either the MBh or the BhG is the source. It seems odd, didn't the cakra system develop well after either of these texts were composed? That would make it kind of hard for them to include talk of cakras, etc, no? Particularly the neo-Romantic, new agey way of describing the virtues and psycho-dynamic qualities of each cakra and what they symbolize. 

I've gone through the BhG from Gretil, also looking for tattvas or any similar word that might help. I just can't seem to spot where this is mentioned. Is it? Am I blind?  Or is this is much later interpolation linking the brothers, Draupadi, Krishna, etc to various metaphysical locations? If you are curious, here is one example of the description in Hindi. (Shown below). This is also an English description by AoL

सहदेव हैं ठोस अवस्था अर्थात्, मूलाधार चक्र  जो कि सभी प्रश्नों  के उत्तर दे सकते हैं, नकुल स्वाधिष्ठान चक्र अर्थात् जल तत्व, अर्जुन ऊर्जा को प्रदर्षित करते हैं अर्थात् मनीपुर चक्र, भीम वायु तत्व अर्थात  अनाहत चक्र को और विषुद्ध चक्र या व्योम तत्व को युधिष्ठिर प्रदर्षित करते हैं। विशुद्ध चक्र तक भौतिक संसार समाप्त हो जाता है और आध्यात्मिक संसार प्रारंभ हो जाता है। इसलिये भौतिकवादियों और आध्यात्मवादियों अर्थात् स्थूल और सूक्ष्म के बीच में होने वाले झगड़े में युधिष्ठिर स्थिर रहते हैं। युद्धे स्थिरः यः सः युधिष्ठिरः। कृष्ण सहस्त्रार में हैं । इकाई जीव चेतना जो कि मूलाधार में कुंडलनी की तरह होती है वह पाॅंडवों की मदद से कृष्ण तक पहुंचना चाहती है

If this is just another factoid floating around Yogaland, does anyone know when this idea might have first been generated? 

Thanks. 

All the best,

パトリック マッカートニー
Patrick McCartney, PhD
JSPS Fellow - Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
Research Associate - Nanzan University Anthropological Institute, Nagoya, Japan
Research Affiliate - Organization for Identity and Cultural Development (OICD), Kyoto
Visiting Fellow - South and South-east Asian Studies Department, Australian National University
Member - South Asia Research Institute (SARI), Australian National University

Skype / Zoom - psdmccartney
Phone + Whatsapp + Line:  +81-80-9811-3235
Twitter - @psdmccartney @yogascapesinjap

bodhapūrvam calema ;-)