Verily, these hosts of devas are entering into You; some praise You in fear with folded hands. Hosts of great rishis and Siddhas, saying ‘Svasti, Peace, may it be well’ are singing Your glory in beautiful hymns. (Bhagavad Gita Chapter XI – Verse 21)
Whenever God incarnates on earth, it is for a great divine purpose. To carry out that purpose Bhagavan brings with Him the devoted free souls, who always rejoice in being in His presence. These free souls, who come with the avatara and always remain with Him and surround Him as the satellites stay with the planet, return to God when the divine purpose is fulfilled. And so when Sri Krishna came to establish righteousness on earth, these bhaktas who came to assist in the working out of God’s plan, fulfilled that purpose in the form of warriors on the field of Kurukshetra. The warriors fighting with and against Arjuna were none other than free souls, who incarnated to lighten the earth’s burden.
Arjuna realizes this in his vision. He sees that those who stand against him are no less instruments in God’s hands than those who fight on his side, and that by killing these warriors God’s plan is also being fulfilled. For those who are slain return to their celestial abode from where they came.
Again, other perfected beings, the rishis and Siddhas, witnessing the battle from different spheres, offer their prayer in splendid hymns, and, dreading the untimely destruction of the universe, cry out ‘Svasti…’
The war as it is being enacted and as it will develop, now passes in review before Arjuna’s mental eye, or rather, spiritual eye. The film unrolls. Scene after scene is thrown on the canvas of his mind. Time and space have changed their relative values. They still exist, but in a different way. The future comes near and almost merges in the present. Space also is almost eliminated. Arjuna sees heaven and earth and all the spheres at once. And he sees the future and also the purpose of things, the true object and character of the war. It is God-ordained. It is a war for righteousness. All his fear and anxiety had been in vain. It all had to happen, just as it happened.