A scene from the Mahabharata: Arjuna requests instruction from Krishna and receives the Bhagavat Gita. Chromolithograph.

Bhagavad-Gītā means 'The song of the Divine One'. Krishna as a man was related to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas and during the war between the two he refused to take sides. However Krishna did consent to act as the Pandava Arjuna's charioteer and when the opposing sides were drawn up against each other, Arjuna approached Krishna for guidance. This led to Krishna preaching his philosophical doctrines, hence the Bhagavad-Gītā