Bhubaneswar, Feb. 5: Sermons of Krishna for his friend Arjun in the battlefield have played the role of a guiding lamp for thousands of years in form of the Bhagvad Gita.

Artistes of the Srjan institute presented the philosophical lessons, taught by Krishna, in a striking form of an Odissi recital on Tuesday evening at Rabindra Mandap in the city.

Also titled Bhagvad Gita, the Odissi production was presented with finesse, when it came to dance while all other departments from music to lighting of the sequence were equally of high quality.

Choreographed by Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, the neo-classical dance ballet was set in the Kurukshetra war zone, where the greatest warriors assembled to kill each other, overlooking their relations.

But Arjun, played impressively by Bijaylaxmi Satpathy, is seen full of doubt undergoing an emotional ordeal of pointing his arrows against his teachers and the most respected relatives.

A calm Krishna, brilliantly portrayed by Rajashri Prahraj, guides his friend to answer the call of duty and set his arrow on Gaandiv, Arjun’s bow. Their conversation was also beautifully projected in dance without making it too tiring for the audience to lose attention. Rajashri’s variety in expressions and smoothness in shifting from one mood to another won the hearts of viewers.

Other artistes, including Manosmita, Arpita, Aishwarya, Sipra, Riyanka, Pragyan Paramita, Preetisha, Rinku and Sanjay, also performed well. From playing chariot and charioteer to transforming the conversation of Krishna and Arjun into dance, the co-ordination as well execution of the recital was quite striking. Pandit Bhubaneswar Mishra, Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi and Satyabrata Kath composed the music. The production, supported by the Union ministry of culture, was performed at the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival last year.

“The Bhagvad Gita is the ultimate philosophy and Srjan presented it with precision. The colossal vishwaroop that depicted the omnipotence of the divine soul is my favourite in this sequence,” said Smaranika Pati, a viewer.

The viewers congratulated choreographer Ratikant for such a vivid presentation. “This ancient epic has assumed a position of universal importance and interest. It is the gospel of truth giving us a clear philosophy of moral living,” said Ratikant.

An obeisance to the teachers, Guru Vandana, was also presented by another set of artistes of the city-based Srjan that was set up by Ratikant’s father, the legendary Odissi exponent Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.