Sankara had given a pledge to his mother that he would reach her in the last moments and perform the last rites for her. Being a pure and high-souled being, he was determined to keep his word. For the pure-hearted the plighted word is bound to be kept. Moreover, whatever they say will happen.

The Divine chooses the time and the situation for showering His grace and conveying His message. In the case of Arjuna, the Kurukshetra war was the right moment for Krishna to test Arjuna’s total faith in Krishna and his deservedness for receiving the message of theGita. (SSS Vol.29, p. 323)