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Chapter2: (SANKYA YOGAM)
Summary of Chapter 2 is in Gitaartha Sangraha (sloka6)
NITYA-ATMAA ASANGA KARMA-iHAA GOCHARAA SANKYA YOGADHEE : I
DWITHEE-YEH STHITADHEE LAKSHA PROKTHAA !TAN MOHA-SAANTHAYEH II
In the second chapter (Dwitee yeh), it was said (Proktaa) , to remove Arjuna's
agony (tan moha-saantayeh), two things (Gocharaah)
- Nitya Atmaa, Asanga Karmehaa - i.e Atma is eternal and body is temporary
& We should do our Karma unattached (Asanga Karmeha) to either
the results or the feeling of "ownership". Repeat:
Two "YOGAS" - Karma Yogam and Jnaana Yogam are mentioned here (we will hear this
two terms repeatedly going forward).
"Sankhya YogaDhee" - Sankya-Dee and Yoga-Dee . "Dee means Buddhi".
Sankhya - Buddhi ;
Jeevatma -is known as Sankhyam because it's perceived by Buddhi.
Sankhya-Dee :The Atma which is known/perceived by Buddhi.
Yoga-Dee: Yoga is KarmaYogam here;
Since this Chapter2 details the nature of indestructibility of Atma , it is known
as Sankya Yogam.
Sthita-Dee Laksha : Sthita Pragnya. Gnaana Nishtai (true Knowledge). What is the
point and benefit in knowing the nature of Atma?
We will get 'Gnaana-Nishtai" (ultimate knowledge). By knowing the Atma is Nityam
and Body is temporary and all Atma's are same, we will be blessed with true
and real knowledge. It will help us realize what is important and not.
Atma is nityam, knowing and realizing this eternal truth, if we do Karma Yoga, we
will achieve Atma-Saaksatkaram and Sthitadee-Laksha.
Now, we will get a question. In first chapter, Arjuna is refusing to fight and is
sad. So, what is the connection between Jnaana-yogam, Karma Yogam and
Arjuna's misery? Krishna is going to the root cause of Arjuna's moham(delusion),
hence is doing "Proktaa tan moha-saantayeh" (telling about the two
things to shed Arjuna's delusion).
In this chapter it is emphasized that the soul or Atman is everlasting or nithyam.
While body in which the soul is there is perishable, atman does not perish.
To realize this atman one requires wisdom or budhhi as the usual sensual organs
like eyes, ears, mouth, etc cannot perceive it. In Sanskrit sankya means wisdom
or budhhi and so the atman or soul is called Saankyam. This chapter, because it
details about the eternalness of atman, is called Saankya yoga and the previous
chapter was called Arjuna vishada yoga. By understanding the Atman�s permanency
and by performing one�s duty with detachment to the results one gets the
wisdom about the Atman or one gets Gyana. This is an important step. If one gets
proper perception of Atman, one will not be able to differentiate between
various persons as all differences such as old or young, male or female,short or
tall, literate or illiterate, rich or poor, etc. are related to body only.
Understanding
all souls or Atmas or equal is called Atman Saakshthkaram. This �seeing� or Atman
darisanam is very important in the next step of Gyana yoga. How the
baffled Arjuna is related to this realization of soul is all the second chapter.
Arjuna thinks that in the war he is going to kill his grand father and teacher and
others and Sri Krishna is going to tell how Arjuna cannot destroy the soul, by
diagnosing his problem in thinking, and suggesting proper remedy.Chapter2: (SANKYA YOGAM)
Summary of Chapter 2 is in Gitaartha Sangraha (sloka6)
NITYA-ATMAA ASANGA KARMA-iHAA GOCHARAA SANKYA YOGADHEE : I
DWITHEE-YEH STHITADHEE LAKSHA PROKTHAA !TAN MOHA-SAANTHAYEH II
In the second chapter (Dwitee yeh), it was said (Proktaa) , to remove Arjuna's
agony (tan moha-saantayeh), two things (Gocharaah)
- Nitya Atmaa, Asanga Karmehaa - i.e Atma is eternal and body is temporary
& We should do our Karma unattached (Asanga Karmeha) to either
the results or the feeling of "ownership". Repeat:
Two "YOGAS" - Karma Yogam and Jnaana Yogam are mentioned here (we will hear this
two terms repeatedly going forward).
"Sankhya YogaDhee" - Sankya-Dee and Yoga-Dee . "Dee means Buddhi".
Sankhya - Buddhi ;
Jeevatma -is known as Sankhyam because it's perceived by Buddhi.
Sankhya-Dee :The Atma which is known/perceived by Buddhi.
Yoga-Dee: Yoga is KarmaYogam here;
Since this Chapter2 details the nature of indestructibility of Atma , it is known
as Sankya Yogam.
Sthita-Dee Laksha : Sthita Pragnya. Gnaana Nishtai (true Knowledge). What is the
point and benefit in knowing the nature of Atma?
We will get 'Gnaana-Nishtai" (ultimate knowledge). By knowing the Atma is Nityam
and Body is temporary and all Atma's are same, we will be blessed with true
and real knowledge. It will help us realize what is important and not.
Atma is nityam, knowing and realizing this eternal truth, if we do Karma Yoga, we
will achieve Atma-Saaksatkaram and Sthitadee-Laksha.
Now, we will get a question. In first chapter, Arjuna is refusing to fight and is
sad. So, what is the connection between Jnaana-yogam, Karma Yogam and
Arjuna's misery? Krishna is going to the root cause of Arjuna's moham(delusion),
hence is doing "Proktaa tan moha-saantayeh" (telling about the two
things to shed Arjuna's delusion).
In this chapter it is emphasized that the soul or Atman is everlasting or nithyam.
While body in which the soul is there is perishable, atman does not perish.
To realize this atman one requires wisdom or budhhi as the usual sensual organs
like eyes, ears, mouth, etc cannot perceive it. In Sanskrit sankya means wisdom
or budhhi and so the atman or soul is called Saankyam. This chapter, because it
details about the eternalness of atman, is called Saankya yoga and the previous
chapter was called Arjuna vishada yoga. By understanding the Atman�s permanency
and by performing one�s duty with detachment to the results one gets the
wisdom about the Atman or one gets Gyana. This is an important step. If one gets
proper perception of Atman, one will not be able to differentiate between
various persons as all differences such as old or young, male or female,short or
tall, literate or illiterate, rich or poor, etc. are related to body only.
Understanding
all souls or Atmas or equal is called Atman Saakshthkaram. This �seeing� or Atman
darisanam is very important in the next step of Gyana yoga. How the
baffled Arjuna is related to this realization of soul is all the second chapter.
Arjuna thinks that in the war he is going to kill his grand father and teacher and
others and Sri Krishna is going to tell how Arjuna cannot destroy the soul, by
diagnosing his problem in thinking, and suggesting proper remedy.
2-1:
sanjaya uvaca
tam tatha kripaya-avistam asru-purna akule-iksanam
visidantam idam vakyam uvaca madhusudanah
This chapter starts with Sanjaya uvacha Sanjaya speaks. In the � last chapter when
the last 47th sloka also started with Sanjaya uvacha and again here also
same words. Why? Reason is it is the start of a new chapter and we should not
mistake this as again Sri Krishna or Arjuna is speaking; but Sanjaya is
continuing and so Sage Vyasa reminds that Sanjaya is speaking:
With Compassion, he was suffering (Kripaya avistam) and in tears(asru-purna) ,
akula (depressed) ,visidantam(lamenting) - To this suffering Arjuna,
Krishna (ala Madhusudanah) spoke as follows (in subsequent slokas).
One should be detached from everything i.e when one is separated from good things
etc, there should be no feeling of
dejection or sorrow. It should be considered as a "Iccha" of the Lord. So, being
overcome by compassion and that too for the
wrong reasons(i,e sympathy for wicked like Duryodhana etc) and wrong people was
wrong on the part of Arjuna.
Lord Madhusudhanah i.e Krishna is so called because he vaniqushed evil asuras
Madhu and Kaitabhara.
In us too, there are two asuras called Kaama and Krodha (attachment and Anger)
which are always alive and kicking and we
should surrender to the feet of the lord to vanquist these two deadly asuras
within us, just like Arjuna did.
In addition, we should shed two of the gunas (Rajas and Tamas) and develop within
us Sattva Gunam. THis is also referred
in the pasuram by Tirumangai Azhwar (Out of 3, shed 2 and develop 1). Incidentally
this series of pasurams is, where Azhwar
structures the pasurams in a Numeric progressive sequence.
Madhusoodana is used to denote Sri Krishna. Two demons Madhu and Kaitapa were
creating lots of hardships to all and they were killed by the Lord and got the
name Madhusoodana or Kaitapasoodana. The Lord has destroyed twins like Ravana-
Kumbakarna, Sisupala-Dhandhavaktra, Hiranya- Hiranyaksha, etc. Underlying these,it
is to be noted that the Lord is destroying someone also. They are Kama [the desire
after materials] and Krodha [the anger arising when the desire is not fulfilled].
It can also be Rajo guna [the mental state of anger and pride] or Thamo guna [the
mental state of ignorance or drowsy]. So Sri Krishna destroys these twin
evil qualities and so He is aptly addressed Madhusoodana. The three qualities,
which always are sticking to our character, are Satva, Rajo and Thamas behavior.
Satva quality induces clarity, enthusiasm and hard work. Rajo quality brings out
desire and the resultant anger and condemning others. Thamas quality gives raise
to drowsiness, sleepishness, ignorance and laziness. So it is necessary for us to
encourage Satva quality and destroy the other two evil qualities to maintain a
godly power in us. Sanjaya indicates this. Sri Krishna is going to destroy the
Rajo-Thamo qualities in Arjuna and cultivate the Satva quality in him. Thirumangai
Alwar in one of his six prabhandams [collections] viz Thiruezhukootrirukkai tells
this. This prabhandam is composed of numbers in ascending and descending order and
the lines are arranged like a chariot. He says that the two qualities are to be
cast aside and the one quality has to be nourished and maintained. So we should
avoid Rajo and Thamo qualities and cultivate Satva trait. Here Arjuna is described
as one obsessed by mercy or compassion. It is better for everyone to avoid being
obsessed by any quality good or bad. We should not cultivate, or attach ourselves
to, habits, which will make us addicts, or fanatic to them. Sri Krishna at the
time of His departure from this world told one of His ardent devotees, Uddhava,
that He was leaving for His eternal abode and Uddhava wondered how they could
remain without Him. Sri Krishna says that Uddhava should cast away his attachment
to Him and go to Gandhamana hills and do penance at Badarikashram. Uddhava
questions whether attachment to the Lord also should be stopped. Sri Krishna
replies that His advice should be adhered to without questioning.
After completing His exile to the forests Sri Rama returns to Ayodya and is
crowned the King. At that time He calls Lakshmana and tells him that He wants to
make him as His deputy [something akin to Prince of Wales or yuvaraj]. Lakshmana
flatly refuses and wants to remain as a servant to Sri Rama. Then Sri Rama called
Bharatha and told His intention to crown Bharatha as deputy. Bharatha said if that
was Sri Rama s order he would accept it. Now if we examine � the acts of both,
Lakshmana, though was having a noble trait, wanted to serve Sri Rama no matter
what Sri Rama wanted him to do. Whereas, Bharatha was totally detached and
considered to obey Sri Rama as the only objective. So one should obey the Lord and
not attach oneself to any other, however noble it is. That is why He is going to
correct Arjuna who is steadfast in having mercy at wrong circumstances, though
compassion is a noble trait. A surgeon cannot say that he is overcome by mercy and
so he will not operate on the patient. So it should be understood that it is wrong
to addict to be merciful.
2-2:
sri-bhagavan uvaca
kutas tva kasmalam idam visame samupasthitam
anarya-justam asvargyam akirti-karam arjuna
� Arjuna! How these inferior thoughts have grabbed you. They do not fit higher
[thinking] persons nor lead to higher worlds nor bring fame�.
This is a SUPER Slokam of exhortation , where the Lord chides Arjuna for running
away from his true calling as a warrior.
THis is also a exhortation for all of us, to crush any sort of dejection and face
life bravely and cheerfully with getting drenched
in sorrow or misery. What is the reason for being dejected or being overcome with
sorrows? It's only the mentally weak
without any Aryan traits(AnArya Justam-Un Aryan traits) and one which does not
lead to Glory (Akirti karam) or heaven (Asvargyam) indulge in such
behaviour. Nowadays, there is lot of talk about depression, medicines for it
etc.. THis slokam is the best anti-depressant which comes right from
the Lord! This is not told in a soft vien, but in a forceful manner by Krishna to
Arjuna, like a commander rallying his troops.
(Visame Sam-Upasthitam -> in this hour of crisis , Arjuna is indulging in
depression over things which don't deserve it.).
(Kutas tva - Where from? Krishna is asking Arjuna, "where from" he has got this
depression at this moment!)
We should always maintain a positive and cheerful spirit and never fall prey to
depression. Imagine the difficulties Rama faced. Despite, all of it,
Rama maintained a steady composure and faced everything bravely. It's a lesson to
us to not whine about difficulties or feel depressed about it.
We should confront it bravely and dedicate ourselves to the Lord.
2-3:
klaibyam ma sma gamah partha nah-etat-tvayy upa-padyate
ksudram hridaya-daurbalyam tyaktva-uttistha parantapa
"O son of Pritha! do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not becoming
of you. Give up such petty weakness at heart and getup, Oh! destroyer
of the enemy."
This is a continuation of the exhortation from Krishna to Arjuna to shed his
misplaced angst and mental weakness.
Life is a blessing of the lord. There are people who consider suicide in face of
troubles, but this are misplaced grievances
which overlook the truth of life. Life has to be lived as a blessing of the lord
and nothing should deter one. Suicides due to
loss in love, exams, job etc are shortsighted. It doesn't befit one. Krishna
exhorts Arjuna to rise. And this is also a message
to us to raise above our mental weakness. Arjuna is a great warrior and this
depression doesn't befit him (na upa-padyateh). We are normally familiar with
a person's attitude and outlook. If a person is always laughing and positive and
suddenly looks sad, it invokes questions from onlookers. Or if somebody always
looks sad and is suddenly all smiles, it will invoke the same question from
people. Similarly, Arjuna is a great warrior and this depression is befitting.
The "hridaya-daurbalyam" (weakness of hrdyam- heart etc) is ksudram(pathetic).
Thinking weakly, capitulating to difficulties, having sucidal tedencies etc should
all
be destroyed. And if fall into this pits of depression, the Lord himself throws a
rope to help us out from this pit. This sloka should be a reminder for us to face
life
with braveness and cheerfulness.
Sri Krishna calls Arjuna, Paranthapa or one who creates fear in his enemies�
hearts. When Arjuna is on the chariot and takes his bow the enemies will
shiver out of fear. Is that Arjuna, who has to lead the army is perturbed? Then
how can he lead the army to victory? People want protection of them by
Arjuna and if he falters and sits with tears in his eyes and mind shaken. then who
is going to protect them? Sri Krishna asks him to get up. Any person
mentally weak could be encouraged to his self by these 2nd and 3rd slokas of 2nd
chapter. God s advice rich in meaning has the � power to wake up
anyone from gloom and depression and make him cheerful. Elders� advice can dispel
darkness and gloom.
Arjuna was addressed as "the son of Prtha," who happened to be the sister of
Krsna's father Vasudeva. Therefore Arjuna had a blood relationship with
Krsna.
2-4:
arjuna uvaca
katham bhismam aham sankhye dronam ca madhusudana
isubhih pratiyots-yami puja-arhav ari-sudana
In the previous slokas, Krishna said that this attitude of Arjuna is not befitting
him, will not give him any repute or victory or glory and he needs to shed it.
But
depression is not like ordinary body pain, which can be cured with a balm etc.
It's something more deeper. So, Arjuna is still desolate and not convinced.
In ordinary life too, we see lot of depressed people- the school or college kids
commit suicide or go into depression due to scoring poorly in the exams, lovers
commit suicide due to loss of a their loved ones etc - these are all decisions
made out of depression and have no foundation.
Though Arjuna did not commit suicide, such dejection for the caliber of Arjuna is
equivalent to death. Out of mercy, Arjuna resorts to this decision to withdraw
from the war in spite of all encouragement from Sri Krishna. Now in the 4th
sloka he asks Sri Krishna:
Arjuna said: Oh! Killer of enemies! Oh! Killer of Madhu! How � can I attack with
arrows in battle Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?�
He says, in this war (Sankhye), how (katham) can face Bhishma and Drona , how can
i attack them with Arrows (isubhih pratiyotsyami), they who are worthy of my
worship.
He addresses Krishna as Madhusudhana and AriSudhana, deliberately.
An important point to be noted is that how we are to behave towards our teachers
or gurus. Bheeshma and Drona are teachers for Arjuna and he has to worship them;
but now he is
asked to aim missiles at them. This is something, which Arjuna can never think of.
Here he is indirectly indicting Sri Krishna by addressing Him as Ari soodana and
Madhu soodana.
Ari means enemy and He kills the enemies and Madhu. Whereas He never attempted to
kill His teacher Sandheepani,and He got fame by killing only enemies, how could he
want
Arjuna to become notorious by killing his teachers? Arjuna regards the teachers
much superior to the words of advice of Sri Krishna. Who is greater- the teacher
or God? This is a
delicate question. Gold is superior to silver and so normally we regard the person
who donates gold to us as greater than the one who donated silver. Why do we
regard teacher
as great? Because he is the one who guides us to open our inner eyes to see the
reality of God, the Supreme Being. So by earlier analogy teacher is greater for
having made
us to realize the most important in life. But it is God�s design that we reach a
suitable teacher. Therefore from one angle teacher is greater and from another
side God is greater.
That is why there is a saying that there is no god above teacher. Sri Madurakavi
Alwar also reflects this in his � kanninun chiruthambu�. He says � thevu
matrariyen kurugur nambi��
He regards Sri Nammalwar, his guru as god unto him. God may not forgive one for
the sins committed; but the teacher not only ignores one�s sins but also guides
one in the vision
of the Supreme Being. Upanishad says � regard mother as god, regard father as god,
regard teacher as god, regard guests as god.� This is the confusion Arjuna is
entangled
in- whether to regard the advice of the God and act or whether to worship his
teachers and abandon the war. Before enrolling as a student, he was a barren land
and only
afterwards the teacher has cultivated him to such skills and so Arjuna is
defiant.
Isn't Guru the greatest ? One's Guru is greater than God. So, how can one fight
or raise against one's own Guru ? This
is Arjuna's predicament. Guru and God are like Gold and silve. Gold is
greater/valuable than Silver , so we can consider Acharya is importan than God,
with this analogy.
But, look at it in a different way, the person who gifts Gold is greater than the
one who gives Silver, so the Lord who gifts us "gold-like" Acharya is important
than Acharya!.
If looked at either way, it seems puzzling on who is more important - one's
Acharya or God?? Remember, MadhuraKavi Azhwar who sang the glories of his
Acharya, Nammazhwar.
2-5:
gurun-ahatva hi mahaa-anubhaavaan
sreyo bhoktum ! bhaiksyam apiiha loke
hatva-artha-kamams-tu! gurun ihaiva
bhun-jiya bhogAn! rudhira-pradigdhan
In the last sloka Arjuna asked how he could afford to kill Bheeshma, Drona and
others. The word others include Kauravas viz Duryodana and � � his brothers. For
this Sri Krishna
is posing a question seemingly. If Arjuna runs away from the war, what will he do
for food and shelter? Will he live in forests? The twelve-year exile itself was
considered
by the Pandavas as a shame. Then how are they going to take this forest life if he
ran away from the war? Sri Krishna apparently asks this and so Arjuna�s reply is
accordingly in sloka 5: "Arjuna says it is better for him to beg and live rather
than killing great personalities like Bhishma and his guru Drona. If these
people are attached to luxuries and material opulence (referring to Duryodhan
etc), there is nothing wrong in it. So, why should he kill them. Isn't it better
to let them enjoy their luxury
rather than slaying them and ruling the land stained with their blood?"
In a way Arjuna is concerned with the hell that awaits him if he were to kill his
Teachers. He is also apprehensive that after killing all these people, living in
this world with bloodstains
will also be hell. So he fears hell before and after his death. Sri Krishna
logically rebuts this. If Arjuna left the battle without fighting it will be a
disgrace for a kshatriya [royal community]
and he will have to lead life by resorting to begging, as he will be deprived of
all property. Also, by abandoning his dharma of protection of his people and
gifting the kingdom to wicked
people will make him a great sinner and ensure hell after death. So Sri Krishna�s
rebuttal was either way hell only if Arjuna refused to fight.
By fighting and recapturing the kingdom he can lead a normal life in this world.
He need not consider this as enjoyment with blood stains as he is expected to do
his duty and
be a trusty for good administration and not for pleasure. This way because he
established the moral ethics of kshathriya in the war, he will be awarded heaven
after death. So
instead of Arjuna�s imagination as either way hell for him, Sri Krishna�s argument
is that by fighting it will be either way heaven for Arjuna.
Arjuna preferred begging to killing those noble teachers. Perhaps he was reminding
Sri Krishna that in one of His earlier Avatars or incarnations, He had also
begged. As Sri Vamana,
a young dwarf bachelor, He went to the Yagnashala or the sacred place, where
Emperor Bali was performing Yagna and begged for a small piece of land to be
measured by His tiny feet.
2-6:
na-cah-etad vidmah, kataran-no-gariyah! yad va jayemah! yadi-va-no jaye-yuhu!
yan-eva hatva, na jiji-visamah! teh-avasthitah pramukhe dhartarastrah
� [Uncertainity in the battle and so] whether winning or losing is better for us.
When not interested to live by killing these children of Dhridhrashtra, the same
persons are arrayed
against us�. Bhagavat Gita has a reputation that a recitation of a chapter or half
of it or a sloka in a chapter or half or even quarter of a sloka will accumulate
punya. This is to
emphasize that every word in this sacred text is rich and brimming with
significance."
Arjuna says he is torn between what to do (Kataran no gariyah?), he doesn't know
what to do (na-cah-etad-vidmah?). He is in Dharma-Sankatam - i.e choosing between
the two
dharmas - Being a Kshatriya and fighting or invoking sin of killing his
acharya. With this plaguing doubt, he says, even winning is not guaranteed in
this war (yad va jayemah! yadi
va no jaye yuhu!). And even if he is ready to fight, listening to Krishna, he
sees his gurus, relatives etc arrayed against him in the war, the very people whom
he does not want to kill!
Arjuna expresses his quandry here. Like all of us, he is caught in a dilemma of
what is right or wrong and what is better. With this quandry, he also has doubts
on his winning the
war. He doesn't wish to kill his guru and close relatives, but they are arrayed
against him in the war which he has to Win! Arjuna is thrown into despair. This
is akin to the
dilemma of a Father who wants to ensure his wayword Son reigns his habits to write
the exam, but if he physically assaults him to control, then the son ends up
not writing the exam due to being incapacitated.
2-7:
kaarpanya-dosoh-upahata-svabhavah , prcchami-tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah
yac sreyah-syan niscitam bruhi tan me! shishyas te ham � saadhi maam tvam
prapannam
�Taken over by the cowardice and losing my bravery, I ask you to tell me for
certain what is upright for me. I am your disciple surrendered unto you�
svabhavam ->Dairyam; Karpanya dosam -> Cowardice due to; tvam- You(kannan),
prchaami->asking, what is dharma, adharma-> dharam sammudaha
what is good for me -> Yac sreyah, tan meh bruhi -> please tell me; consider me
your sishya ->sishya te aham; i am taking refuge, surrending to you-> maam tvam
prapannam
saadhi- please instruct me.
A super sloka, where Arjuna helplessly falls at Krishna's feet seeking refuge and
begs him for guidance. This is a guide to all
of us to do the same! He entreats Krishna to guide him, considering him as his
disciple and not as some stranger, in case Krishna
has reservations on why he should guide anybody who is not his disciple or son.
This shows that Lord is the one who can clear our fears and doubts.
Azhwar sings, the Lotus blooms only by the rays of the sun and not by mere heat of
a fire and the waves come down to the shore, similarly the jeevatma's refuge
is the Lord.
From this it is clear that only the Supreme Being can remove a person�s perpetual
ignorance. This is what Alwar also declares in his hymns. Just as a river moves
toward a distant
ocean or jus as a lotus blossoms at the sight of a distant Sun, the wisdom of the
soul [jeevatma] will yearn for enlightenment from the Supreme Being [Paramatma].
So the Alwar
advises his mind to surrender unto the beloved of Mother Lakshmi, the dweller in
Lotus.
Unlike human nature to offer materials such as flowers or fruits to gain favours
from others, to get His grace all one needs is to surrender unto Him. While the
soul is groping in
darkness, He is shining with brilliance, the soul is slave and He is the Master
and with this attitude Arjuna falls at the feet of Sri Krishna.
He says he is suffering from karpanya dosha- a defect of a kripana. Sage
Yagnavalkya (instructing Gaargi) says the one who has not attained the knowledge
of the Supreme Being is
called a kripana. Ignorance of the knowledge of God or the relationship between
one s soul and Paramatma, will not make a person learned even � if he has acquired
thousands of various other subjects, says Swami Vedanta Desika. "Vidyaanan silpa
nai punyam".
Arjuna says he is affected by this karpanya dosha. Because of this he has lost his
courage. The Thaithriyopanishad says that as one approaches God, he gets courage
and one
who withdraws from Him loses courage. If we realize God in ourselves, we get
motivated to do things. On the other hand virakthi or nirvedam or frustration
leads to retardation.
Hanuman searched for Mother Sri Sita all over Lanka and when he was frustrated,
suddenly he remembered Sri Rama. Sri Rama gave Hanuman His Ring to be handed over
to Sri Sita and so, how can His words fail? So he got enthused and also removed
the feeling that he was searching Sri Sita and corrected that feeling by the
wisdom that Sri Sita
Herself will show up and successfully complete his mission. Immediately, Hanuman
spotted Sri Sita. One should dismiss the thought that one is doing but realize
that it is God
who gets actions done for that one. This does not mean that one should practice
idling or remain inactive; but take all out efforts with the realization that He
is the prime mover
behind one�s actions. This leads to humility. So now Arjuna surrenders to Sri
Krishna for remedy, like a person resorting to the family doctor who knows the
history of the patient
and so could suggest the right remedy. And who else is better equipped than Sri
Krishna, Who after all is Arjuna�s cousin and Who knows Arjuna too well?
Sometimes we also approach elders and seek their advice, but later act according
to our wishes. To dispel that thought in Sri Krishna, Arjuna says he is His sishya
or disciple and so will obey and act according to His guidance.
This also shows how something like mental weakness and worry can cripple even a
great warrior like Arjuna into confusion and sorrow.
2-8:
na hi prapasyami mama-apanudyat yac chokam ucchosanam indriyaanam
avapya bhumav asapatnam rddham, rajyam suranam api cadhipatyam
"I can find no means to drive away this grief which is burning up my senses. I
will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on
earth with sovereignty or
one like in heaven."
Na hi prapasyami -> I cannot find ; Ya Sokham ucchosanam indriyanam -> The
grief which is burning my senses and causing me sadness
avapya bhumav asapatnam rddham -> even if i win prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on
earth
rajyam suranam api ca adhipatyam -> or soverignity like in heaven.
In case Krishna is thinking - What, if there is some grief? Grief is just
temporary and one typically gets over it in no time.
So, if Arjuna is feeling grieved over the prospect of bloodshed, he should surely
get over it , once he gets to rule a prosperous
empire and enjoy all the luxuries? In response to this, Arjuna says -
unrivalled soveregnity etc is not going to overcome his grief, because this will
constantly remind him of the bloodshed he had to do to gain it. ARjuna is a
learned person too, but is not able to overcome
his grief. THis shows two things - even all the learning in the world will not
help, if one doesn't truly understand the meaning
of the scriptures and practices it. For eg: Narada is a learned scholar in all
branches of Vedic knowledge but was driven to
grief and Saunaka muni points out that he needs to inculcate the vedic meanings
truly (it's a pointer to us). Similarly, Rama
whom nothing could defeat, was drowned in misery with separation of Sita, due to
grief. So, grief can torment a living soul and
is more dangerous than the crematory fire which just burns a corpse.
Arjuna sees his beloved ones like Bheeshma and Drona on the enemy camp ready to
fight and this sight dries his sensual organs like eyes and tongue. He is engulfed
in anguish and
finds no cure. Our forefathers convey us a great lesson here. One hears the words
chithai [pyre] and chinthanai [brooding]. Chithai or a pyre is used in the
cremation grounds for
burning dead bodies. Whereas, chinthanai or brooding will burn out a living
person. Here brooding burns Arjuna. Once sage Narada met sage Sanatkumara and
requested him that
though Narada had mastered all available literature but wanted Sanatkumara to
preach him that which will dispel his anguish and sorrow. In reply Sanatkumara
asked Narada to first
tell what all he knew. Narada started telling his knowledge in the Vedas,
Upanishads, all types of Shastras, etc. Sanatkumara said that Narada had studied
all and there was nothing,
which could be preached to Narada. This gave the hint to Narada, that he had
merely studied all these without practicing or understanding the inner
significance of these literatures.
Worry lines appear on the forehead. But a person who has understood the God will
have no such lines on the forehead. Thus Sanatkumara dispelled Narada�s worries.
So one should
never get worried. Hanuman, when dispatched for searching Sri Sita was wondering
why Sri Rama was so worried at the loss of a mere wife. Being a bachelor, Hanuman
might not
have understood the role of a wife. But the same Hanuman, when saw Sri Sita, then
wondered how Sri Rama was still alive after losing such a noble and righteous
wife. Here, Valmiki
the author of Srimad Ramayana, observes that no enemy on earth could ever kill
Sri Rama and only worry had the power. Arjuna, therefore feels thoroughly
handicapped by his
worries, and seeks help from Sri Krishna. It was opined by Sri Krishna that no
distress is there which remains forever. Even death of a dear one is forgotten
after a few days or when
a happier incident is encountered. So if Arjuna got back his kingdom, this grief
of killing the relatives will vanish. But Arjuna says that all the so called
happiness one may get by
acquiring a kingdom, like music, dance, food, etc., will remind him these sins he
is to commit and make him miserable. Perhaps a small kingdom, or one with enemies
around
or one that is stuck by poverty and famine may cause worries for the rulers. So
Arjuna qualifies that even if the entire world was reigned, with no enemies and
totally prosperous,
will never clear him of his grief. Further, he says that even if he gains the
control of the heavenly kingdom, he is unable to find the way to dispel his grief.
2-9:
sanjaya uvaca
evam uktva hrishikesham gudakeshah parantapah
na yotsya iti govindam uktva tusnim babhuva ha
evam uktva -> all that Arjuna said in the previous slokas:
Arjuna has told his reasoning for not fighting. All the relatives, friends and
teachers have assembled and he could not fight with them. Killing relatives and
annihilating a dynasty or
family is a sin, which will lead to eradication of kula dharma and so take him to
hell. Enjoyment cannot be with blood stained hands. Even if the enemy camp was
ready,
killing near ones is sin. The very sight of these people ready to fight dries up
his senses. Even if a prosperous, entire world or heaven is offered to rule,
Arjuna can never think
of fighting. Having given out his mind so elaborately, Arjuna takes asylum at Sri
Krishna and stops talking with a final say that he will not fight. Sanjaya, who is
narrating alive the
happenings on the battlefield to King Dhridharashtra, exclaims with the word �ha�.
Because he is surprised that a great warrior Arjuna is declaring he will not
fight.
"na yotsya" -> I will not fight, said Arjuna.
tusnim babhuva-> Arjuna became silent. He has said all that he can and doesn't
have anything more to say.
ha -> what a surprise! (that Arjuna became silent in the thick of battlefield).
Sanjaya refers to Arjuna as Gudakesa or the one who has conquered sleep and
laziness, the hallmarks of Tamas quality. Arjuna is not tired or feeling weak to
fight. Nor is he cowardly
and afraid to fight.That is why the word paranthapa or the one who burns the
enemies is used by Sanjaya.But out of shear sympathy for those arrayed against, he
is refusing to fight.
In the last sloka Arjuna tells Sri Krishna, that his sensual organs are all dried
up at the sight of his loved ones in the opposite camp. So, significantly, Sanjaya
denotes Sri Krishna with
the epithet Hrishikesa or the Conqueror of the organs [both sensual and active].
We have to understand that God is the prime mover behind all the organs
functioning in our body.
Arjuna tells Sri Krishna that he is not going to fight. He addresses Him as
Govinda. This word implies three meanings. Sri Andal in her Thiruppavai repeats
this name of the Lord
in the 27th [koodarai vellum], 28th [karavaigal pinsenru] and 29th [chitran
chirukalai] pasurams. Govinda means Protector of cows. It also means protector of
the earth. And, it
can also mean protector of souls. In this temple the Lord is called Bha[k]tharavi
Perumal, which means He is the Aavi or Soul of the devotees. It seems the Lord
prefers cow
herding to being the Leader of all the gods or residing in Sri Vaikuntam. Sri
Andal says karavaigal pin senru, which is going behind the cows. The cows do not
say to Sri Krishna,
Who is following them, not to come behind them. In fact, He is in every soul and
follows as the inner conscience and directs. But if we say to Him that He need not
follow
and we will go our own way, He lets us go and we get entangled into all types of
situations. On the other hand, if we allow Him to follow us or direct us, we are
assured
of proper destiny. So here Arjuna calls Him Govinda and wants Him to direct in
the right path.
This slokam is a summary from Sanjaya of the previous verses of Arjuna: Sanjaya
says that having said all the above, Arjuna concluded that "I shall NOT fight" to
Krishna.
In this sloka, Arjuna is referred to as "GudaKesah", "Paramtapah" - which are
salutary terms signifying a person who is an accomplished warrior and master of
curbing
ignorance ie one not given to laziness or lack of will. THis shows that Arjuna
is not shirking from war, because of laziness or skill, but due to mental sorrow
and confusion.
On the same note, Krishna is referred to as Hrishikesa and Govinda in this sloka.
Hrishikesa is the master of senses and since the senses are crippling Arjuna, who
better than
their Master to tame them and set Arjuna in the right path? Govinda is the one
who herds cows, ruler of the earth and one who stays true to his word. All this
three are apt in this
case, because Arjuna is asking the Lord who is so merciful to herd cows etc to
guide him too; one who is sovereign ruler of the earth, his duty is to guide him
too
in this war and one who stays and mesmerises others with his words should guide
him (which Krishna does through his Gitaupadesam). A guru is not only one who is
a gnaani,
but can guide his devotees by articulating the right path and mesmerizes with
right words.
2-10:
Sanjaya continues:
tam uvaca hrishikeshah prahasann iva bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye visidantam idam vacah
Oh! Bhaaratha [Dhridharashtra] standing in between the two � armies, Hrishikesa
[Sri Krishna] with a smile spoke these words to the grieved [Arjuna]�
In response to Arjuna's request, Krishna responded with a Smile and started
speaking. Lord's reason to smile are multifold here. One is, he knows all that
will occur in the future
and is smiling; Next is, he has guided Arjuna and the Pandavas throughout in
preparation for the war and is now again at the primary center.
The smile has several interpretations. Firstly, it is a sarcastic one at the
behavior of Arjuna. The war is about to begin at any moment and both sides have
blown their conches as a
mark of their readiness to start the fight. At that time Arjuna tells he is
heartbroken to fight. Though he wants to avoid war out of sympathy for his kith
and kin, the world will think that he
is withdrawing out of fear. He is also exhibiting his contradictory actions. When
Draupathi was humiliated in the assembly hall, Arjuna burst like a volcano to kill
the Kauravas and now
he says he is feeling compassion. Next, the smile on Sri Krishna�s face also could
mean the lecture He is going to deliver. If a lecturer wants proper attendance
from the listeners, he
has to put up a welcome face. The great Acharya Sri Parasara Bhattar, seeing the
twin dimples on the Sri Namperumal idol, used to say that He appeared as though to
say something.
Next, the smile also signifies the toy Arjuna in the hands of Sri Krishna. Before
the war commenced, Sri Krishna was sent as an emissary to explore the possibility
of stopping the war.
Then He was requested to participate in the war as Arjuna s � chariot driver. Now
Arjuna is at His feet requesting for advice. Also Sanjaya is narrating the
incident and hints to
Dhridharashtra that the smile is actually a deception to the disaster that awaited
the Kuru dynasty. The smile could also mean the great philosophy to be delivered
to the World at
large and using Arjuna as a ploy. He is smiling because through the forthcoming
words so many ideas like way of life etc. are going to be told. This Sri Krishna
is trying to tell with
a body language, which Arjuna was fortunate to witness.
2-11:
sri-bhagavan uvaca
asocyan anvasocas tvam prajna-vadams ca bhasase
gatasun agatasums ca nanusocanti panditah
� Bhagavan [Sri Krishna] said [to Arjuna]: you speak like a learned and at the
same time your words show ignorance�
tvam -> you; asocyan -> that which is not worthy of lamentation; anvasocas ->
you are lamenting ; Prajna vadams ca bhasase -> you speak like a learned
one(prajna vadams)
panditah -> those who have discriminating sense , deha-atma viveka jnaanam who can
differentiate between body and soul. ; nanu-anusocanti -> do not lament
gatasun -> body (which is temporary) agatasun -> soul ; asu->pranam;
gata-"asun" -> whose pranam goes away i.e bodies agata-sun->whose pranam does
not go away(soul).
Krishna says that Arjuna's lamentations in the previous verses display somebody
who speaks like a learned person but is truly lamenting like a fool. Who is
considered learned?
A panditah? One who knows and understands that body and soul are not the same
and acts accordingly is the truly learned one in this world. And not the material
experts or
people who know the sciences and other aspects of material universe. In some of
the earlier verses, Arjuna seems to recognize this difference. For instance, when
he says
that killing all the kaurvas would leave nobody to offer oblations to the
forefathers seems to point that he knows the concept of soul. But at the same
time in the next few verses
he laments that killing Drona, Bhismha etc is a sin, forgetting that in the War,
it's his Dharma to fight irrespective of the opponents and that ultimately he is
killing their bodies
but not their souls. It is very important to note that, this shouldn't be
miscontrued as an excuse to kill anybody. Arjuna's situation was that he was in
the War fighting a battle to save
his land from the wicked and that was his Kshatriya Dharma which Krishna was
teaching. But, in normal situations, we don't have right to kill anybody. So,
in this verse, Krishna says the learned pandits who know the difference between
body and soul do not grieve at any stage of life. But, Arjuna who seems to speak
like a learned person is lamenting for something which not worthy of it. What
is Body? What is soul? How can we say it is distinct? For eg: in our daily
reference, we say this is my feet, my tongue,
my car, my house etc.. It implies the feet, tongue, car, house etc are separate
from "I". The "I" is what we refer to as SOUL, which lives forever and is
distinct from the Body. The soul has a atomic form as per puranas.
Sri Krishna refers to Pundit, which means learned. It is not mere worldly
knowledge, but the person possessing the knowledge about body and soul is referred
to as pundit He is also
called a vedanhi. Like a pundit, Arjuna appears to know the difference between
soul [atman] and body [sareeram]. But he also says words, which show that he
thinks both atman and
sareeram are same. Asu means prana or imperishable. Gathasu means perishable or
without asu or only body without soul. Agathasu is opposite of gathasu or with asu
or prana,
which means the body with soul. Pundits know about the destroyable and the
indestroyable.
All slokas upto this point (from 1.1 to 2.11) are prelude to the actual Bhagavad
Gita.
a) Consider all slokas so far (Chapter1 and chapter2 till 11): Preceding slokas
are related to Arjuna's lamentation
and ignorance. Next set of slokas starting with this one is Lord's response
clearing Arjuna's doubts.
a1) Arjuna exhibited his misunderstanding of soul and body and thought that he
is destroying Bheeshma and Drona. In Sanskrit language one word can give several
meanings and
several words can mean same thing; but they have to be judiciously used. Sareeram
and Deham refer to body but have different connotations. We see a person after,
say, 10 years
and that person has become thinner and weak. So we enquire why his body has become
weak and thin. Here, as per the dhathu or root, to indicate diminishing nature we
have to use
the word sareeram. On the other hand, suppose we see a person looking fatter or
bigger than what we saw him some years back, we express that the body has grown.
Here, it is apt
to use the word Deham which indicates growth. But in both cases the soul or atman
remains in tact. So change is the nature of body and anything that changes is not
permanent.
Thus the body is destroyable whereas the soul never changes and so is
indestructible.
b) Body goes thru 6 changes:
Shad bhavam vikaram - Asti, Jayate(born), Parinamate(change),
Vivarte(grow), Apakshiyateh(decay) Vinashyati
Atma(Soul) doesn't go thru any changes. Anything which does not go through
changes, is eternal and soul is the only such entity.
c) Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Grandfather -> A man can go through all this
roles in his life demonstrating material
relations in world, which can go thru changes. But, once self is always
constant like the Soul and is never changing.
d) What is body made of?? - PanchaBhootam - Prithvi(Earth), Ap(Water),
Tejas(Fire), Vayu(WInd), Akasam(Ether).
When this five materials are joined together, they will never survive for
long. Eg: Take Salt, Flour, Water. When
they are separate, they can survive for long, but when joined together as
upma, their shelf life becomes shortened.
What is Soul made off? - It is JnaanaSwaropam, full of knowledge. It is
eternal and never changing. Soul resides
within our hearts in the shape of lotus(?).
e) Who experiences joy and sorrow? - Body and Soul?
- Soul is full of knowledge , but the karmas cover it's knowledge. It's
just like clouds of karma covering the Sun's shine. That's why everybody has
different levels of
knowledge.
-Body is material and has NO knowledge.
- Soul resides in the Body. It's knowledge is spread throughout the
body, even though it's not seen and is tiny.
eg. Soul is like SIM card in Mobile phone ;-). Without Soul, the
body is dead.
- Even though soul is tiny, it is "dharma-bhoota gnaanam" i.e it's
knowledge is like the rays of the lamp which even though in a single place,
lights the whole place.
(eg: Tirumaalai of Thondarpodi azhwar. "Maram suvar madil edutu...",
where he says Body is like a pot full of holes.
If we list the properties of the soul, we can say it understands, it is
minute, it is intelligent, it has no organs and enjoys [or suffers] the effect of
karma. Body, on the other hand, is
having the opposite properties. It does not understand, it is big, it is
dumb, it has organs and it does not realize the effects of karma.
So bottomline, which we need to be always aware of is, the body and soul are
NOT the same. Body is perishable, subject to shad-bhava vikaram , made of pancha
bhootam.
Whereas Soul is unchanging and eternal and it's inherent nature is knowledge.
Each of us are jeevatmas and are souls, with a temporary body. (Note: Numerous
souls and
Jeevatma is different from Paramatma). Unfortunately, most of us suffer from
"deha-atma abhimaanam" (mistaking body and soul as one). Arjuna also suffers
from this same
delusion and that's why Krishna is telling Arjuna that he is speaking like an
ignoramus.
Summary of Chapter 2 is in Gitaartha Sangraha (sloka6)
NITYA-ATMAA ASANGA KARMA-iHAA GOCHARAA SANKYA YOGADHEE : I
DWITHEE-YEH STHITADHEE LAKSHA PROKTHAA !TAN MOHA-SAANTHAYEH II
In the second chapter (Dwitee yeh), it was said (Proktaa) , to remove Arjuna's
agony (tan moha-saantayeh), two things (Gocharaah)
- Nitya Atmaa, Asanga Karmehaa - i.e Atma is eternal and body is temporary
& We should do our Karma unattached (Asanga Karmeha) to either
the results or the feeling of "ownership". Repeat:
Two "YOGAS" - Karma Yogam and Jnaana Yogam are mentioned here (we will hear this
two terms repeatedly going forward).
"Sankhya YogaDhee" - Sankya-Dee and Yoga-Dee . "Dee means Buddhi".
Sankhya - Buddhi ;
Jeevatma -is known as Sankhyam because it's perceived by Buddhi.
Sankhya-Dee :The Atma which is known/perceived by Buddhi.
Yoga-Dee: Yoga is KarmaYogam here;
Since this Chapter2 details the nature of indestructibility of Atma , it is known
as Sankya Yogam.
Sthita-Dee Laksha : Sthita Pragnya. Gnaana Nishtai (true Knowledge). What is the
point and benefit in knowing the nature of Atma?
We will get 'Gnaana-Nishtai" (ultimate knowledge). By knowing the Atma is Nityam
and Body is temporary and all Atma's are same, we will be blessed with true
and real knowledge. It will help us realize what is important and not.
Atma is nityam, knowing and realizing this eternal truth, if we do Karma Yoga, we
will achieve Atma-Saaksatkaram and Sthitadee-Laksha.
Now, we will get a question. In first chapter, Arjuna is refusing to fight and is
sad. So, what is the connection between Jnaana-yogam, Karma Yogam and
Arjuna's misery? Krishna is going to the root cause of Arjuna's moham(delusion),
hence is doing "Proktaa tan moha-saantayeh" (telling about the two
things to shed Arjuna's delusion).
In this chapter it is emphasized that the soul or Atman is everlasting or nithyam.
While body in which the soul is there is perishable, atman does not perish.
To realize this atman one requires wisdom or budhhi as the usual sensual organs
like eyes, ears, mouth, etc cannot perceive it. In Sanskrit sankya means wisdom
or budhhi and so the atman or soul is called Saankyam. This chapter, because it
details about the eternalness of atman, is called Saankya yoga and the previous
chapter was called Arjuna vishada yoga. By understanding the Atman�s permanency
and by performing one�s duty with detachment to the results one gets the
wisdom about the Atman or one gets Gyana. This is an important step. If one gets
proper perception of Atman, one will not be able to differentiate between
various persons as all differences such as old or young, male or female,short or
tall, literate or illiterate, rich or poor, etc. are related to body only.
Understanding
all souls or Atmas or equal is called Atman Saakshthkaram. This �seeing� or Atman
darisanam is very important in the next step of Gyana yoga. How the
baffled Arjuna is related to this realization of soul is all the second chapter.
Arjuna thinks that in the war he is going to kill his grand father and teacher and
others and Sri Krishna is going to tell how Arjuna cannot destroy the soul, by
diagnosing his problem in thinking, and suggesting proper remedy.Chapter2: (SANKYA YOGAM)
Summary of Chapter 2 is in Gitaartha Sangraha (sloka6)
NITYA-ATMAA ASANGA KARMA-iHAA GOCHARAA SANKYA YOGADHEE : I
DWITHEE-YEH STHITADHEE LAKSHA PROKTHAA !TAN MOHA-SAANTHAYEH II
In the second chapter (Dwitee yeh), it was said (Proktaa) , to remove Arjuna's
agony (tan moha-saantayeh), two things (Gocharaah)
- Nitya Atmaa, Asanga Karmehaa - i.e Atma is eternal and body is temporary
& We should do our Karma unattached (Asanga Karmeha) to either
the results or the feeling of "ownership". Repeat:
Two "YOGAS" - Karma Yogam and Jnaana Yogam are mentioned here (we will hear this
two terms repeatedly going forward).
"Sankhya YogaDhee" - Sankya-Dee and Yoga-Dee . "Dee means Buddhi".
Sankhya - Buddhi ;
Jeevatma -is known as Sankhyam because it's perceived by Buddhi.
Sankhya-Dee :The Atma which is known/perceived by Buddhi.
Yoga-Dee: Yoga is KarmaYogam here;
Since this Chapter2 details the nature of indestructibility of Atma , it is known
as Sankya Yogam.
Sthita-Dee Laksha : Sthita Pragnya. Gnaana Nishtai (true Knowledge). What is the
point and benefit in knowing the nature of Atma?
We will get 'Gnaana-Nishtai" (ultimate knowledge). By knowing the Atma is Nityam
and Body is temporary and all Atma's are same, we will be blessed with true
and real knowledge. It will help us realize what is important and not.
Atma is nityam, knowing and realizing this eternal truth, if we do Karma Yoga, we
will achieve Atma-Saaksatkaram and Sthitadee-Laksha.
Now, we will get a question. In first chapter, Arjuna is refusing to fight and is
sad. So, what is the connection between Jnaana-yogam, Karma Yogam and
Arjuna's misery? Krishna is going to the root cause of Arjuna's moham(delusion),
hence is doing "Proktaa tan moha-saantayeh" (telling about the two
things to shed Arjuna's delusion).
In this chapter it is emphasized that the soul or Atman is everlasting or nithyam.
While body in which the soul is there is perishable, atman does not perish.
To realize this atman one requires wisdom or budhhi as the usual sensual organs
like eyes, ears, mouth, etc cannot perceive it. In Sanskrit sankya means wisdom
or budhhi and so the atman or soul is called Saankyam. This chapter, because it
details about the eternalness of atman, is called Saankya yoga and the previous
chapter was called Arjuna vishada yoga. By understanding the Atman�s permanency
and by performing one�s duty with detachment to the results one gets the
wisdom about the Atman or one gets Gyana. This is an important step. If one gets
proper perception of Atman, one will not be able to differentiate between
various persons as all differences such as old or young, male or female,short or
tall, literate or illiterate, rich or poor, etc. are related to body only.
Understanding
all souls or Atmas or equal is called Atman Saakshthkaram. This �seeing� or Atman
darisanam is very important in the next step of Gyana yoga. How the
baffled Arjuna is related to this realization of soul is all the second chapter.
Arjuna thinks that in the war he is going to kill his grand father and teacher and
others and Sri Krishna is going to tell how Arjuna cannot destroy the soul, by
diagnosing his problem in thinking, and suggesting proper remedy.
2-1:
sanjaya uvaca
tam tatha kripaya-avistam asru-purna akule-iksanam
visidantam idam vakyam uvaca madhusudanah
This chapter starts with Sanjaya uvacha Sanjaya speaks. In the � last chapter when
the last 47th sloka also started with Sanjaya uvacha and again here also
same words. Why? Reason is it is the start of a new chapter and we should not
mistake this as again Sri Krishna or Arjuna is speaking; but Sanjaya is
continuing and so Sage Vyasa reminds that Sanjaya is speaking:
With Compassion, he was suffering (Kripaya avistam) and in tears(asru-purna) ,
akula (depressed) ,visidantam(lamenting) - To this suffering Arjuna,
Krishna (ala Madhusudanah) spoke as follows (in subsequent slokas).
One should be detached from everything i.e when one is separated from good things
etc, there should be no feeling of
dejection or sorrow. It should be considered as a "Iccha" of the Lord. So, being
overcome by compassion and that too for the
wrong reasons(i,e sympathy for wicked like Duryodhana etc) and wrong people was
wrong on the part of Arjuna.
Lord Madhusudhanah i.e Krishna is so called because he vaniqushed evil asuras
Madhu and Kaitabhara.
In us too, there are two asuras called Kaama and Krodha (attachment and Anger)
which are always alive and kicking and we
should surrender to the feet of the lord to vanquist these two deadly asuras
within us, just like Arjuna did.
In addition, we should shed two of the gunas (Rajas and Tamas) and develop within
us Sattva Gunam. THis is also referred
in the pasuram by Tirumangai Azhwar (Out of 3, shed 2 and develop 1). Incidentally
this series of pasurams is, where Azhwar
structures the pasurams in a Numeric progressive sequence.
Madhusoodana is used to denote Sri Krishna. Two demons Madhu and Kaitapa were
creating lots of hardships to all and they were killed by the Lord and got the
name Madhusoodana or Kaitapasoodana. The Lord has destroyed twins like Ravana-
Kumbakarna, Sisupala-Dhandhavaktra, Hiranya- Hiranyaksha, etc. Underlying these,it
is to be noted that the Lord is destroying someone also. They are Kama [the desire
after materials] and Krodha [the anger arising when the desire is not fulfilled].
It can also be Rajo guna [the mental state of anger and pride] or Thamo guna [the
mental state of ignorance or drowsy]. So Sri Krishna destroys these twin
evil qualities and so He is aptly addressed Madhusoodana. The three qualities,
which always are sticking to our character, are Satva, Rajo and Thamas behavior.
Satva quality induces clarity, enthusiasm and hard work. Rajo quality brings out
desire and the resultant anger and condemning others. Thamas quality gives raise
to drowsiness, sleepishness, ignorance and laziness. So it is necessary for us to
encourage Satva quality and destroy the other two evil qualities to maintain a
godly power in us. Sanjaya indicates this. Sri Krishna is going to destroy the
Rajo-Thamo qualities in Arjuna and cultivate the Satva quality in him. Thirumangai
Alwar in one of his six prabhandams [collections] viz Thiruezhukootrirukkai tells
this. This prabhandam is composed of numbers in ascending and descending order and
the lines are arranged like a chariot. He says that the two qualities are to be
cast aside and the one quality has to be nourished and maintained. So we should
avoid Rajo and Thamo qualities and cultivate Satva trait. Here Arjuna is described
as one obsessed by mercy or compassion. It is better for everyone to avoid being
obsessed by any quality good or bad. We should not cultivate, or attach ourselves
to, habits, which will make us addicts, or fanatic to them. Sri Krishna at the
time of His departure from this world told one of His ardent devotees, Uddhava,
that He was leaving for His eternal abode and Uddhava wondered how they could
remain without Him. Sri Krishna says that Uddhava should cast away his attachment
to Him and go to Gandhamana hills and do penance at Badarikashram. Uddhava
questions whether attachment to the Lord also should be stopped. Sri Krishna
replies that His advice should be adhered to without questioning.
After completing His exile to the forests Sri Rama returns to Ayodya and is
crowned the King. At that time He calls Lakshmana and tells him that He wants to
make him as His deputy [something akin to Prince of Wales or yuvaraj]. Lakshmana
flatly refuses and wants to remain as a servant to Sri Rama. Then Sri Rama called
Bharatha and told His intention to crown Bharatha as deputy. Bharatha said if that
was Sri Rama s order he would accept it. Now if we examine � the acts of both,
Lakshmana, though was having a noble trait, wanted to serve Sri Rama no matter
what Sri Rama wanted him to do. Whereas, Bharatha was totally detached and
considered to obey Sri Rama as the only objective. So one should obey the Lord and
not attach oneself to any other, however noble it is. That is why He is going to
correct Arjuna who is steadfast in having mercy at wrong circumstances, though
compassion is a noble trait. A surgeon cannot say that he is overcome by mercy and
so he will not operate on the patient. So it should be understood that it is wrong
to addict to be merciful.
2-2:
sri-bhagavan uvaca
kutas tva kasmalam idam visame samupasthitam
anarya-justam asvargyam akirti-karam arjuna
� Arjuna! How these inferior thoughts have grabbed you. They do not fit higher
[thinking] persons nor lead to higher worlds nor bring fame�.
This is a SUPER Slokam of exhortation , where the Lord chides Arjuna for running
away from his true calling as a warrior.
THis is also a exhortation for all of us, to crush any sort of dejection and face
life bravely and cheerfully with getting drenched
in sorrow or misery. What is the reason for being dejected or being overcome with
sorrows? It's only the mentally weak
without any Aryan traits(AnArya Justam-Un Aryan traits) and one which does not
lead to Glory (Akirti karam) or heaven (Asvargyam) indulge in such
behaviour. Nowadays, there is lot of talk about depression, medicines for it
etc.. THis slokam is the best anti-depressant which comes right from
the Lord! This is not told in a soft vien, but in a forceful manner by Krishna to
Arjuna, like a commander rallying his troops.
(Visame Sam-Upasthitam -> in this hour of crisis , Arjuna is indulging in
depression over things which don't deserve it.).
(Kutas tva - Where from? Krishna is asking Arjuna, "where from" he has got this
depression at this moment!)
We should always maintain a positive and cheerful spirit and never fall prey to
depression. Imagine the difficulties Rama faced. Despite, all of it,
Rama maintained a steady composure and faced everything bravely. It's a lesson to
us to not whine about difficulties or feel depressed about it.
We should confront it bravely and dedicate ourselves to the Lord.
2-3:
klaibyam ma sma gamah partha nah-etat-tvayy upa-padyate
ksudram hridaya-daurbalyam tyaktva-uttistha parantapa
"O son of Pritha! do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not becoming
of you. Give up such petty weakness at heart and getup, Oh! destroyer
of the enemy."
This is a continuation of the exhortation from Krishna to Arjuna to shed his
misplaced angst and mental weakness.
Life is a blessing of the lord. There are people who consider suicide in face of
troubles, but this are misplaced grievances
which overlook the truth of life. Life has to be lived as a blessing of the lord
and nothing should deter one. Suicides due to
loss in love, exams, job etc are shortsighted. It doesn't befit one. Krishna
exhorts Arjuna to rise. And this is also a message
to us to raise above our mental weakness. Arjuna is a great warrior and this
depression doesn't befit him (na upa-padyateh). We are normally familiar with
a person's attitude and outlook. If a person is always laughing and positive and
suddenly looks sad, it invokes questions from onlookers. Or if somebody always
looks sad and is suddenly all smiles, it will invoke the same question from
people. Similarly, Arjuna is a great warrior and this depression is befitting.
The "hridaya-daurbalyam" (weakness of hrdyam- heart etc) is ksudram(pathetic).
Thinking weakly, capitulating to difficulties, having sucidal tedencies etc should
all
be destroyed. And if fall into this pits of depression, the Lord himself throws a
rope to help us out from this pit. This sloka should be a reminder for us to face
life
with braveness and cheerfulness.
Sri Krishna calls Arjuna, Paranthapa or one who creates fear in his enemies�
hearts. When Arjuna is on the chariot and takes his bow the enemies will
shiver out of fear. Is that Arjuna, who has to lead the army is perturbed? Then
how can he lead the army to victory? People want protection of them by
Arjuna and if he falters and sits with tears in his eyes and mind shaken. then who
is going to protect them? Sri Krishna asks him to get up. Any person
mentally weak could be encouraged to his self by these 2nd and 3rd slokas of 2nd
chapter. God s advice rich in meaning has the � power to wake up
anyone from gloom and depression and make him cheerful. Elders� advice can dispel
darkness and gloom.
Arjuna was addressed as "the son of Prtha," who happened to be the sister of
Krsna's father Vasudeva. Therefore Arjuna had a blood relationship with
Krsna.
2-4:
arjuna uvaca
katham bhismam aham sankhye dronam ca madhusudana
isubhih pratiyots-yami puja-arhav ari-sudana
In the previous slokas, Krishna said that this attitude of Arjuna is not befitting
him, will not give him any repute or victory or glory and he needs to shed it.
But
depression is not like ordinary body pain, which can be cured with a balm etc.
It's something more deeper. So, Arjuna is still desolate and not convinced.
In ordinary life too, we see lot of depressed people- the school or college kids
commit suicide or go into depression due to scoring poorly in the exams, lovers
commit suicide due to loss of a their loved ones etc - these are all decisions
made out of depression and have no foundation.
Though Arjuna did not commit suicide, such dejection for the caliber of Arjuna is
equivalent to death. Out of mercy, Arjuna resorts to this decision to withdraw
from the war in spite of all encouragement from Sri Krishna. Now in the 4th
sloka he asks Sri Krishna:
Arjuna said: Oh! Killer of enemies! Oh! Killer of Madhu! How � can I attack with
arrows in battle Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?�
He says, in this war (Sankhye), how (katham) can face Bhishma and Drona , how can
i attack them with Arrows (isubhih pratiyotsyami), they who are worthy of my
worship.
He addresses Krishna as Madhusudhana and AriSudhana, deliberately.
An important point to be noted is that how we are to behave towards our teachers
or gurus. Bheeshma and Drona are teachers for Arjuna and he has to worship them;
but now he is
asked to aim missiles at them. This is something, which Arjuna can never think of.
Here he is indirectly indicting Sri Krishna by addressing Him as Ari soodana and
Madhu soodana.
Ari means enemy and He kills the enemies and Madhu. Whereas He never attempted to
kill His teacher Sandheepani,and He got fame by killing only enemies, how could he
want
Arjuna to become notorious by killing his teachers? Arjuna regards the teachers
much superior to the words of advice of Sri Krishna. Who is greater- the teacher
or God? This is a
delicate question. Gold is superior to silver and so normally we regard the person
who donates gold to us as greater than the one who donated silver. Why do we
regard teacher
as great? Because he is the one who guides us to open our inner eyes to see the
reality of God, the Supreme Being. So by earlier analogy teacher is greater for
having made
us to realize the most important in life. But it is God�s design that we reach a
suitable teacher. Therefore from one angle teacher is greater and from another
side God is greater.
That is why there is a saying that there is no god above teacher. Sri Madurakavi
Alwar also reflects this in his � kanninun chiruthambu�. He says � thevu
matrariyen kurugur nambi��
He regards Sri Nammalwar, his guru as god unto him. God may not forgive one for
the sins committed; but the teacher not only ignores one�s sins but also guides
one in the vision
of the Supreme Being. Upanishad says � regard mother as god, regard father as god,
regard teacher as god, regard guests as god.� This is the confusion Arjuna is
entangled
in- whether to regard the advice of the God and act or whether to worship his
teachers and abandon the war. Before enrolling as a student, he was a barren land
and only
afterwards the teacher has cultivated him to such skills and so Arjuna is
defiant.
Isn't Guru the greatest ? One's Guru is greater than God. So, how can one fight
or raise against one's own Guru ? This
is Arjuna's predicament. Guru and God are like Gold and silve. Gold is
greater/valuable than Silver , so we can consider Acharya is importan than God,
with this analogy.
But, look at it in a different way, the person who gifts Gold is greater than the
one who gives Silver, so the Lord who gifts us "gold-like" Acharya is important
than Acharya!.
If looked at either way, it seems puzzling on who is more important - one's
Acharya or God?? Remember, MadhuraKavi Azhwar who sang the glories of his
Acharya, Nammazhwar.
2-5:
gurun-ahatva hi mahaa-anubhaavaan
sreyo bhoktum ! bhaiksyam apiiha loke
hatva-artha-kamams-tu! gurun ihaiva
bhun-jiya bhogAn! rudhira-pradigdhan
In the last sloka Arjuna asked how he could afford to kill Bheeshma, Drona and
others. The word others include Kauravas viz Duryodana and � � his brothers. For
this Sri Krishna
is posing a question seemingly. If Arjuna runs away from the war, what will he do
for food and shelter? Will he live in forests? The twelve-year exile itself was
considered
by the Pandavas as a shame. Then how are they going to take this forest life if he
ran away from the war? Sri Krishna apparently asks this and so Arjuna�s reply is
accordingly in sloka 5: "Arjuna says it is better for him to beg and live rather
than killing great personalities like Bhishma and his guru Drona. If these
people are attached to luxuries and material opulence (referring to Duryodhan
etc), there is nothing wrong in it. So, why should he kill them. Isn't it better
to let them enjoy their luxury
rather than slaying them and ruling the land stained with their blood?"
In a way Arjuna is concerned with the hell that awaits him if he were to kill his
Teachers. He is also apprehensive that after killing all these people, living in
this world with bloodstains
will also be hell. So he fears hell before and after his death. Sri Krishna
logically rebuts this. If Arjuna left the battle without fighting it will be a
disgrace for a kshatriya [royal community]
and he will have to lead life by resorting to begging, as he will be deprived of
all property. Also, by abandoning his dharma of protection of his people and
gifting the kingdom to wicked
people will make him a great sinner and ensure hell after death. So Sri Krishna�s
rebuttal was either way hell only if Arjuna refused to fight.
By fighting and recapturing the kingdom he can lead a normal life in this world.
He need not consider this as enjoyment with blood stains as he is expected to do
his duty and
be a trusty for good administration and not for pleasure. This way because he
established the moral ethics of kshathriya in the war, he will be awarded heaven
after death. So
instead of Arjuna�s imagination as either way hell for him, Sri Krishna�s argument
is that by fighting it will be either way heaven for Arjuna.
Arjuna preferred begging to killing those noble teachers. Perhaps he was reminding
Sri Krishna that in one of His earlier Avatars or incarnations, He had also
begged. As Sri Vamana,
a young dwarf bachelor, He went to the Yagnashala or the sacred place, where
Emperor Bali was performing Yagna and begged for a small piece of land to be
measured by His tiny feet.
2-6:
na-cah-etad vidmah, kataran-no-gariyah! yad va jayemah! yadi-va-no jaye-yuhu!
yan-eva hatva, na jiji-visamah! teh-avasthitah pramukhe dhartarastrah
� [Uncertainity in the battle and so] whether winning or losing is better for us.
When not interested to live by killing these children of Dhridhrashtra, the same
persons are arrayed
against us�. Bhagavat Gita has a reputation that a recitation of a chapter or half
of it or a sloka in a chapter or half or even quarter of a sloka will accumulate
punya. This is to
emphasize that every word in this sacred text is rich and brimming with
significance."
Arjuna says he is torn between what to do (Kataran no gariyah?), he doesn't know
what to do (na-cah-etad-vidmah?). He is in Dharma-Sankatam - i.e choosing between
the two
dharmas - Being a Kshatriya and fighting or invoking sin of killing his
acharya. With this plaguing doubt, he says, even winning is not guaranteed in
this war (yad va jayemah! yadi
va no jaye yuhu!). And even if he is ready to fight, listening to Krishna, he
sees his gurus, relatives etc arrayed against him in the war, the very people whom
he does not want to kill!
Arjuna expresses his quandry here. Like all of us, he is caught in a dilemma of
what is right or wrong and what is better. With this quandry, he also has doubts
on his winning the
war. He doesn't wish to kill his guru and close relatives, but they are arrayed
against him in the war which he has to Win! Arjuna is thrown into despair. This
is akin to the
dilemma of a Father who wants to ensure his wayword Son reigns his habits to write
the exam, but if he physically assaults him to control, then the son ends up
not writing the exam due to being incapacitated.
2-7:
kaarpanya-dosoh-upahata-svabhavah , prcchami-tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah
yac sreyah-syan niscitam bruhi tan me! shishyas te ham � saadhi maam tvam
prapannam
�Taken over by the cowardice and losing my bravery, I ask you to tell me for
certain what is upright for me. I am your disciple surrendered unto you�
svabhavam ->Dairyam; Karpanya dosam -> Cowardice due to; tvam- You(kannan),
prchaami->asking, what is dharma, adharma-> dharam sammudaha
what is good for me -> Yac sreyah, tan meh bruhi -> please tell me; consider me
your sishya ->sishya te aham; i am taking refuge, surrending to you-> maam tvam
prapannam
saadhi- please instruct me.
A super sloka, where Arjuna helplessly falls at Krishna's feet seeking refuge and
begs him for guidance. This is a guide to all
of us to do the same! He entreats Krishna to guide him, considering him as his
disciple and not as some stranger, in case Krishna
has reservations on why he should guide anybody who is not his disciple or son.
This shows that Lord is the one who can clear our fears and doubts.
Azhwar sings, the Lotus blooms only by the rays of the sun and not by mere heat of
a fire and the waves come down to the shore, similarly the jeevatma's refuge
is the Lord.
From this it is clear that only the Supreme Being can remove a person�s perpetual
ignorance. This is what Alwar also declares in his hymns. Just as a river moves
toward a distant
ocean or jus as a lotus blossoms at the sight of a distant Sun, the wisdom of the
soul [jeevatma] will yearn for enlightenment from the Supreme Being [Paramatma].
So the Alwar
advises his mind to surrender unto the beloved of Mother Lakshmi, the dweller in
Lotus.
Unlike human nature to offer materials such as flowers or fruits to gain favours
from others, to get His grace all one needs is to surrender unto Him. While the
soul is groping in
darkness, He is shining with brilliance, the soul is slave and He is the Master
and with this attitude Arjuna falls at the feet of Sri Krishna.
He says he is suffering from karpanya dosha- a defect of a kripana. Sage
Yagnavalkya (instructing Gaargi) says the one who has not attained the knowledge
of the Supreme Being is
called a kripana. Ignorance of the knowledge of God or the relationship between
one s soul and Paramatma, will not make a person learned even � if he has acquired
thousands of various other subjects, says Swami Vedanta Desika. "Vidyaanan silpa
nai punyam".
Arjuna says he is affected by this karpanya dosha. Because of this he has lost his
courage. The Thaithriyopanishad says that as one approaches God, he gets courage
and one
who withdraws from Him loses courage. If we realize God in ourselves, we get
motivated to do things. On the other hand virakthi or nirvedam or frustration
leads to retardation.
Hanuman searched for Mother Sri Sita all over Lanka and when he was frustrated,
suddenly he remembered Sri Rama. Sri Rama gave Hanuman His Ring to be handed over
to Sri Sita and so, how can His words fail? So he got enthused and also removed
the feeling that he was searching Sri Sita and corrected that feeling by the
wisdom that Sri Sita
Herself will show up and successfully complete his mission. Immediately, Hanuman
spotted Sri Sita. One should dismiss the thought that one is doing but realize
that it is God
who gets actions done for that one. This does not mean that one should practice
idling or remain inactive; but take all out efforts with the realization that He
is the prime mover
behind one�s actions. This leads to humility. So now Arjuna surrenders to Sri
Krishna for remedy, like a person resorting to the family doctor who knows the
history of the patient
and so could suggest the right remedy. And who else is better equipped than Sri
Krishna, Who after all is Arjuna�s cousin and Who knows Arjuna too well?
Sometimes we also approach elders and seek their advice, but later act according
to our wishes. To dispel that thought in Sri Krishna, Arjuna says he is His sishya
or disciple and so will obey and act according to His guidance.
This also shows how something like mental weakness and worry can cripple even a
great warrior like Arjuna into confusion and sorrow.
2-8:
na hi prapasyami mama-apanudyat yac chokam ucchosanam indriyaanam
avapya bhumav asapatnam rddham, rajyam suranam api cadhipatyam
"I can find no means to drive away this grief which is burning up my senses. I
will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on
earth with sovereignty or
one like in heaven."
Na hi prapasyami -> I cannot find ; Ya Sokham ucchosanam indriyanam -> The
grief which is burning my senses and causing me sadness
avapya bhumav asapatnam rddham -> even if i win prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on
earth
rajyam suranam api ca adhipatyam -> or soverignity like in heaven.
In case Krishna is thinking - What, if there is some grief? Grief is just
temporary and one typically gets over it in no time.
So, if Arjuna is feeling grieved over the prospect of bloodshed, he should surely
get over it , once he gets to rule a prosperous
empire and enjoy all the luxuries? In response to this, Arjuna says -
unrivalled soveregnity etc is not going to overcome his grief, because this will
constantly remind him of the bloodshed he had to do to gain it. ARjuna is a
learned person too, but is not able to overcome
his grief. THis shows two things - even all the learning in the world will not
help, if one doesn't truly understand the meaning
of the scriptures and practices it. For eg: Narada is a learned scholar in all
branches of Vedic knowledge but was driven to
grief and Saunaka muni points out that he needs to inculcate the vedic meanings
truly (it's a pointer to us). Similarly, Rama
whom nothing could defeat, was drowned in misery with separation of Sita, due to
grief. So, grief can torment a living soul and
is more dangerous than the crematory fire which just burns a corpse.
Arjuna sees his beloved ones like Bheeshma and Drona on the enemy camp ready to
fight and this sight dries his sensual organs like eyes and tongue. He is engulfed
in anguish and
finds no cure. Our forefathers convey us a great lesson here. One hears the words
chithai [pyre] and chinthanai [brooding]. Chithai or a pyre is used in the
cremation grounds for
burning dead bodies. Whereas, chinthanai or brooding will burn out a living
person. Here brooding burns Arjuna. Once sage Narada met sage Sanatkumara and
requested him that
though Narada had mastered all available literature but wanted Sanatkumara to
preach him that which will dispel his anguish and sorrow. In reply Sanatkumara
asked Narada to first
tell what all he knew. Narada started telling his knowledge in the Vedas,
Upanishads, all types of Shastras, etc. Sanatkumara said that Narada had studied
all and there was nothing,
which could be preached to Narada. This gave the hint to Narada, that he had
merely studied all these without practicing or understanding the inner
significance of these literatures.
Worry lines appear on the forehead. But a person who has understood the God will
have no such lines on the forehead. Thus Sanatkumara dispelled Narada�s worries.
So one should
never get worried. Hanuman, when dispatched for searching Sri Sita was wondering
why Sri Rama was so worried at the loss of a mere wife. Being a bachelor, Hanuman
might not
have understood the role of a wife. But the same Hanuman, when saw Sri Sita, then
wondered how Sri Rama was still alive after losing such a noble and righteous
wife. Here, Valmiki
the author of Srimad Ramayana, observes that no enemy on earth could ever kill
Sri Rama and only worry had the power. Arjuna, therefore feels thoroughly
handicapped by his
worries, and seeks help from Sri Krishna. It was opined by Sri Krishna that no
distress is there which remains forever. Even death of a dear one is forgotten
after a few days or when
a happier incident is encountered. So if Arjuna got back his kingdom, this grief
of killing the relatives will vanish. But Arjuna says that all the so called
happiness one may get by
acquiring a kingdom, like music, dance, food, etc., will remind him these sins he
is to commit and make him miserable. Perhaps a small kingdom, or one with enemies
around
or one that is stuck by poverty and famine may cause worries for the rulers. So
Arjuna qualifies that even if the entire world was reigned, with no enemies and
totally prosperous,
will never clear him of his grief. Further, he says that even if he gains the
control of the heavenly kingdom, he is unable to find the way to dispel his grief.
2-9:
sanjaya uvaca
evam uktva hrishikesham gudakeshah parantapah
na yotsya iti govindam uktva tusnim babhuva ha
evam uktva -> all that Arjuna said in the previous slokas:
Arjuna has told his reasoning for not fighting. All the relatives, friends and
teachers have assembled and he could not fight with them. Killing relatives and
annihilating a dynasty or
family is a sin, which will lead to eradication of kula dharma and so take him to
hell. Enjoyment cannot be with blood stained hands. Even if the enemy camp was
ready,
killing near ones is sin. The very sight of these people ready to fight dries up
his senses. Even if a prosperous, entire world or heaven is offered to rule,
Arjuna can never think
of fighting. Having given out his mind so elaborately, Arjuna takes asylum at Sri
Krishna and stops talking with a final say that he will not fight. Sanjaya, who is
narrating alive the
happenings on the battlefield to King Dhridharashtra, exclaims with the word �ha�.
Because he is surprised that a great warrior Arjuna is declaring he will not
fight.
"na yotsya" -> I will not fight, said Arjuna.
tusnim babhuva-> Arjuna became silent. He has said all that he can and doesn't
have anything more to say.
ha -> what a surprise! (that Arjuna became silent in the thick of battlefield).
Sanjaya refers to Arjuna as Gudakesa or the one who has conquered sleep and
laziness, the hallmarks of Tamas quality. Arjuna is not tired or feeling weak to
fight. Nor is he cowardly
and afraid to fight.That is why the word paranthapa or the one who burns the
enemies is used by Sanjaya.But out of shear sympathy for those arrayed against, he
is refusing to fight.
In the last sloka Arjuna tells Sri Krishna, that his sensual organs are all dried
up at the sight of his loved ones in the opposite camp. So, significantly, Sanjaya
denotes Sri Krishna with
the epithet Hrishikesa or the Conqueror of the organs [both sensual and active].
We have to understand that God is the prime mover behind all the organs
functioning in our body.
Arjuna tells Sri Krishna that he is not going to fight. He addresses Him as
Govinda. This word implies three meanings. Sri Andal in her Thiruppavai repeats
this name of the Lord
in the 27th [koodarai vellum], 28th [karavaigal pinsenru] and 29th [chitran
chirukalai] pasurams. Govinda means Protector of cows. It also means protector of
the earth. And, it
can also mean protector of souls. In this temple the Lord is called Bha[k]tharavi
Perumal, which means He is the Aavi or Soul of the devotees. It seems the Lord
prefers cow
herding to being the Leader of all the gods or residing in Sri Vaikuntam. Sri
Andal says karavaigal pin senru, which is going behind the cows. The cows do not
say to Sri Krishna,
Who is following them, not to come behind them. In fact, He is in every soul and
follows as the inner conscience and directs. But if we say to Him that He need not
follow
and we will go our own way, He lets us go and we get entangled into all types of
situations. On the other hand, if we allow Him to follow us or direct us, we are
assured
of proper destiny. So here Arjuna calls Him Govinda and wants Him to direct in
the right path.
This slokam is a summary from Sanjaya of the previous verses of Arjuna: Sanjaya
says that having said all the above, Arjuna concluded that "I shall NOT fight" to
Krishna.
In this sloka, Arjuna is referred to as "GudaKesah", "Paramtapah" - which are
salutary terms signifying a person who is an accomplished warrior and master of
curbing
ignorance ie one not given to laziness or lack of will. THis shows that Arjuna
is not shirking from war, because of laziness or skill, but due to mental sorrow
and confusion.
On the same note, Krishna is referred to as Hrishikesa and Govinda in this sloka.
Hrishikesa is the master of senses and since the senses are crippling Arjuna, who
better than
their Master to tame them and set Arjuna in the right path? Govinda is the one
who herds cows, ruler of the earth and one who stays true to his word. All this
three are apt in this
case, because Arjuna is asking the Lord who is so merciful to herd cows etc to
guide him too; one who is sovereign ruler of the earth, his duty is to guide him
too
in this war and one who stays and mesmerises others with his words should guide
him (which Krishna does through his Gitaupadesam). A guru is not only one who is
a gnaani,
but can guide his devotees by articulating the right path and mesmerizes with
right words.
2-10:
Sanjaya continues:
tam uvaca hrishikeshah prahasann iva bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye visidantam idam vacah
Oh! Bhaaratha [Dhridharashtra] standing in between the two � armies, Hrishikesa
[Sri Krishna] with a smile spoke these words to the grieved [Arjuna]�
In response to Arjuna's request, Krishna responded with a Smile and started
speaking. Lord's reason to smile are multifold here. One is, he knows all that
will occur in the future
and is smiling; Next is, he has guided Arjuna and the Pandavas throughout in
preparation for the war and is now again at the primary center.
The smile has several interpretations. Firstly, it is a sarcastic one at the
behavior of Arjuna. The war is about to begin at any moment and both sides have
blown their conches as a
mark of their readiness to start the fight. At that time Arjuna tells he is
heartbroken to fight. Though he wants to avoid war out of sympathy for his kith
and kin, the world will think that he
is withdrawing out of fear. He is also exhibiting his contradictory actions. When
Draupathi was humiliated in the assembly hall, Arjuna burst like a volcano to kill
the Kauravas and now
he says he is feeling compassion. Next, the smile on Sri Krishna�s face also could
mean the lecture He is going to deliver. If a lecturer wants proper attendance
from the listeners, he
has to put up a welcome face. The great Acharya Sri Parasara Bhattar, seeing the
twin dimples on the Sri Namperumal idol, used to say that He appeared as though to
say something.
Next, the smile also signifies the toy Arjuna in the hands of Sri Krishna. Before
the war commenced, Sri Krishna was sent as an emissary to explore the possibility
of stopping the war.
Then He was requested to participate in the war as Arjuna s � chariot driver. Now
Arjuna is at His feet requesting for advice. Also Sanjaya is narrating the
incident and hints to
Dhridharashtra that the smile is actually a deception to the disaster that awaited
the Kuru dynasty. The smile could also mean the great philosophy to be delivered
to the World at
large and using Arjuna as a ploy. He is smiling because through the forthcoming
words so many ideas like way of life etc. are going to be told. This Sri Krishna
is trying to tell with
a body language, which Arjuna was fortunate to witness.
2-11:
sri-bhagavan uvaca
asocyan anvasocas tvam prajna-vadams ca bhasase
gatasun agatasums ca nanusocanti panditah
� Bhagavan [Sri Krishna] said [to Arjuna]: you speak like a learned and at the
same time your words show ignorance�
tvam -> you; asocyan -> that which is not worthy of lamentation; anvasocas ->
you are lamenting ; Prajna vadams ca bhasase -> you speak like a learned
one(prajna vadams)
panditah -> those who have discriminating sense , deha-atma viveka jnaanam who can
differentiate between body and soul. ; nanu-anusocanti -> do not lament
gatasun -> body (which is temporary) agatasun -> soul ; asu->pranam;
gata-"asun" -> whose pranam goes away i.e bodies agata-sun->whose pranam does
not go away(soul).
Krishna says that Arjuna's lamentations in the previous verses display somebody
who speaks like a learned person but is truly lamenting like a fool. Who is
considered learned?
A panditah? One who knows and understands that body and soul are not the same
and acts accordingly is the truly learned one in this world. And not the material
experts or
people who know the sciences and other aspects of material universe. In some of
the earlier verses, Arjuna seems to recognize this difference. For instance, when
he says
that killing all the kaurvas would leave nobody to offer oblations to the
forefathers seems to point that he knows the concept of soul. But at the same
time in the next few verses
he laments that killing Drona, Bhismha etc is a sin, forgetting that in the War,
it's his Dharma to fight irrespective of the opponents and that ultimately he is
killing their bodies
but not their souls. It is very important to note that, this shouldn't be
miscontrued as an excuse to kill anybody. Arjuna's situation was that he was in
the War fighting a battle to save
his land from the wicked and that was his Kshatriya Dharma which Krishna was
teaching. But, in normal situations, we don't have right to kill anybody. So,
in this verse, Krishna says the learned pandits who know the difference between
body and soul do not grieve at any stage of life. But, Arjuna who seems to speak
like a learned person is lamenting for something which not worthy of it. What
is Body? What is soul? How can we say it is distinct? For eg: in our daily
reference, we say this is my feet, my tongue,
my car, my house etc.. It implies the feet, tongue, car, house etc are separate
from "I". The "I" is what we refer to as SOUL, which lives forever and is
distinct from the Body. The soul has a atomic form as per puranas.
Sri Krishna refers to Pundit, which means learned. It is not mere worldly
knowledge, but the person possessing the knowledge about body and soul is referred
to as pundit He is also
called a vedanhi. Like a pundit, Arjuna appears to know the difference between
soul [atman] and body [sareeram]. But he also says words, which show that he
thinks both atman and
sareeram are same. Asu means prana or imperishable. Gathasu means perishable or
without asu or only body without soul. Agathasu is opposite of gathasu or with asu
or prana,
which means the body with soul. Pundits know about the destroyable and the
indestroyable.
All slokas upto this point (from 1.1 to 2.11) are prelude to the actual Bhagavad
Gita.
a) Consider all slokas so far (Chapter1 and chapter2 till 11): Preceding slokas
are related to Arjuna's lamentation
and ignorance. Next set of slokas starting with this one is Lord's response
clearing Arjuna's doubts.
a1) Arjuna exhibited his misunderstanding of soul and body and thought that he
is destroying Bheeshma and Drona. In Sanskrit language one word can give several
meanings and
several words can mean same thing; but they have to be judiciously used. Sareeram
and Deham refer to body but have different connotations. We see a person after,
say, 10 years
and that person has become thinner and weak. So we enquire why his body has become
weak and thin. Here, as per the dhathu or root, to indicate diminishing nature we
have to use
the word sareeram. On the other hand, suppose we see a person looking fatter or
bigger than what we saw him some years back, we express that the body has grown.
Here, it is apt
to use the word Deham which indicates growth. But in both cases the soul or atman
remains in tact. So change is the nature of body and anything that changes is not
permanent.
Thus the body is destroyable whereas the soul never changes and so is
indestructible.
b) Body goes thru 6 changes:
Shad bhavam vikaram - Asti, Jayate(born), Parinamate(change),
Vivarte(grow), Apakshiyateh(decay) Vinashyati
Atma(Soul) doesn't go thru any changes. Anything which does not go through
changes, is eternal and soul is the only such entity.
c) Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Grandfather -> A man can go through all this
roles in his life demonstrating material
relations in world, which can go thru changes. But, once self is always
constant like the Soul and is never changing.
d) What is body made of?? - PanchaBhootam - Prithvi(Earth), Ap(Water),
Tejas(Fire), Vayu(WInd), Akasam(Ether).
When this five materials are joined together, they will never survive for
long. Eg: Take Salt, Flour, Water. When
they are separate, they can survive for long, but when joined together as
upma, their shelf life becomes shortened.
What is Soul made off? - It is JnaanaSwaropam, full of knowledge. It is
eternal and never changing. Soul resides
within our hearts in the shape of lotus(?).
e) Who experiences joy and sorrow? - Body and Soul?
- Soul is full of knowledge , but the karmas cover it's knowledge. It's
just like clouds of karma covering the Sun's shine. That's why everybody has
different levels of
knowledge.
-Body is material and has NO knowledge.
- Soul resides in the Body. It's knowledge is spread throughout the
body, even though it's not seen and is tiny.
eg. Soul is like SIM card in Mobile phone ;-). Without Soul, the
body is dead.
- Even though soul is tiny, it is "dharma-bhoota gnaanam" i.e it's
knowledge is like the rays of the lamp which even though in a single place,
lights the whole place.
(eg: Tirumaalai of Thondarpodi azhwar. "Maram suvar madil edutu...",
where he says Body is like a pot full of holes.
If we list the properties of the soul, we can say it understands, it is
minute, it is intelligent, it has no organs and enjoys [or suffers] the effect of
karma. Body, on the other hand, is
having the opposite properties. It does not understand, it is big, it is
dumb, it has organs and it does not realize the effects of karma.
So bottomline, which we need to be always aware of is, the body and soul are
NOT the same. Body is perishable, subject to shad-bhava vikaram , made of pancha
bhootam.
Whereas Soul is unchanging and eternal and it's inherent nature is knowledge.
Each of us are jeevatmas and are souls, with a temporary body. (Note: Numerous
souls and
Jeevatma is different from Paramatma). Unfortunately, most of us suffer from
"deha-atma abhimaanam" (mistaking body and soul as one). Arjuna also suffers
from this same
delusion and that's why Krishna is telling Arjuna that he is speaking like an
ignoramus.