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02ChapterBG Highlighted numbered Text and
Commentary by Dr. Radhakrishnan Sanskrit Text, Transliteration and
Word Translation by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj CHAPTER II Sāṁkhya Theory and Yoga Practice Kṛṣṇa's rebuke and exhortation to be
brave |
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सञ्जय
उवाच |
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तं तथा
कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम्
। |
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विषीदन्तमिदं
वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः
॥२- १॥ |
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sañjaya uvāca: taṁ
tathā kṛpayā 'viṣṭam aśrupūrṇākulekṣaṇam |
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sañjaya uvāca: tam1
tathā2 kṛpayā3 āviṣṭam4
aśrupūrṇa5 ākula6 ikṣaṇam7 |
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sañjaya uvāca = Sanjaya
said: madhusūdanaḥ12 =
O Madhusudana or the slayer of demon Madhu. uvāca11
= said; idam9 = these; vākyam10 = words; tam1 = to Arjuna [seeing]; tathā2 = thus; kṛpayā3 āviṣṭam4
= overcome by pity or compassion;
ākula6 =
confused; viṣīdantam8
= with grief or distress; [and] aśrupūrṇa5
= tearful; ikṣaṇam7 =
eyes. 2.1 |
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Saṁjaya
said: (2.1)
To him (who was) thus overcome by pity, whose eyes
were filled with tears and troubled and (who was) much depressed
in mind, Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa) spoke
this word. The pity of Arjuna has nothing in common
with Divine compassion. It is a form of self-indulgence, a shrinking of the nerves from an act which requires
him to hurt his own
people. Arjuna
recoils from his task in a mood of sentimental self-pity and his teacher
rebukes him. That the Kauravas were his kinsmen he had known before. |
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श्रीभगवानुवाच |
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कुतस्त्वा
कश्मलमिदं विषमे
समुपस्थितम्
। |
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अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन
॥२- २॥ |
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śrībhagavān
uvāca: kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame
samupasthitam |
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śrībhagavān
uvāca: kutaḥ1 tvā2
kaśmalam3 idam4 viṣame5
samupasthitam6 |
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śrībhagavān uvāca = Sri
Bhagavan said; arjuna11 = O
Arjuna; kutaḥ1 =
Wherefrom; idam4 = this; kaśmalam3 = Impurity; samupasthitam6 = came; tvā2 = to you; viṣame5 = at this hour of crisis;
[which is] anārya-juṣṭam7
= Unāryan practice; [which] asvargyam8
= does not yield heaven; [which] akīrti9
karam10 = confers infamy. 2.2. |
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The
Blessed Lord said: (2.2)
Whence has come to thee this stain (this
dejection) of spirit in this hour of crisis? It is unknown to men of noble
mind (not cherished by
the Aryans); it
does not lead to heaven; (on earth)
it causes disgrace, O Arjuna. anārya-juṣṭam7: un-Aryan. The Aryans, it is contended by some, are those who accept a particular
type of inward culture
and social practice, which insists on courage and
courtesy, nobility and straight dealing. In his attempt to release Arjuna
from his doubts, Kṛṣṇa refers to the doctrine of the
indestructibility of the self, appeals to his sense of honor and martial
traditions, reveals to him God's purpose and points out how action is to be
undertaken in the world. |
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क्लैब्यं
मा स्म गमः पार्थ
नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते
। |
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क्षुद्रं
हृदयदौर्बल्यं
त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ
परन्तप ॥२- ३॥ |
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klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ
pārtha nai 'tat tvayy upapadyate |
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klaibyam1
mā2 sma3 gamaḥ4 pārtha5
na6 etat7 tvayi8 upapadyate9 |
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pārtha5 = O Partha
(Arjuna); mā2 sma3 gamaḥ4
= do not yield to; klaibyam1 =
unmaniliness; etat7 = this is; na6 =
not; upapadyate9 = becoming;
tvayi8 = of you; [It
is] kṣudram10 = base;
[and] hṛdayadaurbalyam11 = weakness of the heart; parantapa14
= O Scorcher of foes; tyaktvā12
= give up; uttiṣṭha13
= rise. |
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(2.3) Yield not to this
unmanliness, O
Pārtha
(Arjuna) for
it does not become thee. Cast
off this
petty
faintheartedness and arise, O
Oppressor
of the
foes
(Arjuna). |
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अर्जुन
उवाच |
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कथं भीष्ममहं
संख्ये द्रोणं
च मधुसूदन । |
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इषुभिः
प्रति योत्स्यामि
पूजार्हावरिसूदन
॥२- ४॥ |
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arjuna uvāca: kathaṁ
bhīṣmam ahaṁ sāṁkhye droṇaṁ ca
madhusūdana |
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arjunaḥ
uvāca: katham1 bhīṣmam2
aham3 sāṁkhye4 droṇam5 ca6
madhusūdana7 |
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arjunaḥ uvāca = Arjuna
said; madhusūdana7 = O Slayer
of demon Madhu; katham1 =
how [could]; aham3 = I; [fight] bhīṣmam2 = with Bhisma; ca6 = and; droṇam5
= with Drona; sāṁkhye4 =
in combat; iṣubhiḥ8 =
with arrows; [who are] pūjā-arhāu10
= worthy of worship; [and] pratiyotsyāmi9
= deliver counterattack; arisūdana11
= O destroyer of enemies (Krishna). 2.4 |
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Arjuna said: (2.4) How shall
I strike
Bhīṣma
and
Droṇa
who are worthy of worship,
O Madhusūdana
(Kṛṣṇa),
with
arrows in battle" O
Slayer
of foes (Kṛṣṇa.)? |
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गुरूनहत्वा
हि महानुभावान्
श्रेयो भोक्तुं
भैक्ष्यमपीह
लोके । |
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हत्वार्थकामांस्तु
गुरूनिहैव भुञ्जीय
भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान्
॥२- ५॥ |
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gurūn ahatvā hi
mahānubhāvān śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyam apī
’ha loke |
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gurūn1
ahatvā2 hi3 mahā-anubhāvān4
śreyaḥ5 bhoktum6 bhaikṣyam7 api8
iha9 loke10 |
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śreyaḥ5 = it is
better; bhoktum6 = to live; [by] bhaikṣyam7 = begging; api8 = even now; iha9 & loke10 =
in this world. [rather than] ahatvā2
= slaying. hi3 = certainly;
gurūn1 = the Gurus; [and] mahā-anubhāvān4= Great
Souls; tu1 = but; [by] hatvā11 = slaying; gurun13 = gurus; [I] bhuñjīya16 = have to enjoy; artha-kāman12 = wealth and desires; [in the form of] bhogān17 = enjoyable things; iha14 = in this world; eva15 = indeed; pradigdhān19
= tainted with; rudhira18 = blood. 2.5 |
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(2.5) It is better
to live
in this world
by begging
than
to slay these honoured
teachers.1 Though they are mindful
of their gains,
they
are
my
teachers
and
by slaying
them,
only, I would enjoy
in
this world
delights which
are
smeared with blood. 1
mahānubhāvān srutādhyayana-tapa-ācārādi nibandhanaḥ,
prabhāvo yeṣām tān
hi mahānubhāvān
iti ekam
padam
vā padam. himaṁ
jāḍyam
apahantīti himahā
ādityo' gnir vā tasyevānubhāvaḥ
sāmarthyaṁ yeṣāṁ tān. Madhusūdana, The latter is a fanciful explanation. rudhira18 pradigdhān19: smeared
with
blood.
If
we make
real
to
ourselves
the
victims
of every
bloodstained
page
of history,
If we hear
the
woes
of women,
the
cries of children,
the
tales
of
calamity, of
oppression and
of
injustice in
its
myriad
forms,
no
one with
any human
feelings would delight
in such
bloodstained conquests. |
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न चैतद्विद्मः
कतरन्नो गरीयो
यद्वा जयेम यदि
वा नो जयेयुः । |
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यानेव
हत्वा न जिजीविषाम-
स्तेऽवस्थिताः
प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः
॥२- ६॥ |
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na cai ’tad vidmaḥ
kataran no garīyo yad vā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ |
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na1 ca2
etat3 vidmaḥ4 katarat5 naḥ6
garīyaḥ7 yat8 vā9 jayema10
yadi12 vā13 naḥ14 jayeyuḥ15 |
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naḥ6 = We; na1 = do not; ca2
= as well; vidmaḥ4 =
know; etat3 = this katarat5 = which of the two; garīyaḥ7 = is better; yat8 vā9
jayema10 =
whether either conquer them; vā13
yadi12 = or if; naḥ14
= we; jayeyuḥ15 = be
vanquished; te21 = those;
dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ24
= sons of Dhrtarastra; eva17
= assuredly; avasthitāḥ22
= are arrayed; pramukhe23 =
before us; yān16 =
whom; hatvā18 = by
slaying; [we] na19 =
never; jijīviṣāmaḥ20
= want to live. 2.6 |
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(2.6) Nor do we know
which for us is better, whether we conquer them or they conquer us. The sons
of Dḥṛtarāṣṭra, whom if we slew we should not
care to live, are standing before us in battle array, |
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कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः
पृच्छामि त्वां
धर्मसम्मूढचेताः
। |
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यच्छ्रेयः
स्यान्निश्चितं
ब्रूहि तन्मे
शिष्यस्तेऽहं
शाधि मां त्वां
प्रपन्नम् ॥२-
७॥ |
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kārpaṇyadoṣopahatasvabhāvaḥ
pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharmasaṁmūḍhacetāḥ |
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kārpaṇya1
doṣa2 upahata3 svabhāvaḥ4 pṛcchāmi5
tvām6 dharma7 saṁmūḍha8
cetāḥ9 |
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svabhāvaḥ4 = My own
state of being; upahata3 = is
afflicted; [by] doṣa2 =
faulty; [misplaced] kārpaṇya1 =
compassion. [I have a] saṁmūḍha8
= completely stupefied cetāḥ9=
mind; [about] dharma7 =
duty. pṛcchāmi5 =
I beseech; tvām6 = You:
brūhi14 = to say;tat15 = that; yat10 = what; syāt12
= perhaps; śreyaḥ11 =
is assuredly good; niścitam13 =
for certain; me16 = to me. aham19 = I am; te18 = Your; śiṣyaḥ17
= disciple. śādhi20
= give instructions; mām21
= to me; [I] prapannam23 =
surrender; tvām22 = to
You. |
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(2.7) My very being is
stricken with the weakness of (sentimental) pity. With my mind bewildered
about my duty, I ask Thee. Tell me,
for certain, which is better. I am Thy pupil; teach me, who am seeking refuge
in Thee. ■niścitam13: for
certain; Arjuna is driven not only by despair, anxiety and doubt but also by an ardent
wish for certainty. To realize one's unreason is to step towards one's
development to reason. The consciousness of imperfection indicates that the
soul is alive. So long as it is alive, it can improve even
as a living body can heat if it is hurt or cut to a point. The human being is led to a
higher condition through a crisis of contrition. ■It is the
general experience of seekers that they are assailed by doubts and
difficulties, even when they are on the threshold of light. The light as it
begins to shine in any soul provokes the darkness to resist it. Arjuna faces
difficulties, outward and inward, such as the resistance of relations and
friends, doubts and fears, passions and desires. They must all be laid on the
altar and consumed in the fire of wisdom. The struggle with darkness will
continue until the light fills one's whole being. ■Weighed
down by wretchedness, confused about
what is right and wrong, Arjuna seeks light and guidance from his teacher,
the Divine with him, within his self. Man cannot be left to his own devices.
When one's world is in ruins; one can only turn within and
seek illumination as the gift of God's infinite compassion. ■Arjuna
does not ask for a metaphysic as he is not a seeker of knowledge; as a man of
action he asks for the law of action, for his dharma, for what he has to do
in this difficulty. "Master, what wouldst thou have me to do?" ■Like
Arjuna, the aspirant must realize his weakness and ignorance and yet be anxious
to do God's will and discover what it is. |
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न हि प्रपश्यामि
ममापनुद्याद्
यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम्
। |
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अवाप्य
भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं
राज्यं सुराणामपि
चाधिपत्यम् ॥२-
८॥ |
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na hi prapaśyāmi mamā
’panudyād yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam
indriyāṇām |
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na1 hi2
prapaśyāmi3 mama4 apanudyāt5
yat6 śokam7 ucchoṣaṇam8
indriyāṇām9 |
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hi2 = indeed; na1 & prapaśyāmi3 = I do not see;
[how I could] apanudyāt5 =
expel; yat6 = that; śokam7 = sorrow; [which] ucchoṣaṇam8 = desiccates; mama4 = my; indriyāṇām9=
senses [though] avāpya10 =
having obtained; bhūmāv11 =
on the earth; asapatnam12 =
unrivalled [by foes]; ṛddham13 =
richness; api16 = even; cā17 = also; adhipatyam18= sovereignty [over]; rājyam14 = kingdom; surāṇām15 = of the
gods. 2.8 |
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(2.8) I do not
see what will drive away this sorrow which dries up my senses even if I
should attain rich and unrivalled kingdom on earth or even the sovereignty of
the gods. The conflict in Arjuna must be healed. He must attain
to a new, integral, comprehensive
consciousness. |
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सञ्जय
उवाच |
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एवमुक्त्वा
हृषीकेशं गुडाकेशः
परन्तप । |
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न योत्स्य
इति गोविन्दमुक्त्वा
तूष्णीं बभूव
ह ॥२- ९॥ |
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sañjaya uvāca: evam uktvā
hṛṣīkeśaṁ guḍākeśaḥ paraṁtapaḥ |
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sañjaya uvāca: evam1
uktvā2 hṛṣīkeśam3 guḍākeśaḥ4
paraṁtapaḥ5 |
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sañjaya uvāca = Sañjaya said [to] paraṁtapaḥ5= Chastener of
foes (The blind king, Dhrtarastra): uktvā2
= having spoken; evam1= in
such manner; hṛṣīkeśam3
= to the Lord of the senses, Krishna; guḍākeśaḥ4
= the vanquisher of sleep [= nescience, ignorance], Arjuna; uktvā10 = so saying to;govindam9 = Govinda; na6 yotsya7 = I will not
fight; iti8 = thus;
ha13 = indeed, babhūva12 = became; tūṣṇīm11 =
silent. 2.9 |
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Saṁjaya said: (2.9) Having
thus addressed Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa),the mighty Guḍākeśa
(Arjuna) said to Govinda (Kṛṣṇa) "I will not fight)'
and became silent. na6 yotsya7: "I will not
fight." Arjuna, without waiting for the advice of the teacher, seems to
have made up his mind. While he asks the teacher to advise him, his mind is
not open. The task of the teacher becomes more difficult. govinda. The omniscience of the teacher is
indicated by this word. Madhusūdana.1 tūṣṇīm11 babhūva12: became
silent. The voice of truth can be heard only in silence. 1
gam vedalakṣāṇāṁ
vāṇiṁ vindatīti vyutpattya sarvavedopādānatvena
sarvajñam. |
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तमुवाच
हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव
भारत । |
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सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये
विषीदन्तमिदं
वचः ॥२- १०॥ |
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tam uvāca hṛṣīkeśaḥ
prahasann iva bhārata |
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tam1
uvāca2 hṛṣīkeśaḥ3
prahasann4 iva5 bhārata6 |
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bhārata6 = O Scion of
Bharata clan [Dhritrastra]; hṛṣīkeśaḥ3
= Hrisikesa; [stationing Himself] madhye9
= in the middle of; ubhayoḥ8
= both; senayoḥ7 =
armies; iva5 = as it were; prahasann4 = evincing a slight
smile; tam1 = to him
(Arjuna) [who is afflicted with] viṣīdantam10
= depression; uvāca2
= uttered; idam11
= these vacaḥ12 =
words. 2.10 |
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(2.10) To him thus depressed in the midst of
the two armies. O Bharata (Dḥṛtarāṣṭra), Hṛṣīkeśa
(Kṛṣṇa), smiling as it were, spoke this word. ■In that
moment of depression, the sinking heart of Arjuna heard the Divine voice of Kṛṣṇa.
The smile indicates that he saw through Arjuna's attempt at rationalization
or what is now known as wishful thinking. The attitude of the savior God who knows all the sins
and sorrows of suffering humanity is one of tender pity and wistful understanding .. |
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श्रीभगवानुवाच |
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अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं
प्रज्ञावादांश्च
भाषसे । |
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गतासूनगतासूंश्च
नानुशोचन्ति
पण्डिताः ॥२- ११॥
|
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śrībhagavān
uvāca: aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ
prajñāvādāṁś ca bhāṣase |
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śrībhagavān
uvāca: aśocyān1 anvaśocaḥ2 tvam3
prajñāvādān4 ca5 bhāṣase6 |
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śrībhagavān uvāca = Sri
Bhagavan said; tvam3 = you; anvaśocaḥ2 = grieve; [for] aśocyān1
= him, not worthy of grievance; ca5
= and; bhāṣase6 =
you speak; prajñāvādān4 =
words of wisdom. paṇḍitāḥ14
= men of wisdom; na12
anuśocanti13 = do not grieve for; gata7 asūn8
= the dead (= gone life, the [dear]
departed; the ones in whom life
departed); ca11 = and; agata9 asūn10 = agata
asūn = the living (= not gone life, the ones not yet dead, the living).
2.11 |
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The Blessed Lord
said: (2.11) Thou grievest
for those whom thou shouldst not grieve for and yet thou speakest words about
wisdom. Wise men do not grieve for the dead or for the
living. ■The
teacher explains in brief in verses 11-38 the wisdom of the Sāṁkhya
philosophy. The Sāṁkhya does not refer to Kapila's system but to
the teaching of the Upaniṣads. ■The Kashmir version has "thou dost not speak
as an intelligent man": "prājñāvat na
abhibhāṣase."1 1Cp, Plotinus: "Murders, death in all its shapes,
the capture and sacking of towns, all must be considered as so much
stage-show, so many shiftings
of scenes, the horror and outcry of a play; for here too, in all the changing doom of life, it is not the
true man, the inner soul that grieves and laments but merely the
phantasm of the man, the outer man, playing his part on the hoards
of the world. It Enneads, III, 2, 15.-E. T. |
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न त्वेवाहं
जातु नासं न त्वं
नेमे जनाधिपाः
। |
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न चैव
न भविष्यामः सर्वे
वयमतः परम् ॥२-
१२॥ |
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na tv evā ’haṁ
jātu nā ’saṁ na tvaṁ neme
janādhipāḥ |
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na1 tu2
eva3 aham4 jātu5 na6
āsam7 na8 tvam9 na10 ime11
janādhipāḥ12 |
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na1 tu2 eva3 = never was
there; jātu5 = at any time; aham4 = I; na6
āsam7 = did not exist, did not live (in actuality, I
did exist); na8 tvam9 =
neither did you (assuredly you existed in the past); na10
ime11 = nor these; jana-adhipāḥ12
= rulers of people (they did exist before); na13 ca14 eva15
= never also assuredly; vayam19
sarve18 = all of us; na16 bhaviṣyāmaḥ17 =
shall cease to exist; ataḥ20 param21
= after this, after the death of the physical body. 2.12 |
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(2.I2) Never was there a time when I was
not, nor thou, nor these lords of men, nor will there ever be a time
hereafter when we all shall cease to be. ■S. looks upon this reference to plurality as conventional. He argues that
the plural number is used with reference to the bodies that are different and not with regard to the
one Universal Self.1 ■R. lays stress on the distinction between Kṛṣṇa,
Arjuna, and the princes as ultimate and holds that each individual soul is
imperishable and coeval with the whole universe. The reference here is not to
the eternity of the Absolute Spirit but to the pre-existence and
post-existence of the empirical egos. The plurality of egos is a
fact of the empirical universe. Each individual is an ascent from initial
non-existence to full existence as a real, from asat to sat. While the
Sāṁkhya system postulates a plurality of souls, the Gītā reconciles this with the unity, the one Ksetrajña in whom we live, move
and have our being. Brahman is the basis of all things and is not itself a
thing. Brahman does not exist in time but time is in it. In this
sense also, the egos have neither beginning nor end. Souls are like Brahman,
for the cause and the effect are essentially one as the sayings, "I am
Brahman," "That art Thou" indicate. Cp. Suso: "All
creatures have existed eternally in the Divine essence as in their exemplar.
So far as they conform to the Divine idea, all beings were before their
creation, one with the essence of God." ■The personal Lord, the Divine Creator, is coeval
with the empirical universe. In a sense He is the totality of empirical
existences. "The Lord of the beings travels in the wombs. Though unborn he is born in many
ways."2 1 dehabhedānuvṛttyā
bahuvacanam nā 'tmabhedābhiprāyeṇa. 2 prajāpatiś carati garbhe antar ajāyamāno bahudhā
vijāyate. Vājasaneyi saṁhitā XXXI, 19; see also XXXII, 4. S. says "Of a truth God is the only transmigrant."1 Compare with this
Pascal's statement that Christ will be in agony till the end of the world. He
takes upon himself the wounds inflicted on humanity. He suffers the
conditions of created existence. Liberated souls suffer in time and enter
peace at the end of time, though they participate in Divine life even now.
Only if the Personal Supreme is freely limited, we are helplessly limited. If
He is master of the play of prakṛti, we are subject to its play.
Ignorance affects the individual spirit but not the Universal Spirit. Till
the cosmic process ends, the multiplicity of individuals with their
distinctive qualitative contents persists. The multiplicity is not separable
from the cosmos. While the liberated souls know the truth and live in it, the
unliberated ones pass from birth to birth, tied by the bondage of works. 1satyaṁ neśvarād
anyad saṁsārin. (S.B., I, 1, 5.) |
|
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा
देहे कौमारं यौवनं
जरा । |
|
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र
न मुह्यति ॥२- १३॥
|
|
dehino ‘smin
yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā |
|
dehinaḥ1 asmin2
yathā3 dehe4 kaumāram5 yauvanam6
jarā7 |
|
|
|
yathā3 = As; kaumāram5 = (Kumara) = boyhood; yauvanam6 = youth; [and] jarā7= old age; [are related] dehinaḥ1 = to the corporeal soul , to one with
physical body; asmin2 = herein; dehe4 = in the body; tathā8 = in like manner,
likewise; dehāntara9 prāptiḥ10
= Deha + Antara + prāptiḥ = body + inner + acquisition =
Entry into another body = acquisition of a body different from the present
one; tatra12 = in that case; dhīraḥ11 = one with
intelligence; the intellectual; na13 =
does not; muhyati14 = become
perplexed, stupefied, bewildered, deluded. 2.13 |
|
(2.I3) As the
soul passes in this body through childhood, youth and age, even so is its taking on of another body.
The sage is not perplexed by this. Cp. Viṣṇu Smṛti: XX, 49. The human being makes himself fit for
immortality by passing through a series of births and deaths. The changes in
the body do not mean changes in the soul. None of its embodiments is
permanent. |
|
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु
कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः
। |
|
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व
भारत ॥२- १४॥ |
|
mātrāsparśās tu
kaunteya śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkhadāḥ |
|
mātrā-sparśāḥ1
tu2 kaunteya3 śīta-usṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ4 |
|
|
|
kaunteya3 = O son of
Kunti; mātrā-sparśāḥ1
= mātrā + sparśāḥ
= organs and their target objects, congress or contact of sense organs with their specific objects, tu2 = now then; [are] Śīta-usna-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ4
= Inducers of cold,
heat, happiness,
and sorrow; [and are subject to] āgama5
apāyinaḥ6 = appearance and disappearance, having
a beginning and an end; [ and are] anityāḥ7
= transient, opposite of Nitya, not eternal; bhārata10
= O Bharata , Arjuna: titikṣasva9
= put up with (= bear, tolerate; endure); tān8
= them (= cold, heat, happiness,
and sorrow). 2.14 |
|
(2.14) Contacts
with their objects, O Son of Kunti (Arjuna), give rise to
cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and go and
do not last forever, these learn to endure O Bharata
(Arjuna). ■These
opposites depend on limited and occasional causes whereas
the joy of Brahman is universal, self-existent and independent
of particular causes and objects. This indivisible being supports the
variations of pleasure and pain of the egoistic existence which gets into contact with the multiple universe. These attitudes of pleasure
and pain are determined by the force of habit. There is no obligation to be
pleased with success and pained with failure. We can meet them with a perfect
equanimity. It is the ego-consciousness
which enjoys and suffers and
it will continue to do so, so long as it is bound up with the use of life and
body and is dependent on them for its knowledge and action. But when the mind
becomes free and disinterested and sinks into that secret serenity, when its
consciousness becomes illumined, it gladly accepts whatever happens, knowing
full well that these
contacts come and go and are not itself, though they happen to it.1 1 Cp. Imitation: "The desires of the senses draw us hither and thither, but, when the
hour is past, what do they bring us but remorse of
conscience and dissipation of spirit?" |
|
यं हि
न व्यथयन्त्येते
पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ
। |
|
समदुःखसुखं
धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय
कल्पते ॥२- १५॥
|
|
yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ
puruṣarṣabha |
|
yam1 hi2
na3 vyathayanti4 ete5 puruṣam6
puruṣarṣabha7 |
|
hi2 = in truth;
puruṣam6 = the Purusa or
person; yam1 =in whom; ete5 = these (=
Śīta-usṇa-sukha-duḥkha- = cold,
heat, happiness,
and sorrow); na3 = do not; vyathayanti4 = cause anguish, perturb,
agitate; dhīram11 the
Intelligent. [with] sama8 duḥkha9
sukham10 = equipoise8 in sorrow9 and
happiness10; sah12 kalpate14
amṛtatvāya13 =
he12 is fit14 for immortality13; puruṣarṣabha7 = O the best
among men. |
|
(2.15) The man
who is not troubled by these, O Chief of men (Arjuna), who remains the same in
pain and pleasure, who is wise makes himself fit for eternal
life. ■Eternal
life is different from survival of death which is given to every embodied
being. It is the transcendence of life and death. To be subject to grief and
sorrow, to be disturbed by the material happenings, to be deflected by them from
the path of duty that has to be traversed, niyataṁ karma, shows that we are still victims of
avidyā or ignorance. |
|
नासतो
विद्यते भावो
नाभावो विद्यते
सतः । |
|
उभयोरपि
दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः
॥२- १६॥ |
|
nā ’sato vidyate
bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ |
|
na1 asataḥ2 vidyate3
bhāvaḥ4 na5 abhāvaḥ6 vidyate7
sataḥ8 |
|
|
|
asataḥ2 = Of the Asat, unreal or nonexistence; na1 vidyate3 = there is no; bhāvaḥ4
= existence or being (because they [cold, heat...] are subject to change); sataḥ8 = of the Sat or Real (=
existence, being, real); na5 vidyate7
= there is no; abhāvaḥ6 = non-existence , cessation, nullity , absence, non-entity; tu15
= but; antaḥ14 =
inner truth, Tattva, conclusion; ubhayoḥ10
= of the two (the Real and the unreal); api12
= in truth; anayoḥ16 =
this; dṛṣṭaḥ13
= has been seen, observed, realized; tattva17
darśibhiḥ18 = by the Tattva-Jnanis or the Seers
of Tattvas. 2.16 |
|
(2.16) Of the
non-existent there is no coming to be; of the
existent there is no ceasing to be. The conclusion about these two has been
perceived by the seers of truth. sadākhyam brahma. S. defines real (sat) as that in regard to which our
consciousness never fails and unreal (asat) as that in regard to which our
consciousness fails.1 Our consciousness of objects varies but not that of existence. The
unreal which is the passing show of the world veils the unchanging reality
which is forever manifest. According to R., the unreal is the body and the real is
the soul. Madhva interprets the first quarter of the verse as asserting
duality, vidyate-abhāvah. There is no destruction of the unmanifest
(avyakta) prakṛti, Sat, of course is indestructible. 1 yad viṣayā buddhir na vyabhicarati tat sat, yad viṣayā vyabhicarati tad asat. |
|
अविनाशि
तु तद्विद्धि
येन सर्वमिदं
ततम् । |
|
विनाशमव्ययस्यास्य
न कश्चित्कर्तुमर्हति
॥२- १७॥ |
|
avināśi tu tad viddhi yena
sarvam idaṁ tatam |
|
avināśi1
tu2 tat3 viddhi4 yena5 sarvam6
idam7 tatam8 |
|
|
|
tu2 = but; viddhi4 = know; tat3
= that; avināśi1 =
indestructible; yena5 = by which,
by whom (Brahman); sarvam6 idam7
= all6 this7 (universe); [is] tatam8 = pervaded; na12 kaścit13 = no12 one13; arhati15 kartum14 = can15
bring about14; vināśam9
= destruction; asya11 =
of this; avyayasya10 =
[of] the immutable, the imperishable. 2.17 |
|
(2.I7) Know thou that that by which all this
is pervaded is indestructible. Of this immutable being, no one can bring
about the destruction. tatam: pervaded. See also VIII, 22, 46; IX, 4; XI, 38 and M.B., XII, 240, 20. S. uses Vyāptam." Not even Isvara, the
Supreme Lord, can bring about the destruction of the Self.1 Its reality is self-established, svatassiddha. It is not unknown to anybody.2 The scriptures serve to remove the adhyāropaṇa or superposition of attributes alien to the Self and
not to reveal what is altogether unknown. R. means by ātmatattva the qualitative unity and equality in the midst of numerical plurality. 1 na kaścid ātmānaṁ vināśayituṁ
śaknoti'svaropi. S. 2 na hy ātmā nāma kasyacid aprasiddho bhavati, S.B.G., II, 18. |
|
अन्तवन्त
इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताः
शरीरिणः । |
|
अनाशिनोऽप्रमेयस्य
तस्माद्युध्यस्व
भारत ॥२- १८॥ |
|
antavanta ime dehā nityasyo ’ktāḥ
śarīriṇaḥ |
|
antavantaḥ1
ime2 dehāḥ3 nityasya4 uktāḥ5
śarīriṇaḥ6 |
|
|
|
ime2 = these
[bodies]; [are] antavantaḥ1 =
liable to destruction; dehāḥ3 =
all bodies; uktāḥ5 = it
is said; [belong to] nityasya4 =
eternal; anāśinaḥ7 =
indestructible; aprameyasya8 =
unexplainable, indeterminable; śarīriṇaḥ6=
of the embodied Soul; tasmāt9
= therefore; bhārata11=
O Bharata or Arjuna; yudhyasva10 =
engage in battle. 2.18 |
|
(2.18) It is
said that these bodies of the eternal embodied (soul) which is indestructible and incomprehensible
come to an end. Therefore fight, O Bharata (Arjuna). śarīri here refers to the true self of the individual as in the
phrase śarīraka mīmāmsā,1 which is
an enquiry into the nature of the individual self. It is incomprehensible because it is not known by the ordinary means of knowledge. 1 Cp. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Up. yat Śākṣād aparokṣad brahma ya ātmā sarvāntaraḥ. III, 4, I. |
|
य एनं
वेत्ति हन्तारं
यश्चैनं मन्यते
हतम् । |
|
उभौ तौ
न विजानीतो नायं
हन्ति न हन्यते
॥२- १९॥ |
|
ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ
yaś cai ’naṁ manyate hatam |
|
yaḥ1
enam2 vetti3 hantāram4 yaḥ5
ca6 enam7 manyate8 hatam9 |
|
|
|
yaḥ1 vetti3 enam2
= he who1 thinks3 this one2;
[as] hantāram4 = the slayer; ca6 yaḥ5 manyate8
enam7 = and6 he who5 thinks8
this one7 (the victim7); hatam9=
the killed; ubhau10 tau11 =
both10 of them11; na12 = do not have; vijānītaḥ13 = knowledge [of the Self];
ayam15 = this one, this self; na14 hanti16 = does not14
slay16; na17 = nor; hanyate18 = is it slain. 2.19 |
|
(2.I9) He who thinks
that this slays and he who thinks that this is slain; both of them fail
to perceive the truth; this one neither slays nor is slain. The author is
discriminating between the self and the not-self, Puruṣa and prakṛti
of the Sāṁkhya.1 1Cp, Emerson's Brahma. ''If the red slayer thinks he slays, Or if the slain think he is slain, They know not
well the subtle ways I keep and pass and turn again.'' |
|
न जायते
म्रियते वा कदाचि-
न्नायं भूत्वा
भविता वा न भूयः
। |
|
अजो नित्यः
शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने
शरीरे ॥२- २०॥ |
|
na jāyate mriyate vā
kadācin nā ’yaṁ bhūtvā
bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ |
|
na1
jāyate2 mriyate3 vā4 kadācit5
na6 ayam7 bhūtvā8
bhavitā9 vā10 na11 bhūyaḥ12 |
|
na1 = never; kadācit5 = at any time; ayam7 = this Self, Atma, Soul; jāyate2 = was born; vā4 = or; na6
= never; mriyate3 = does it
die; vā10 = and; bhūtvā8 = having existed
previously;na11 bhavitā9 = does not come into
existence; bhūyaḥ12
= again; ayam16 = this (Atma or
soul); partless, whole; ajaḥ13
= is unborn; nityaḥ14
= eternal; śāśvatḥ15
= eternally existent; purāṇaḥ17
= ancient, na18 hanyate19
= is never killed; [when] śarīre21
= the body; hanyamāne20 =
is killed. 2.20 |
|
(2.20) He is never born, nor does he
die at any time, nor having (once) come to be will he again cease to be. He
is unborn, eternal, permanent and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain, See Kaṭha Up., II, 18. Cp. na vadhenāsya hanyate. Chāndogya Up., VIII, I, 5. The soul is here spoken of as "having come to
be." It is everlasting as a Divine form and derives its existence from God. S. splits up the
phrase into bhūtvā-abhavitā. |
|
वेदाविनाशिनं
नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम्
। |
|
कथं स
पुरुषः पार्थ
कं घातयति हन्ति
कम् ॥२- २१॥ |
|
vedā ’vināśinaṁ
nityaṁ ya enam ajam avyayam |
|
vedā1
avināśinam2 nityam3 yaḥ4 enam5
ajam6 avyayam7 |
|
|
|
yaḥ4 = He who; vedā1
= knows; enam5 = this
[the soul]; [as] avināśinam2 =
indestructible; nityam3 =
eternal; ajam6 = devoid of birth,
birthless, unborn; avyayam7 =
decayless. katham8 = how,
in what manner, whence; [and] kam12 = whom;
saḥ9 = he, that man; puruṣaḥ10 = man,
person [that highest spiritual person]; hanti14 =
kills; [or] ghātayati13 =
instigates others to kill; kam15 = whom; pārtha11 = O
Arjuna. 2.21 |
|
(2.2I) He who knows
that it is indestructible and eternal, uncreate and unchanging, how can such
a person slay any one, O Pārtha (Arjuna), or cause anyone to slay? When we know the self to be invulnerable, how can
anyone slay it? |
|
वासांसि
जीर्णानि यथा
विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति
नरोऽपराणि । |
|
तथा शरीराणि
विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति
नवानि देही ॥२-
२२॥ |
|
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni
yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro ’parāṇi |
|
vāsāṁsi1
jīrṇāni2 yathā3 vihāya4
navāni5 gṛhṇāti6 naraḥ7
aparāṇi8 |
|
yathā3 = as
such; naraḥ7 = man; vihāya4 = discarding, setting
aside; jīrṇāni2 =
tattered, worn out; vāsāṁsi1
= clothes; gṛhṇāti6
= puts on; aparāṇi8 =
other; navāni5 = new ones
[clothes]; tathā9 = in
that manner; vihāya11 =
leaving behind, discarding; jīrṇāni12
= tattered, worn out; śarīrāṇi10
= physical bodies; dehī16 =
the corporeal one, embodied one; saṁyāti14
= takes on; anyāni13 =
other, different, dissimilar; navāni15
= new ones. 2.22 |
|
(2.22) Just as a
person casts off worn-out garments and puts on others that are new, even so
does the embodied soul cast off worn-out bodies and take on others that are
new. ■The
eternal does not move from place to place but the embodied soul moves from
one abode to another. It takes birth each time and gathers to itself a mind,
life, and body formed out of the materials of nature according to its past
evolution and its need for the future. The psychic being is the vijñāna
which supports the triple manifestation of body (anna), life (prāṇa)
and mind (manas). When the gross physical body falls away, the vital and
mental sheaths still remain as the vehicle of the soul. Rebirth is a law of
nature. There is an objective connection between the various forms of life. Cp, Kaṭha
Up., I, 6. "Like
corn a mortal ripens and like corn is he born again.'' ■Embodiments
seem to be essential for the soul. Is it then right to kill the body? The
world of concrete existence has a meaning. |
|
नैनं
छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि
नैनं दहति पावकः
। |
|
न चैनं
क्लेदयन्त्यापो
न शोषयति मारुतः
॥२- २३॥ |
|
nai ’naṁ
chindanti śastrāṇi nai ’naṁ
dahati pāvakaḥ |
|
na1 enam2
chindanti3 śastrāṇi4 na5
enam6 dahati7 pāvakaḥ8 |
|
śastrāṇi4
= weapons; na5 =
do not; chindanti3 = cleave,cut,
sever; enam2 = it, that
[embodied soul]. pāvakaḥ8 = Fire; na9 = does not; dahati7 = burn; enam6
= that [the soul]; ca10 =
and; āpaḥ13 = water;
na14 = does not; kledayanti12 = wet, moisten; enam11 = it (the soul); mārutaḥ16 = wind. na1 = does not; śoṣayati15 = dry,
desiccate. 2.23 |
|
(2.23) Weapons do not cleave this self, fire does
not burn him; waters do not make him wet; nor does the wind make him dry. See also Mokṣadharma, 174. I7. |
|
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य
एव च । |
|
नित्यः
सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलोऽयं
सनातनः ॥२- २४॥
|
|
acchedyo ’yam
adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śoṣya
eva ca |
|
acchedyaḥ1
ayam2 adāhyaḥ3 ayam4 akledyaḥ5
aśoṣyaḥ6 eva7 ca8 |
|
ayam2 = this
one [the soul]; acchedyaḥ1 =
is uncuttable, cannot be cut; adāhyaḥ3
= cannot be burnt; ayam4 =
this one [the soul]; akledyaḥ5 =
cannot be wetted, moistened; aśoṣyaḥ6
= cannot be dried; eva7 =
truly; ca8 nityaḥ9 = and8 [is] eternal9; sarva-gataḥ10
= all-pervasive, omnipresent; sthāṇuḥ11 =
standing firm and fixed; acalaḥ12 = not
moving, immovable; ayam13 = this
one [the soul]; [is] sanātanaḥ14 =
eternal, perpetual, permanent, everlasting, primeval. 2.24 |
|
|
|
(2.24) He is
uncleavable, He cannot be burnt. He can be neither wetted nor dried. He is
eternal, all-pervading, unchanging and immovable. He is the same forever. |
|
अव्यक्तोऽयमचिन्त्योऽयमविकार्योऽयमुच्यते
। |
|
तस्मादेवं
विदित्वैनं नानुशोचितुमर्हसि
॥२- २५॥ |
|
avyakto ’yam acintyo ’yam avikaryo
’yam ucyate |
|
avyaktaḥ1
ayam2 acintyaḥ3 ayam4 avikaryaḥ5
ayam6 ucyate7 |
|
|
|
ucyate7 = it is
said; ayam2 = this (this soul); [is] avyaktaḥ1 = unmanifest; ayam4 = this (this soul);[is] acintyaḥ3 = inconceivable; [and] avikaryaḥ5
= unchanging; tasmāt8 =
on that account, therefore; viditva10 =
having known; ayam6 = this Self; evam9 = in such manner, as
such; [you] na12 arhasi14
= do not12 deserve14; anuśocitum13
= to grieve [for] enaṁ11 =
this one [this soul]. 2.25 |
|
|
|
(2.25) He is
said to be unmanifest, unthinkable and unchanging.
Therefore, knowing him as such, thou shouldst not grieve. ■Right
through it is the Puruṣa of the Sāṁkhya that is described
here, not the Brahman of the Upaniṣads. The Puruṣa is beyond the
range of form or thought and the changes that affect mind, life and body do
not touch him. Even when it is applied to the Supreme Self, which is one in
all, it is the unthinkable (acintya) and immutable (avikārya) Self that
is meant. Arjuna's grief is misplaced as the self cannot be hurt or slain. Forms may change; things may
come and go but that which remains behind them al1is forever. 1 IWhen Crito asks, "In what way shall we bury you, Socrates?"
Socrates answers, "In any way you like. but first, you must catch me, the real me. Be of good cheer, my dear Crito, and say
that you are burying my body only, and do with that whatever is usual
and what you think best.'' |
|
अथ चैनं
नित्यजातं नित्यं
वा मन्यसे मृतम्
। |
|
तथापि
त्वं महाबाहो
नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि
॥२- २६॥ |
|
atha cai ’naṁ
nityajātaṁ nityaṁ vā manyase mṛtam |
|
atha1 ca2
enam3 nitya-jātam4 nityam5 vā6
manyase7 mṛtam8 |
|
atha1 ca2 = moreover;
that being so; manyase7 =
thinking; enam3 = this one [this
soul]; [is] nitya-jātam4 = continually
born; vā6 = or; nityam5 = constantly; mṛtam8 = dying; tatha api9
= yet; tvam10 = you; mahābāho11 = mighty-armed one [Arjuna]; na12 arhasi15=
do not12 deserve15; śocitum14
= to grieve; evam13 = in
this way. 2.26 |
|
(2.26) Even if thou
thinkest that the self is perpetually born and perpetually dies, even then, O
Mighty-armed (Arjuna), thou shouldst not grieve. |
|
जातस्य
हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं
जन्म मृतस्य च
। |
|
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे
न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि
॥२- २७॥ |
|
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur
dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca |
|
jātasya1
hi2 dhruvaḥ3 mṛtyuḥ4
dhruvam5 janma6 mṛtasya7 ca8 |
|
|
|
mṛtyuḥ4 = death; hi2 = for; jātasya1
= one who is born; dhruvaḥ3 =
is certain; ca8 = and; janma6 = birth; mṛtasya7
= of the dead; [is] dhruvam5
= certainty; tasmāt9 =
therefore; tvam13 = you; na12 = do not; arhasi15 = deserve; śocitum14 = to grieve; aparihārye10 = what is
inevitable or unavoidable; arthe11 =
relating to this matter. 2.27 |
|
(2.27) For to
the one that is born death is certain and certain is birth for
the one that has died. Therefore for what is unavoidable, thou shouldst not
grieve. ■Cp. "In this rotating world of
becoming, what dead person does not come to life again."1 The realization
of this fact will induce in us poise and
proportion.2 ■Our existence is
brief and death is certain. Our human dignity requires us to accept pain and
suffering for the sake of the right. ■The
inevitability of death, however, cannot justify murders" suicides or
wars. We cannot desire deliberately the death of others, simply because all
men are bound to die. It is so that all life ends in death, that all progress
is perishable, that nothing is permanent in the temporal sense of the term.
But in every perfect realization of life, the eternal becomes actualized and
the development in time is only the means to this essential aim. What is
subject entirely to the rule of change or time is not of intrinsic importance;
the eternal plan is the central truth whether cosmic accidents permit its
full realization on earth or not. I parivartini
saṁsāre mṛtaḥ
ko vā na
jāyate. Hitopadeśa, 2Gautama the Buddha consoled the mother who lost her
only son while yet a child by asking her to go into the town and bring him "a
little mustard seed from any house where no man hath yet died.'' She went
and found that there was no family where death had not entered. She
discovered that it is the law of all things that they will pass away. The Buddhist nun Patācārā. is
represented as consoling many bereaved mothers in the following words: Weep not, for such is here the life of man Unasked he came, unbidden went he hence Lo! ask thyself again whence came
thy son To bide on earth this little breathing space By one way come and by another gone.... So hither and so hence-why should ye weep? Psalms of
the Sisters. E.T. by Mrs. Rhys
Davids (I909), p. 78. |
|
अव्यक्तादीनि
भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि
भारत । |
|
अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव
तत्र का परिदेवना
॥२- २८॥ |
|
avyaktādīni
bhūtāni vyaktamadhyāni bhārata |
|
avyaktādīni1
bhūtāni2 vyakta3 madhyāni4
bhārata5 |
|
bhārata5 = O Scion of
Bharata clan; bhūtāni2 =
all living things; avyaktādīni1
= unmanifest before birth; [and] vyakta3
madhyāni4 =
manifest in the middle; avyakta6 nidhanāni6 = unmanifest after
death; eva7 = indeed; tatra8 = in that case, therefore; kā9 = what; [is the need for] paridevanā10= lamentation, bewailing,
complaint. 2.28 |
|
(2.28) Beings are unmanifest in their
beginnings, manifest in the middles and unmanifest again in their ends, O
Bharata (Arjuna), What is there in this for lamentation? |
|
आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति
कश्चिदेन- माश्चर्यवद्वदति
तथैव चान्यः । |
|
आश्चर्यवच्चैनमन्यः
शृणोति श्रुत्वाप्येनं
वेद न चैव कश्चित्
॥२- २९॥ |
|
āścaryavat paśyati
kaścid enam āścaryavad vadati tathai ’va cā ’nyaḥ |
|
āścaryavat1
paśyati2 kaścit3 enam4
āścaryavat5 vadati6 tatha7 eva8
ca9 anyaḥ10 |
|
|
|
kaścit3 = some
person; paśyati2 =
sees, perceives; enam4 =
this one [this soul]; āścaryavat1
= as a wonder; tatha7 eva8
= likewise indeed; ca9 =
and; anyaḥ10 = others
[different Mahapurusas]; vadati6 =
speak, talk, elaborate in words; = āścaryavat11
= as if it is wondrous; anyaḥ14
= others; śṛṇoti15
= hear; enam13 =
this one [the soul];[as if it is a wonder]; ca12
= and; śrutvā16
+ api17 =
having heard of; enam18 =
this one [the soul]; kaścit23 =
some person; veda19 na20
ca21 = na+eva+veda = would
never ever know. 2.29 |
|
(2.29) One looks upon
Him as a marvel, another likewise speaks of Him as a marvel; another hears of
Him as a marvel; and even after hearing, no one whatsoever has known Him. Though the truth of the Self is free of access to all mankind,
it is attained only by very few who are willing to pay the price in
self-discipline, steadfastness and non-attachment. Though the truth is open
to all, many do not feel any urge to seek. Of those who have the urge, many
suffer from doubt and vacillation. Even if they do not have doubts, many are
scared away by difficulties. Only a few rare souls succeed in braving
the perils and reaching the goal. Cp, Kaṭha Up., II, 7. "Even when one has beheld, heard and proclaimed it, no one
has understood it." S. |
|
देही
नित्यमवध्योऽयं
देहे सर्वस्य
भारत । |
|
तस्मात्सर्वाणि
भूतानि न त्वं
शोचितुमर्हसि
॥२- ३०॥ |
|
dehī nityam avadhyo ’yaṁ
dehe sarvasya bhārata |
|
dehī1
nityam2 avadhyaḥ3 ayam4 dehe5 sarvasya6
bhārata7 |
|
|
|
ayam4 = this; nityam2 = eternal; dehī1 = embodied soul; [exists] sarvasya6 dehe5 = in all
bodies; [and] avadhyaḥ3 = cannot be
slain; tasmāt8 = on that
account, therefore; bhārata7=
O Scion of Bharata clan; tvam12 =
you; na11 = do not ; arhasi14 =
deserve. śocitum13 =
to grieve; [for] sarvāṇi9 +
bhūtāni10 = all
beings. 2.30 |
|
(2.30) The dweller in
the body of everyone, O Bharata (Arjuna), is eternal and can never be slain,
Therefore thou shouldst not grieve for any creature. Man is a compound of Self which is immortal and body
which is mortal. Even if we accept this position that body is naturally
mortal, still as it is the means of furthering the interests of the Self it
has to be preserved. This is not by itself a satisfactory reason. So Kṛṣṇa refers to Arjuna's duty as a warrior. |
|
Appeal to a Sense of Duty |
|
स्वधर्ममपि
चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि
। |
|
धर्म्याद्धि
युद्धाच्छ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य
न विद्यते ॥२- ३१॥ |
|
svadharmam api cā ’vekṣya
na vikampitum arhasi |
|
svadharmam1
api2 ca3 avekṣya4 na5
vikampitum6 arhasi7 |
|
api2 = even; avekṣya4 = considering; svadharmam1 = your own duty; ca3 = indeed [you] na5 arhasi7 = ought not
vikampitum6 = falter; hi9 = indeed; na14 + vidyate15
= there is nothing; anyat12 =
else; śreyaḥ11 =
better; kṣatriyasya13 =
for a Ksatriya; yuddhāt10 =
a battle; dharmyāt8 =
according to Dharma. 2.31 |
|
(2.31) Further, having regard for thine own
duty, thou shouldst not falter, there exists no greater good for a Ksatriya
than a battle enjoined by duty. His svadharma or law of action, requires him to engage in
battle. Protection of right by the acceptance of battle, if necessary, is the social
duty of the Kṣatriya, and not renunciation. His duty is to maintain order by force and not to
become an ascetic by "shaving off the
hair."1 Kṛṣṇa tells
Arjuna that for warriors there is no more ennobling duty than a
fair fight. It is a privilege that leads to heaven. 1Cp, M.B., daṇḍa
eva hi rājendra kṣatradharmo na muṇḍanam. Sāntiparva, 23, 46. He who saves from destruction is a Kṣatriya." kṣatād yo vai trāyati 'ti sa tasmāt kṣatriyaḥ, smṛtaḥ.B., XII, 29, 138. |
|
यदृच्छया
चोपपन्नं स्वर्गद्वारमपावृतम्
। |
|
सुखिनः
क्षत्रियाः पार्थ
लभन्ते युद्धमीदृशम्
॥२- ३२॥ |
|
yadṛcchayā co ’papannaṁ
svargadvāram apāvṛtam |
|
yadṛcchayā1
ca2 upapannam3 svarga-dvāram4 apāvṛtam5 |
|
pārtha8 = Son of
Pritha; sukhinaḥ6 =
joyous; [are] kṣatriyāḥ7
= Ksatriyas; [who] labhante9 =
are facing; yuddham10 =
battle; īdṛśam11=
of this sort [which]; ca2 = also; upapannam3 = offers itself; yadṛcchayā1 = on its own
accord unsought for; [which is ] apāvṛtam5=
open; svarga4A-dvāram4B=
gateway4B to Heaven4A. 2.32 |
|
(2.32) Happy are the Kṣatriyas,
O Partha (Arjuna), for whom such a war comes of its own accord as an open
door to heaven. A Kṣatriya's happiness consists not in domestic pleasures and
comfort but in fighting for the right.1 1 Cpa
"O thou best of men, there are only two types who can pierce the
constellation of the Sun (and reach the sphere of Brahman); the one is the saṁnyāsin
who is steeped in Yoga and the other is the warrior who falls in
the battlefield while fighting." dvāv imau puruṣavyāghra
sūryamaṇḍala
bhedinau parivāṅg yogayuktaś ca raṇi cā 'bhimukho hataḥ.
M.B., Udyogaparva, 32, 65. |
|
अथ चेत्त्वमिमं
धर्म्यं संग्रामं
न करिष्यसि । |
|
ततः स्वधर्मं
कीर्तिं च हित्वा
पापमवाप्स्यसि
॥२- ३३॥ |
|
atha cet tvam imaṁ dharmyaṁ
saṅgrāmaṁ na kariṣyasi |
|
atha1 cet2
tvam3 imam4 dharmyam5 saṅgrāmam6
na7 kariṣyasi8 |
|
atha1 = moreover; cet2 = if; tvam3
= you; na7 = do not; kariṣyasi8= engage in; imam4 = this;
dharmyam5 = righteous; saṅgrāmam6
= fight, battle; tataḥ9 = then; hitvā14 = having abandoned; svadharmam10 = your
own duty; ca13 = and; kīrtim12 =
renown, fame; avāpsyasi16 = you
will be subject to, you will incur; pāpam15 =
sin. 2.33 |
|
(2.33) But if
thou doest not this lawful battle, then thou wilt fail thy duty and glory
and will incur sin. When the struggle between right and wrong is on, he who
abstains from it out of
false sentimentality, weakness or cowardice would be committing a sin. |
|
अकीर्तिं
चापि भूतानि कथयिष्यन्ति
तेऽव्ययाम् । |
|
सम्भावितस्य
चाकीर्तिर्मरणादतिरिच्यते
॥२- ३४॥ |
|
akīrtiṁ cāpi
bhūtāni kathayiṣyanti te 'vyayām |
|
akīrtim1
ca2 api3 bhūtāni4 kathayiṣyanti5
te6 avyayām7 |
|
bhūtāni4 = people; ca2 + api3
= also; kathayiṣyanti5 =
narrate, will talk, recount; te6 =
your; avyayām7 = everlasting;
akīrtim1 = infamy; ca9 = and; saṁbhāvitasya8
= to a respected man (man enjoying tributes); akīrtiḥ10 = infamy,
dishonor; atiricyate12 = is
worse than; maraṇāt11 =
death. 2.34 |
|
(2.34) Besides,
men will ever recount thy ill-fame and for
one who has been honoured, ill-fame is worse than death. |
|
भयाद्रणादुपरतं
मंस्यन्ते त्वां
महारथाः । |
|
येषां
च त्वं बहुमतो
भूत्वा यास्यसि
लाघवम् ॥२- ३५॥
|
|
bhayād raṇād uparataṁ
maṁsyante tvāṁ mahārathāḥ |
|
bhayāt1 raṇāt2
uparatam3 maṁsyante4 tvām5
mahārathāḥ6 |
|
mahārathāḥ6 = the great
chariot riders--warriors; maṁsyante4
= will regard, think; tvām5 =
of you; uparatam3 = as having
withdrawn, having stopped, desisted; raṇāt2
= from battle; bhayāt1 =
out of trepidation or fear; ca8 =
and; [you] yāsyasi12 =
will attain; lāghavam13 =
low esteem; [in the eyes of Duryodhana and other warriors] yeṣām7 = to whom; tvam9 = you; bhūtvā11
= have remained; bahu-mataḥ10 =
in high regard. 2.35 |
|
(2.35) The great
warriors will think that thou hast abstained from battle through fear
and they by whom thou wast highly esteemed will make light of thee. |
|
अवाच्यवादांश्च
बहून्वदिष्यन्ति
तवाहिताः । |
|
निन्दन्तस्तव
सामर्थ्यं ततो
दुःखतरं नु किम्
॥२- ३६॥ |
|
avācyavādāṁś
ca bahūn vadiṣyanti tavā ’hitāḥ |
|
avācya1 vādān2
ca3 bahūn4 vadiṣyanti5 tava6
ahitāḥ7 |
|
|
|
ca3 = and; tava6 = Your; ahitāḥ7=
foes; vadiṣyanti5 = will
utter; bahūn4 = many; avācya1 = improper; vādān2 = words
[prevarication]; nindantaḥ8
= while reviling; tava9 =
your; sāmarthyam10 =
Skill, ability; kim14 = what; nu13 = then; [brings] duḥkhataram12 = more sorrow,
grief, pain; tataḥ11 = besides
that. 2.36 |
|
(3.36) Many
unseemly words will be uttered by thy enemies,
slandering thy strength. Could anything be sadder than that? Contrast this
with the central teaching of the Gita that one should be indifferent
to praise and blame. |
|
हतो वा
प्राप्स्यसि
स्वर्गं जित्वा
वा भोक्ष्यसे
महीम् । |
|
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ
कौन्तेय युद्धाय
कृतनिश्चयः ॥२-
३७॥ |
|
hato vā prāpsyasi svargaṁ
jitvā vā bhokṣyase mahīm |
|
hataḥ1
vā2 prāpsyasi3 svargam4 jitvā5
vā6 bhokṣyase7 mahīm8 |
|
|
|
vā2 = either; prāpsyasi3 = you will achieve; svargam4 = heaven; hataḥ1 = if killed; vā6 = or;
bhokṣyase7 = you experience joy; mahīm8 = on the earth, place; jitvā5 = by attaining victory; kaunteya11 = O Son of Kunti; tasmāt9 = therefore; uttiṣṭha10 = rise up; yuddhāya12 = for fighting; kṛta13 niścayaḥ14
= with certainty or firm resolution. 2.37 |
|
(2.37) Either
slain thou shalt go to heaven; or victorious thou shalt enjoy the earth;
Therefore arise, O Son of Kuntī (Arjuna), resolved on battle. Whether we look at the metaphysical truth or the social
duty, our path is clear. It is possible to rise higher through the performance
of one's duty in the right spirit, and in the next verse Kṛṣṇa
proceeds to indicate the spirit. |
|
सुखदुःखे
समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ
जयाजयौ । |
|
ततो युद्धाय
युज्यस्व नैवं
पापमवाप्स्यसि
॥२- ३८॥ |
|
sukhaduḥkhe same kṛtvā
lābhālābhau jayājayau |
|
sukha1 duḥkhe2
same3 kṛtvā4 lābhālābhau5
jayājayau6 |
|
kṛtvā4 = by acting;
same3 = with aplomb, with poise; sukha1 duḥkhe2 =
in happiness1 and sorrow2; lābhālābhau5 = in gain and
loss; jayājayau6= in victory
and defeat; tataḥ7 =
then, thereafter; yujyasva9 =
get ready; yuddhāya8 = for
the battle; evam11 = in such
manner; na10 avāpsyasi13=
you will not10 be subject to; pāpam12
= sin. 2.38 |
|
(2.38) Treating alike
pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, then
get ready for battle. Thus thou shall not Incur sin. Yet in the previous verses, Kṛṣṇa lays stress on sensibility to shame, the gain of heaven
and earthly sovereignty. After urging worldly considerations, he declares
that the fight has to be undertaken in a spirit of
equal-mindedness. Without yielding to the restless desire for change, without
being at the mercy of emotional ups and downs, let us do the work assigned to
us in the situation in which we are placed. When we acquire faith in the Eternal and experience Its
reality, the sorrows of the world do not disturb us.1 He who discovers his true end of life and yields to it utterly is great of
soul. Though everything else is taken away from him, though he has to walk
the streets, cold, hungry and alone, though he may know no
human being into whose eyes he can look and find understanding, he shall yet
be able to go his way with a smile on his lips for he has gained inward
freedom.
1 Cp. Luther:
"And though they take our life, goods, honor, children, wife, yet is
their profit small; these things shall vanish all, the city of God
remaineth.'' |
|
एषा तेऽभिहिता
सांख्ये बुद्धिर्योगे
त्विमां शृणु
। |
|
बुद्ध्या
युक्तो यया पार्थ
कर्मबन्धं प्रहास्यसि
॥२- ३९॥ |
|
eṣā te ’bhihitā
sāṅkhye buddhir yoge tv imāṁ śṛṇu |
|
eṣā1
te2 abhihitā3 sāṅkhye4
buddhiḥ5 yoge6 tu7 imām8
śṛṇu9 |
|
pārtha13 = O Partha
(Arjuna); eṣā1 = this; buddhiḥ5 = Knowledge, wisdom; abhihitā3 = has been
revealed; te2 = to you; sāṅkhye4 = by Jnana-Yoga; tu7 = but; śṛṇu9=
hear, lend your ears to; imām8
= this; yoge6 = in connection
with Karma Yoga; yuktaḥ11 =
furnished, endowed; yayā12 =
with which; prahāsyasi15 =
you will free yourself from, completely remove, get rid of; karma-bandham14 = bondage of action; buddhyā10 = by wisdom.
2.39 |
|
(2.39) This is the wisdom of
the Sāṁkhya given to thee, O Pārtha (Arjuna). Listen now to
the wisdom of the Yoga. If your intelligence accepts it, thou shalt cast away
the bondage of works. ■Sāṁkhya
in the Gītā does not mean the system of philosophy known by that name;
nor does Yoga mean Pātañjalayoga. The scholastic version of the Sāṁkhya
is a frank dualism of Puruṣa (self) and prakṛti (not-self) which
is transcended in the Gītā, which affirms the reality of a
Supreme Self who is the Lord of all. Sāṁkhya gives an intellectual account of the intuition of
the unchanging One.1 It is the
yoga of knowledge. The yoga of action is karma yoga. See III, 3. The knowledge
hitherto described is not to be talked about and discussed academically. It
must become an inward experience. In the Gītā, Sāṁkhya
lays stress on knowledge and renunciation of desire and
Yoga on action. How is one who knows that the self and body are distinct,
that the self is indestructible and unmoved by the events of the world, to
act? The teacher develops buddhiyoga or concentration of buddhi or
understanding. Buddhi is not merely the capacity to frame concepts. It has
also the function of recognition and dis crimination. The understanding or
buddhi must be trained to attain insight" constancy, equal-mindedness
(samatā), The mind (manas), instead of being united to the senses,
should be guided by buddhi which is higher than mind.
III, 42. It must become united to buddhi (buddhiyukta). ■The
influence of the scholastic Sāṁkhya which was in the making at the
time of the Gītā is here evident. According to it, the Puruṣa
is inactive, and bondage and liberation do not belong to it in
reality. They are essentially the work of buddhi, one of the twenty-four
cosmic principles. Out of prakṛti evolve successively five elemental
conditions of matter, ether, air, fire, water and earth, five subtle
properties of matter, sound, touch, form, taste and smell, buddhi or mahat
which is the discriminating principle of intelligence and will, ahaṁkāra
or self-sense, and mind with its ten sense functions, five of knowledge and five of
action. Liberation is achieved when buddhi discriminates between Puruṣa
and prakṛti; This view is adapted to the Gītā theism.
Buddhi is the driver of the chariot of the body drawn by the horses of the
senses which are controlled by the reins of mind (manas). The self is
superior to buddhi but is a passive witness. In the Kaṭha Up., buddhi is the charioteer which
controls the senses through the mind and enables it to know the self.2 If the buddhi is
lit up by the consciousness of the self and makes it the
master-light of its life, its guidance will be in harmony
with the cosmic purpose. If the light of the atman is reflected in buddhi in
a proper way, that is, if the buddhi is cleared of all obscuring tendencies,
the light will not be distorted, and buddhi will be in
union with the Spirit. The sense of egoism and separateness will be
displaced by a vision of the harmony in which each is all and all is
each. ■Sāṁkhya
and Yoga are not in the Gītā discordant systems. They have
the same aim but differ in their methods. 1 Madhva
quotes Vyāsa to this effect.. suddhātmatattvavijñānam sāṁkhyam ity abhidhīyate. Cp. Svetāśvatara Up. Sāṁkhyayogādhigamyam. VI, 13. 2 Kaṭha up. III, 3. |
|
नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति
प्रत्यवायो न
विद्यते । |
|
स्वल्पमप्यस्य
धर्मस्य त्रायते
महतो भयात् ॥२-
४०॥ |
|
ne ’hā ’bhikramanāśo
’sti pratyavāyo na vidyate |
|
na1 ihā2
abhikrama3 nāśaḥ4 asti5
pratyavāyaḥ6 na7 vidyate8 |
|
ihā2 = here (in
the path to emancipation); asti5 =
there is; na1 = neither; abhikrama3 + nāśaḥ4
= ruined4 undertaking3 or attempt; na7 + vidyate8=
nor7 there is8; pratyavāyaḥ6
= adverse effect, unintended consequence; svalpam9
+ api10 = meager, even10
a little9; asya11 =
of this; dharmasya12 = Dharma
(known as Karma Yoga); trāyate13 =
saves; [aspirant] mahataḥ14 +
bhayāt15 = from great
fear. 2.40 |
|
(2.40) In this path, no
effort is ever lost and no obstacle prevails; even a little of this
righteousness (dharma) saves from great fear. No step is lost, every moment is a gain. Every effort
in the struggle will be counted as a merit. |
|
व्यवसायात्मिका
बुद्धिरेकेह
कुरुनन्दन । |
|
बहुशाखा
ह्यनन्ताश्च
बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम्
॥२- ४१॥ |
|
vyavasāyātmikā buddhir
eke ’ha kurunandana |
|
vyavasāyātmikā1
buddhiḥ2 ekā3 iha4 kurunandana5 |
|
kurunandana5 = O Beloved
Joy of the Kurus; [there is] ekā3
= only one; vyavasāyātmikā1
= firm, resolute, focused; buddhiḥ2
= intellect; iha4 = in this
[Karma Yoga]; [but] buddhayaḥ10 =
thoughts; avyavasāyinām11 =
of the unfocused or irresolute men; [are] hi7
= indeed; bahu-śākhā6 =
many-branched, [have many perspectives]; ca9
= and; anantāḥ8 =
endless. 2.41 |
|
(2.41) In this, O joy
of the Kurus (Arjuna), the resolute (decided) understanding is single; but
the thoughts of the irresolute (undecided) are many-branched and endless. The discursiveness of the irresolute buddhi is
contrasted with the concentration, the single-mindedness of the resolute.
Human life finds its fulfilment through self-devotion to a commanding end and
not in the unfettered pursuit of endless possibilities. One pointedness has
to be acquired by cultivation. Distraction is our natural condition from
which we have to be freed but not by the mysticisms of
nature or sex, race or nation but by a genuine
experience of Reality. Single-mindedness backed by such an experience is a supreme virtue and cannot be twisted to
fanaticism. |
|
No Wisdom for the Worldly-Minded यामिमां
पुष्पितां वाचं
प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः
। |
|
वेदवादरताः
पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति
वादिनः ॥२- ४२॥
|
|
yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ
vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ |
|
yām1
imām2 puṣpitām3 vācam4
pravadanti5 avipaścitaḥ6 |
|
pārtha8 = O Arjuna; avipaścitaḥ6= ignoramuses; pravadanti5 = utter, speak; yām1 imām2 puṣpitām3
vācam4 = all1 these2 flowery3
words4; veda-vāda-ratāḥ7
= enamored with discussion of Vedas; vādinaḥ13 = hold
discussion, declare; astī11 =
there is; na9 + anyat10 = nothing else; [other
than] iti12 = this, that.
2.42 |
|
(2.42-43) The undiscerning
who rejoice in the letter of the Veda, who contend that there is nothing
else, whose nature is desire and who are intent on heaven, proclaim these
flowery words that result in rebirth as the fruit of actions and (lay down) various
specialized rites for the attainment of enjoyment and power. |
|
कामात्मानः
स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम्
। |
|
क्रियाविशेषबहुलां
भोगैश्वर्यगतिं
प्रति ॥२- ४३॥ |
|
kāmātmānaḥ
svargaparā janmakarmaphalapradām |
|
kāmātmānaḥ1
svargaparāḥ2 janma-karma-phala-pradām3 |
|
|
|
svargaparāḥ2 = heaven as
the goal or destination; kāmātmānaḥ1
= mind full of desires, mind immersed in desires; [recommend] kriyā-viśeṣa4 bahulām5
= various special Vedic rites, [rites-special4
various5]; bhoga6
aiśvarya7 gatim8 prati9 =
towards attainment of enjoyments and affluence; (enjoyments6-affluence7-obtainment8-towards9);
[which] janma-karma-phala-pradām3
= bestow birth as a result of karma (birth-rites-fruit or
result-bestow). 2.43 |
|
(2.42-43) The
undiscerning who rejoice in the letter of the Veda, who contend that there is
nothing else, whose nature is desire and who are intent on heaven, proclaim
these flowery words that result in rebirth as the fruit of actions and (lay down) various
specialized rites for the attainment of enjoyment and power. ■The
teacher distinguishes true karma from ritualistic piety. Vedic sacrifices are
directed to the acquisition of material rewards but the Gītā asks us to renounce all selfish desire and work, making all life a
sacrifice, offered with true devotion. ■Cp. Muṇḍaka Up., I, 2, 10. "These
fools, who believe that only the performance of sacrificial ritual (iṣṭāpūrtam)
is meritorious and nothing else is meritorious, come back to this mortal
world, after having enjoyed happiness in heaven." See also Īśa Up., 9, 1:2; Kaṭha, II, 5. The Vedic Aryans were like glorious children in
their eager acceptance of life. They represent the youth of humanity whose
life was still fresh and sweet, undisturbed by disconcerting dreams. They had
also the balanced wisdom of maturity. The author however limits his attention to the
karmakāṇḍa of the Veda which is not its
whole teaching. While the
Veda teaches us to work with a desire for recompense whether in a temporary
heaven or in a new embodied life, buddhiyoga leads us to release. |
|
भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां
तयापहृतचेतसाम्
। |
|
व्यवसायात्मिका
बुद्धिः समाधौ
न विधीयते ॥२- ४४॥
|
|
bhogaiśvaryaprasaktānāṁ
tayā ’pahṛtacetasām |
|
bhoga1
aiśvarya2 prasaktānām3 tayā4
apahṛta5 cetasām6 |
|
prasaktānām3 = they who
cling to; bhoga1 = enjoyment;
[and] aiśvarya2 =
sovereignty; [and they whose ] cetasām6 =
mind; apahṛta5 = is taken
away; tayā4 = by that
[speech]; [for them] vyavasāyātmikā7 =
focused; buddhiḥ8 =
Buddhi; na10 vidhīyate11 = is not10 well established11;
samādhau9 = in the Self. 2.44 |
|
(2.44) The
intelligence which discriminates between right and wrong, of those who are
devoted to enjoyment and power and whose minds are carried away by these words
(of the Veda) is not well-established
in the Self (or concentration). They will not have the one-pointedness of mind in God.1 The intelligence which is intended to be well trained is seduced from
its normal functioning. I Cp, Śrīdhara: samādhis cittaikāgryam,
parameśvarābhimukhatvam iti yāvat; tasmin niścayātmikā buddhis tu na vidhīyate. |
|
त्रैगुण्यविषया
वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो
भवार्जुन । |
|
निर्द्वन्द्वो
नित्यसत्त्वस्थो
निर्योगक्षेम
आत्मवान् ॥२- ४५॥
|
|
traiguṇyaviṣayā
vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavā ’rjuna |
|
traiguṇya1
viṣayāḥ2 vedāḥ3 nistraiguṇyaḥ4
bhavā5 arjuna6 |
|
nirdvandvaḥ7
nitya-satva-sthaḥ8 niryoga-kṣemaḥ9
ātmavān9 |
|
arjuna6 = O Arjuna; vedāḥ3 = Vedas; [expound] traiguṇya1 viṣayāḥ2
= enjoyments2
proceeding from three qualities1, experiencing this world; [you] bhavā5 = become; nistraiguṇyaḥ4 = free of
three qualities, free from desires, detached from enjoyments of the sense
objects; nirdvandvaḥ7 =
free from dualities (like and dislike etc); nitya-satva-sthaḥ8
= eternally established in Sattva (Goodness, Purity, Paramatma); niryoga-kṣemaḥ9= without
regard for acquisition and safe-keeping; [be] ātmavān9
= One of pure Self. 2.45 |
|
(2.45) The action of the three-fold modes is the subject matter of the Veda; but do thou become free, O Arjuna, from this threefold nature; be free from the dualities (the pairs of opposites), be firmly fixed in purity, not
caring for acquisition and preservation, and be
possessed of the Self. nityasattva. Arjuna is asked to stand above the modes and be firmly rooted in
the sattva. This is not the mode of sattva which Arjuna is asked to go
beyond, but is eternal truth. Ś, and R., however,
take it to mean the sattvaguṇa. Ritualistic practices
necessary for the maintenance of worldly life are the results of the modes. To
gain the higher reward of perfection, we must direct our attention to the
Supreme Reality. The conduct of the liberated, however, will be outwardly the
same as that of one who is in the sattva condition. His action will be calm
and disinterested. He acts with no interest in the fruits of action; not so
the followers of the karmakāṇḍa of the Veda. Yogakṣema is acquisition
of the new and preservation of the old. 1 ātmavān9: be possessed of the
self, ever vigilant.2 Ᾱpastamba
declares that there is nothing higher than the possession of the self.3 To know the Spirit which has neither commencement nor decay, the Spirit
which is immortal, to know Him whom we do not
know is the true end of man. If we suppress this side we are slayers of the self,4 to use the
phrase of the Upaniṣad. 1anupāttasya upādānaṁ yogaḥ,
upāttasya rakṣaṇaṁ kṣemaḥ. 2 apramattaś
ca bhava. Ś. 3 ātmalābhān na paraṁ vidyate. Dharma śūtra,
I, 7, 2. 4 ātmahano janāḥ |
|
यावानर्थ
उदपाने सर्वतः
संप्लुतोदके
। |
|
तावान्सर्वेषु
वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य
विजानतः ॥२- ४६॥
|
|
yāvān artha udapāne
sarvataḥ saṁplutodake |
|
yāvān1
arthaḥ2 udapāne3 sarvataḥ4
sampluta-udake5 |
|
yāvān1 = whatever; arthaḥ2 = usefulness [for
drinking, bathing]; [there is ] udapāne3
= for water in a well or pond; [is no match to a vast lake] sampluta-udake5 = brimming with water sarvataḥ4 = in all directions;
[Likewise] brāhmaṇasya9 =
for one brimming with Brahman knowledge; vijānataḥ10
= One who is clever, shrewd or knowledgeable (of Brahmajnana); sarveṣu7 = all; vedeṣu8 = Vedas; [are useful or
limited] tāvān6 = to
that degree, extent, measure. 2.46 |
|
(2.46) As is the use of a pond in a place flooded with water everywhere,
so is that of all the Vedas for the
Brahmin who understands. Cpo ''Just as one who gets water from the river does not
attach importance to a well, so
the wise do not attach any importance to ritual
action."1 For those of illumined consciousness, ritual
observances are of little value. 1na te (jñāninaḥ) karma praśaṁsanti kūpaṁ nadyām
pibann iva. M.B., Sāntiparva, 240, 10. |
|
Work
without Concern for the Results (RKN) |
|
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते
मा फलेषु कदाचन
। |
|
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा
ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि
॥२- ४७॥ |
|
karmaṇy evā ’dhikāras
te mā phaleṣu kadācana |
|
karmaṇi1
eva2 adhikāraḥ3 te4 mā5
phaleṣu6 kadācana7 |
|
te4 = your; adhikāraḥ3 = right,
obligation; karmaṇi1 eva2 =
is for action; mā5 =
never; kadācana7= under
any circumstances; phaleṣu6 =
for the results, in the fruits; mā8
= never; bhūḥ12 =
become; karma9 phala10
hetuḥ11 = the reason or agent for claiming the fruit
of action [action9-fruit10-cause or agent11];
mā13 te14 astu16 = (you)
may not have; saṅgaḥ15 =
attachment, inclination; [to] akarmaṇi17=
inaction. 2.47 |
|
(2.47) To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits;
let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction. This famous verse contains the essential principle of
disinterestedness. When we do our work, plough or paint, sing or think, we
will be deflected from disinterestedness, if we think of fame or income or
any such extraneous consideration. Nothing matters except the good will, the willing fulfilment of
the purpose of God. Success
or failure does not depend on the individual but on other factors as well.
Giordano Bruno says: ''I have fought, that is much, victory is in the hands of fate." |
|
योगस्थः
कुरु कर्माणि
सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा
धनंजय । |
|
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः
समो भूत्वा समत्वं
योग उच्यते ॥२-
४८॥ |
|
yogasthaḥ
kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya |
|
yogasthaḥ1 kuru2 karmāṇi3
saṅgam4 tyaktvā5 dhanañjaya6 |
|
yogasthaḥ1 = firmly
established in Yoga; dhanañjaya6 =
O victor over wealth, O Arjuna; kuru2 =
do; karmāṇi3 =
actions; tyaktvā5 =
relinquishing; saṅgam4 =
attachment; bhūtvā9 =
remaining or becoming; samaḥ8
= equable, same; siddhi-asiddhyoḥ7
= in success and failure; [and possessing] samatvam10 = equanimity of mind;
[This] ucyate12 = is
called; yogaḥ11 =
Yoga. 2.48 |
|
(2.48) Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna),
abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness
of mind is called yoga. yogasthaḥ1: steadfast in inner composure. samatvam10: inner poise. It is
self-mastery. It is conquest of anger, sensitiveness, pride and ambition. We
must work with a perfect serenity indifferent to the results. He who acts by
virtue of an inner law is on a higher level than one whose action is dictated
by his whims. ■Those who
do works for the sake of their fruits go to the region of the fathers or pitṛs,
those who pursue wisdom go to the region of the gods or devas.1 1 Cp. Ś. dviprakāraṁ ca vittaṁ ṁānusaṁ
daivaṁ ca, tatra ṁānusaṁ vittaṁ karmarūpam Pitṛlokaprāptisādhanam,
vidyāṁ
ca daivaṁ
vittam devalokaprptisādhanam. II, I I. |
|
दूरेण
ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनंजय
। |
|
बुद्धौ
शरणमन्विच्छ
कृपणाः फलहेतवः
॥२- ४९॥ |
|
dūreṇa hy avaraṁ
karma buddhiyogād dhanañjaya |
|
dūreṇa1
hi2 avaram3 karma4 buddhi-yogāt5
dhanañjaya6 |
|
dūreṇa1 = by a long
shot; karma4 = action; hi2 = indeed; [is] avaram3 = inferior to; buddhi-yogāt5 = Buddhi Yoga [Yoga of wisdom]. dhanañjaya6= O Arjuna; anviccha9 = take; śaraṇam8 = refuge; buddhau7 = in wisdom. kṛpaṇāḥ10 =
the pitiable ones; phala-hetavaḥ11
= hanker after fruits. 2.49 |
|
(2.49) Far
inferior indeed is mere action to the discipline of intelligence
(buddhiyoga), O Winner of wealth (Arjuna) seek refuge in intelligence. Pitiful
are those who seek for the fruits (of their action). buddhiyoga. See also XVIII, 57. |
|
बुद्धियुक्तो
जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते
। |
|
तस्माद्योगाय
युज्यस्व योगः
कर्मसु कौशलम्
॥२- ५०॥ |
|
buddhiyukto
jahātī ’ha
ubhe sukṛtaduṣkṛte |
|
buddhi-yuktaḥ1
jahāti2 iha3 ubhe4 sukṛta-duṣkṛte5 |
|
buddhi-yuktaḥ1 = The one
of equable wisdom; jahāti2 =
gives up; iha3 = here, in this
world; ubhe4 =
both; sukṛta-duṣkṛte5
= merits and demerits, virtue and vice; tasmāt6
= therefore; yujyasva8 =
remain engaged; yogāya7 =
in Yoga of [equable wisdom]; [for] yogaḥ9
= Yoga; [is] kauśalam11
= skill [in relinquishing oneself from bonds of Karma]; karmasu10 = in the performance of
action. 2.50 |
|
(2.50) One who
has yoked his intelligence (with the Divine) (or is established in his
intelligence) casts away even here both good and evil. Therefore, strive for
yoga, yoga is skill in action. He rises to a status higher than the ethical with its
distinction of good and evil. He is rid of selfishness and therefore is
incapable of evil. According to S., Yoga is evenness
of mind in success or failure, possessed by one who is engaged in the performance
of his proper duties, while his mind rests in God.1 1 svadharmākhyeṣu
karmasu vartamānasya yā siddhyasiddhyoḥ samatvabuddhir īśvarārpitacetas
tayā. Cp. Śrīdhara. karmajaṁ phalaṁ tyaktvā kevalaṁ
Īśvarārādhānārtham eva karma kurvāṇā maṇīṣṇo jñānino bhūtvā janmarūpeṇa bandhena vinirmuktāḥ. |
|
कर्मजं
बुद्धियुक्ता
हि फलं त्यक्त्वा
मनीषिणः । |
|
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः
पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम्
॥२- ५१॥ |
|
karmajaṁ buddhiyuktā hi
phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ |
|
karma-jam1
buddhi-yuktāḥ2 hi3 phalam4 tyaktvā5
manīṣiṇaḥ6 |
|
buddhi-yuktāḥ2 = they who have equable wisdom; [and] manīṣiṇaḥ6 = who
are enlightened men; tyaktvā5 =
by doing Tyagam [= relinquishment], give up; phalam4
= fruit, benefit; karma-jam1 =
caused or generated by actions; hi3 =
indeed; gacchhanti10 = reach; padam9 = state, Parama Padam, Supreme State or Abode,
Vaikuntam [abode of Vishnu]; anāmayam11 = free from disease or evil, [not
pernicious, healthy, salubrious]; [which is] janma-bandha7
vinirmuktāḥ8 = Jivanmukti, soul liberated from
the bondage of birth [birth-bondage7-liberation of soul8]
. 2.51 |
|
(2.51) The wise who have united their
intelligence (with the Divine) renouncing the fruits which their action
yields and freed from the bonds of birth reach the sorrowless state. ■Even when
alive, they are released from the bond of birth and go to the highest state
of Viṣṇu called mokṣa or liberation, which is free from all
evil.1 1 jīvanta eva janmabandhavinirmuktāḥ
santaḥ padaṁ paramaṁ viṣṇor mokṣākhyaṁ gacchanty anāmayam sarvopadravarahitam. S. |
|
|
|
यदा ते
मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति
। |
|
तदा गन्तासि
निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य
श्रुतस्य च ॥२-
५२॥ |
|
yadā te mohakalilaṁ
buddhir vyatitariṣyati |
|
yadā1 te2
moha-kalilam3 buddhiḥ4 vyatitariṣyati5 |
|
yadā1 = whenever; te2 = your;
buddhiḥ4 = Buddhi, mind; vyatitariṣyati5
= goes beyond [passes the Rubicon of]; moha-kalilam3
= delusion-turbidity; tadā6 = at that moment; gantāsi7 = you will obtain; nirvedam8 = Vairagyam,
dispassion, detachment; śrotavyasya9
= to what has to be heard, to scriptures; ca11 = and; śrutasya10
= to what has already been heard [other than Brahman Knowledge]. 2.52 |
|
(2.52) When thy intelligence
shall cross the turbidity of delusion, then shalt thou become indifferent to
what has been heard and what is yet to be heard. ■Scriptures
are unnecessary for the man who has attained the insight. See II, 46; VI, 44.
He who attains the wisdom of the Supreme passes beyond the range of the Vedas
and the Upaniṣads. śabdabrahmātivartate. |
|
श्रुतिविप्रतिपन्ना
ते यदा स्थास्यति
निश्चला । |
|
समाधावचला
बुद्धिस्तदा
योगमवाप्स्यसि
॥२- ५३॥ |
|
śruti-vipratipannā te
yadā sthāsyati niścalā |
|
śruti-vipratipannā1
yadā3 sthāsyati4 niścalā5 |
|
yadā3 = when; te2 = your; buddhiḥ8
= mind; śruti1A-vipratipannā1B
= is perplexed1B by Vedas1A [=Vedas-state
of perplexity from diverse statements]; [the mind] sthāsyati4
= becomes steady; niścalā5 =
unshakable [= firm, immobile]; [and] acalā7 = steady [= immovable]; samādhāu6
= in Samadhi [mind steadfast in the Self]; [and] tadā9 = at that moment; avāpsyasi11 = you will reach; yogam10 = Yoga of enlightenment. 2.53 |
|
(2.53) When thy intelligence,
which is bewildered by the Vedic texts, shall stand unshaken and stable in
spirit (samādhi), then shalt thou attain to insight (yoga). śrutivipratipannā: bewildered
by the Vedic texts. As different schools of thought and practice profess to
derive support from the Vedas, they bewilder. samādhi is not loss of
consciousness, but the highest kind of consciousness.1 The object with which the mind is in communion is the
Divine Self. Buddhiyoga is the method by which we get beyond Vedic ritualism
and do our duty without any attachment for
the results of our action. We must act but with equanimity which is more
important than any action. The question is not what shall we do, but how
shall we do? In what spirit shall we let? I It is what Plato means when he exhorts the soul to
"collect and concentrate itself in its self." Phaedo, 83A. |
|
The Characteristics of the Perfect Sage (RKN) |
|
अर्जुन
उवाच |
|
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य
का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य
केशव । |
|
स्थितधीः
किं प्रभाषेत
किमासीत व्रजेत
किम् ॥२- ५४॥ |
|
arjuna uvāca: sthitaprajñasya
kā bhāṣā samādhisthasya keśava |
|
arjuna uvāca: sthita-prajñasya1
kā2 bhāṣā3 samādhi-sthasya4
keśava5 |
|
arjuna uvāca = Arjuna
said: keśava5 = O Kesava,
Krishna; kā2 + bhāṣā3
= what2 language3 [how do you characterize a
man]; samādhi-sthasya4 = of
one immersed and absorbed in the Self; kim7
= how does; sthita-prajñasya1
= one who is steady in prajna or wisdom; sthita-dhīḥ6
= man with steady wisdom; prabhāṣeta8
= speak; kim9 = how; āsīta10 = sit [does he
sit]; kim12 = how; vrajeta11 = [does he] move.
2.54 |
|
Arjuna said: (2.54) What is
the description of the man who has this firmly founded wisdom, whose being is
steadfast in spirit, O Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)? How should the
man of settled intelligence speak, how should he sit, how should he walk? ■In the
Hindu scheme of life, there is the last stage of saṁnyāsa where
the ritual is abandoned and social obligations surrendered. The first
stage is that of student discipleship, the second that of the householder,
the third that of retreat and the fourth and the last is that of total renunciation. Those who abandon the
household life and adopt the homeless one are the renouncers. This state may
be entered upon at any time, though normally it comes after the passage
through the other three stages. The saṁnyāsins literally die to
the world and even funeral rites are performed when they leave their homes
and become parivrājakas or homeless wanderers. These developed souls by their very
example, affect the society to which they no longer belong. They form the
conscience of society. Their utterance is free and their vision untrammeled.
Though they have their roots in the Hindu religious organization, they grow
above it and by their freedom of mind and universality of outlook are a
challenge to the corrupting power and cynical compromise of the
authoritarians. Their supersocial life is a witness to the validity of
ultimate values from which other social values derive. They are the sages,
and Arjuna asks for some discernible signs, some distinguishing marks of such
developed souls. |
|
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
|
प्रजहाति
यदा कामान्सर्वान्पार्थ
मनोगतान् । |
|
आत्मन्येवात्मना
तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते
॥२- ५५॥ |
|
śrībhagavān
uvāca: prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha
manogatān |
|
śrībhagavān
uvāca: prajahāti1 yadā2
kāmān3 sarvān4 pārtha5
manaḥ-gatān6 |
|
śrībhagavān uvāca = Sri
Bhagavan said: pārtha5 = O
Partha, Arjuna: yadā2 = when;
prajahāti1 = [one]
relinquishes in full; kāmān3
sarvān4 = a whole slew4 of desires3;
[that] manaḥ-gatān6 =
have gone into the mind; tuṣṭaḥ10
= remains pleased; ātmani7
= in his self; eva8 =
alone; ātmanā9 = by
his self; tadā12 =
at that time; [he] ucyate13 =
is identified as; sthita-prajñaḥ11=
one with steady wisdom. 2.55 |
|
The Blessed Lord
said: (2.55) When a
man puts away all the desires of his mind, O Partha (Arjuna),
and when his spirit is content in itself, then is he called stable in
intelligence. Negatively, the state is one of freedom from selfish
desires and positively, it is one of concentration on the Supreme. |
|
दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः
सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः
। |
|
वीतरागभयक्रोधः
स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते
॥२- ५६॥ |
|
duḥkheṣv
anudvignamanāḥ sukheṣu vigataspṛhaḥ |
|
duḥkheṣu1
anudvigna-manāḥ2 sukheṣu3 vigata-spṛhaḥ4 |
|
duḥkheṣu1 = free of
sorrow; anudvigna-manāḥ2
= unagitated in mind; sukheṣu3 =
in happiness; [and] vigata-spṛhaḥ4
= free from covetousness; vīta5
rāga6 bhaya7 krodhaḥ8 =
free from5 desire6, fear7, anger8;
muniḥ10 = [that] sage
[one who observes Maunam or silence]; ucyate11
= is called; sthita-dhīḥ9
= one of steady mind. 2.56 |
|
(2.56) He whose
mind is untroubled in the midst of sorrows and is free from eager desire amid
pleasures, he from whom passion, fear, and rage have passed away, he is called
a sage of settled intelligence. It is self-mastery,
conquest of desire and passion that is insisted on.1 1Cpo Lucretius: "Religion does not consist in turning unceasingly toward the veiled stone, nor in approaching
all the altars, nor in throwing oneself prostrate on the ground, nor in
raising the hands before the habitations of gods, nor in deluging
the temples with the blood of beasts, nor in heaping vows upon vows; but in
beholding all with a peaceful soul." De rerum Natura. |
|
यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य
शुभाशुभम् । |
|
नाभिनन्दति
न द्वेष्टि तस्य
प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता
॥२- ५७॥ |
|
yaḥ sarvatrā ’nabhisnehas
tattatprāpya śubhāśubham |
|
yaḥ1
sarvatra2 anabhi-snehaḥ3 tat4 tat5
prāpya6 śubha-aśubham7 |
|
yaḥ1 = He
who; [is] anabhi-snehaḥ3 =
without attachment [fondness, affection, friendship]; [for] sarvatra2 = anything and everything; na8 + abhinandati9 = neither delights; na10 + dveṣṭi11 = nor detests; tat4 tat5 = that and that [=
each, separately and severally]; subha-aśubham7
= good or bad [evil] things; prāpya6
= upon attaining them; tasya12 =
his; prajñā13 = wisdom; pratiṣṭhitā14=
remains steady. 2.57 |
|
(2.57). He who is
without affection on any side, who does not rejoice or loathe as he obtains
good or evil, his intelligence is firmly set (in wisdom). ■Flowers bloom and they fade. There is no need to
praise the former and condemn the latter. We must receive whatever comes
without excitement, pain or revolt. |
|
यदा संहरते
चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव
सर्वशः । |
|
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य
प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता
॥२- ५८॥ |
|
yadā saṁharate cā ’yaṁ
kūrmo ’ṅgānī ’va
sarvaśaḥ |
|
yadā1 saṁharate2
ca3 ayam4 kūrmaḥ5 aṅgānī6
iva7 sarvaśaḥ8 |
|
yadā1 = When;
ayam4 = this [one =
Sannyasin]; ca3 = also; saṁharate2 = retracts
inside; indriyāṇī9
= sense organs; indriya-arthebhyaḥ10
= from contact with sense objects; iva7
= as; kūrmaḥ5 =
a tortoise; [withdraws] aṅgānī6
= its limbs; sarvaśaḥ8 =
completely [from all around]; tasya11 =
his; prajñā12 = wisdom; pratiṣṭhitā13 =
remains steady. 2.58 |
|
(2.58) He who draws away the senses from
the objects of sense on every side as a tortoise draws in his
limbs (into the shell), his
intelligence is firmly set (in wisdom). |
|
विषया
विनिवर्तन्ते
निराहारस्य देहिनः
। |
|
रसवर्जं
रसोऽप्यस्य परं
दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते
॥२- ५९॥ |
|
viṣayā vinivartante
nirāhārasya dehinaḥ |
|
viṣayāḥ1
vinivartante2 nirāhārasya3 dehinaḥ4 |
|
viṣayāḥ1 = objects of
sense organs; vinivartante2 =
retreat; nirāhārasya3 + dehinaḥ4 = from the abstaining3
man's body4; rasa5A-varjam5B
= except5B the taste5A; rasaḥ6
+ api7 that enjoyment6;
asya8 = of this person; nivartate11 =
leaves, ceases to exist; dṛṣṭvā10
= after obtaining vision of, realization [of the Supreme]; param9 = Brahman. 2.59 |
|
(2.59) The objects of sense turn away from the embodied soul who abstains from feeding on them but the taste
for them remains. Even
the taste turns away when the
Supreme is seen. ■The author is explaining the difference between
outer abstention and inner renunciation. We may reject the objects but desire
for them may remain. Even the desire is lost when the
Supreme is seen.1 The control should be both on the body and the mind.
Liberation from the tyranny of the body is not enough; we must be liberated
from the tyranny of desires also. I Cp Kālidāsa: "They whose minds are not
disturbed when the sources of disturbance are present, are the truly
brave." vikārahetau sati vikriyante yesāṁ na cetāṁsi ta eva dhīrāh.
--Kumārasaṁbhava.
I, 59. |
|
यततो
ह्यपि कौन्तेय
पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः
। |
|
इन्द्रियाणि
प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति
प्रसभं मनः ॥२-
६०॥ |
|
yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya
vipaścitaḥ |
|
yatataḥ1
hi2 api3 kaunteya4 puruṣasya5
vipaścitaḥ6 |
|
kaunteya4 = O son of
Kunti, Arjuna: pramāthīni8 =
agitated; indriyāṇi7 =
senses; haranti9 = carry away; manaḥ11 = the mind; vipaścitaḥ6 = of an
intelligent; puruṣasya5 =
person; prasabham10 = by force;
api3 = even; yatataḥ1 = as he strives; hi2 = truly. 2.60 |
|
(2.60) Even though
a man may ever strive (for perfection) and be ever so discerning, O Son of
Kuntī (Arjuna), his impetuous senses will carry off his mind by force. |
|
तानि
सर्वाणि संयम्य
युक्त आसीत मत्परः
। |
|
वशे हि
यस्येन्द्रियाणि
तस्य प्रज्ञा
प्रतिष्ठिता
॥२- ६१॥ |
|
tāni sarvāṇi saṁyamya
yukta āsīta matparaḥ |
|
tāni1
sarvāṇi2 saṁyamya3 yuktaḥ4
āsīta5 mat-paraḥ6 |
|
yuktaḥ4 = one with
focused mind; mat-paraḥ6 =
holding Me as the Supreme Refuge; saṁyamya3
= having subjugated or curbed; sarvāṇi2
= all; tāni1 = that
[the senses]; [and] āsīta5 =
sitting down; yasya9 =
whose; indriyāṇi10 =
sense organs; vaśe7 =
under his own control or restraint; tasya11
= his; prajñā12 =
wisdom; hi8 = indeed; pratiṣṭhitā13 =
becomes steady. 2.61 |
|
(2.6I) Having brought all (the senses) under control,
he should remain firm in yoga intent on Me; for he, whose senses are under
control, his intelligence is firmly set. ■ matparaḥ: another reading is tatparaḥ. Self-discipline
is not a matter of intelligence. It is a matter of will and emotions.
Self-discipline is easy when there is vision of the Highest. See XII, 5. The
original Yoga was theistic. Cp. also Yoga Sūtra, I" 24. kleśakarmavipākakśayair
aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣaviśeṣa Īśvaraḥ. |
|
ध्यायतो
विषयान्पुंसः
सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते
। |
|
सङ्गात्संजायते
कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते
॥२- ६२॥ |
|
dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ
saṅgas teṣū ’pajāyate |
|
dhyāyataḥ1
viṣayān2 puṁsaḥ3 saṅgaḥ4
teṣu5 upajāyate6 |
|
puṁsaḥ3 = the man; dhyāyataḥ1 = while thinking
of; viṣayān2 = objects
of senses; upajāyate6 = there
comes up; saṅgaḥ4 =
attachment; teṣu5 = for
those objects of senses; saṅgāt7
= from attachment; sañjāyate8
= comes; kāmaḥ9 =
desire; kāmāt10 =
from desire; abhijāyate12 =
comes, springs; krodhaḥ11 =
anger. 2.62 |
|
(2.62) When a man dwells in his mind on the objects of
sense, attachment to them is produced. From attachment springs desire and
from desire comes anger. kāma: desire. Desires may prove to be as resistless as the most powerful
external forces. They may lift us into glory or hurl us
into disgrace. |
|
क्रोधाद्भवति
संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः
। |
|
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद्बुद्धिनाशो
बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति
॥२- ६३॥ |
|
krodhād bhavati saṁmohaḥ
saṁmohāt smṛtivibhramaḥ |
|
krodhāt1 bhavati2 saṁmohaḥ3
saṁmohāt4
smṛti-vibhramaḥ5 |
|
krodhāt1 = from
anger; bhavati2 = comes; saṁmohaḥ3 = delusion; saṁmohāt4 = from
delusion; smṛti-vibhramaḥ5 =
loss of memory; smṛti-bhraṁśāt6 = from
loss of memory; buddhināśaḥ7 =
destruction of Buddhi; buddhi-nāśāt8 = from
loss of Buddhi; [he] praṇaśyati9 = perishes.
2.63 |
|
(2.63) From anger arises bewilderment, from
bewilderment loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and from the destruction of intelligence he perishes. buddhināśā: destruction of intelligence.
It is failure to discriminate between right and wrong. When the soul is
overcome by passion, its memory is lost, its intelligence is
obscured and the man is ruined. What is called for is not a forced isolation
from the world or destruction of sense life but an inward withdrawal. To hate
the senses is as wrong as to love them. The horses of senses are not to be
unyoked from the chariot but controlled by the reins of the mind. |
|
रागद्वेषवियुक्तैस्तु
विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन्
। |
|
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा
प्रसादमधिगच्छति
॥२- ६४॥ |
|
rāgadveṣaviyuktais tu viṣayān
indriyaiś caran |
|
rāga-dveṣa-vimuktaiḥ1
tu2 viṣayān4 indriyaiḥ5
caran6 |
|
tu2 = but; rāga1A-dveṣa1B-viyuktaiḥ1C
= he who is free from1C likes1A and dislikes1B;
caran6 = moving among; viṣayān4 = objects of sense; indriyaiḥ5 = with [the help of]
organs such as eyes etc; ātma-vaśyaiḥ7
= under his control, under control of the mind; vidheyātmā8 = one who
has self-control; adhigacchati10 =
gains, attains; prasādam9 =
calmness, grace of God. 2.64 |
|
(2.64) But a man of disciplined mind, who moves among
the objects of sense, with the senses under control and free from
attachment and aversion, he attains purity of spirit. See V, 8. The stḥitaprajña has no selfish
aims or personal hopes. He is not
disturbed by the touches of outward things. He accepts what happens without
attachment or repulsion, He covets nothing, is jealous of none. He has no desires and makes no
demands.1 I Cp. with this the following description of disciplined
seers or ṛṣis. ūrdhavaretās tapasyugro
niyatāśī ca saṁyamī śāpānugrahayoś saktah. satyasandho
bhaved ṛṣiḥ taponirdhūtapāpmānaḥ tathyā tathyābhidhāyinaḥ vedavedāngatattvajnā ṛṣayah
parikīrtitāḥ. |
|
प्रसादे
सर्वदुःखानां
हानिरस्योपजायते
। |
|
प्रसन्नचेतसो
ह्याशु बुद्धिः
पर्यवतिष्ठते
॥२- ६५॥ |
|
prasāde sarvaduḥkhānāṁ
hānir asyo ’pajāyate |
|
prasāde1
sarva2 duḥkhānām3 hāniḥ4
asya5 upajāyate6 |
|
prasāde1 = When there
is a placid state of mind; hāniḥ4
= eradication, destruction, removal; asya5
sarva2 duḥkhānām3
= of all2 his5 sorrows3; upajāyate6= occurs, takes place; hi8 = Indeed; prasanna-cetasaḥ7 = of one whose mind is
placid; buddhiḥ10 =
intuitive intelligence, wisdom; āśu9
= soon; pari11 avatiṣṭhate12
= becomes established. 2.65 |
|
(2.65) And in that purity of spirit, there is produced
for him an end of all sorrow; the intelligence of such a man of
pure spirit is soon established (in the peace of the self). |
|
नास्ति
बुद्धिरयुक्तस्य
न चायुक्तस्य
भावना । |
|
न चाभावयतः
शान्तिरशान्तस्य
कुतः सुखम् ॥२-
६६॥ |
|
nā ’sti buddhir
ayuktasya na cā ’yuktasya bhāvanā |
|
na asti1 buddhiḥ2
ayuktasya3 na4 ca5 ayuktasya6
bhāvanā7 |
|
ayuktasya3 = for one
who is unsteady; na asti1 = there
is neither; buddhiḥ2 =
intelligence, wisdom; ca5 = and; na4 = nor; bhāvanā7= meditation; ayuktasya6 = for the unsteady person; ca9 = and abhāvayataḥ10 = for one
who is not meditative; na8 =
there is no; śāntiḥ11 =
peace; kutaḥ13 = Where
is; sukham14 = happiness; aśāntasya12 = for one
without peace? |
|
(2.66) For the uncontrolled, there is no intelligence;
nor for the uncontrolled is there the power of concentration and for him
without concentration, there is no peace and for the unpeaceful, how can
there be happiness? |
|
इन्द्रियाणां
हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनु
विधीयते । |
|
तदस्य
हरति प्रज्ञां
वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि
॥२- ६७॥ |
|
indriyāṇāṁ hi
caratāṁ yan mano ’nuvidhīyate |
|
indriyāṇām1
hi2 caratām3 yat4 manaḥ5
anuvidhīyate6 |
|
hi2 = for; yat4 manaḥ5 = the mind5
which4; anuvidhīyate6 =
becomes involved in; caratām3
indriyāṇām1 = wandering3
senses seeking their objects1; tat7
= that [mind]; harati9 =
carries away; prajñām10 = discriminative
wisdom; iva13 = like; vāyuḥ11 = the wind;
[carries away] asya8 =
his; nāvam12 = boat;
ambhasi14 = on the
waters. 2.67 |
|
(2.67) When the mind runs after the roving senses, it
carries away the understanding, even as a wind carries away a ship on the waters. |
|
तस्माद्यस्य
महाबाहो निगृहीतानि
सर्वशः । |
|
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य
प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता
॥२- ६८॥ |
|
tasmād yasya mahābāho
nigṛhītāni sarvaśaḥ |
|
tasmāt1
yasya2 mahābāho3 nigṛhītāni4
sarvaśaḥ5 |
|
yasya2 = his;
indriyāṇi6 = senses;
nigṛhītāni4 = are
withdrawn, drawn back or retracted; indriya-arthebhyaḥ7
= from the respective sense objects; sarvaśaḥ5
= in all their constituents like mind;
tasmāt1 = therefore; mahābāho3
= O mighty-armed one; tasya8
prajñā9 pratiṣṭhitā10 = his8-wisdom9-becomes
established10. 2.68 |
|
(2.68) Therefore, O Mighty-armed (Arjuna), he whose senses are all
withdrawn from their objects his intelligence is firmly set. |
|
या निशा
सर्वभूतानां
तस्यां जागर्ति
संयमी । |
|
यस्यां
जाग्रति भूतानि
सा निशा पश्यतो
मुनेः ॥२- ६९॥ |
|
yā niśā
sarvabhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī |
|
yā1
niśā2 sarva3 bhūtānām4
tasyām5 jāgarti6 saṁyamī7 |
|
saṁyamī7 = the man
with control of his sense organs; jāgarti6
= is awake; yā1
niśā2 = what is night; sarva3
bhūtānām4 = for all3 living
beings4. tasyām5 =
in that [night]; yasyām8 =
in which; bhūtāni10 =
the beings, creatures; jāgrati9 =
keep awake; sā11
niśā12 paśyataḥ13 muneḥ14
= that is11 night12 for the seeing13 (Seer)
Muni14 (the silent one or Sage).--2.69 |
|
(2.69) What is night for all beings is the time of
waking for the disciplined soul; and what is the time of waking for all
beings is night for the sage who sees (or the sage of vision). ■When all
beings are attracted by the glitter of sense-objects, the sage is intent on
understanding reality. He is wakeful to the nature of reality to which the
unwise is asleep or indifferent. The life of opposites which is the day or
condition of activity for the unenlightened is night, a darkness of the soul
to the wise. Cp. Goethe: "Error stands in the same relation to truth as
sleeping to waking." |
|
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं
समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति
यद्वत् । |
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तद्वत्कामा
यं प्रविशन्ति
सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति
न कामकामी ॥२- ७०॥
|
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āpūryamāṇam
acalapratiṣṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti
yadvat |
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āpūryamāṇam1
acala-pratiṣṭham2 samudram3 āpaḥ4
praviśanti5 yadvat6 |
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yadvat6 = as;āpaḥ4 = water; praviśanti5 = flowing into; samudram3 = the ocean; āpūryamāṇam1 =
brimming with water from all sides; acala-pratiṣṭham2
= remains steady without change; tadvat7
= likewise; saḥ12 =
that man; yam9 = into whom; sarve11 = all; kāmāḥ8 = desires;
praviśanti10 = flow
into; āpnoti14 = attains; śāntim13 = peace; [it is] na15 + kāmakāmī16
= not so for the epicure (= kāma-kāmī, the person who
seeks desires).-- 2.70 |
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(2.70) He unto whom all desires enter as waters into
the sea, which, though ever being filled is ever motionless, attains to peace
and not he who hugs his desires. |
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विहाय
कामान्यः सर्वान्
पुमांश्चरति
निःस्पृहः । |
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निर्ममो
निरहंकारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति
॥२- ७१॥ |
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vihāya kāmān yaḥ
sarvān pumāṁś carati niḥspṛhaḥ |
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vihāya1
kāmān2 yaḥ3 sarvān4
pumān5 carati6 niḥspṛhaḥ7 |
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yaḥ3 pumān5 = whoever person; adhigacchhati12 śāntim11
= 10 attains12 peace11;
vihāya1 = after
relinquishing, abandoning; sarvān4 =
all; kāmān2 = desires;
[and] carati6 = wanders; niḥspṛhaḥ7= free from
desires, wants; nirmamaḥ8 =
without a sense of Mine; saḥ10 =
he; [is] nirahañkāraḥ9 =
without ahamkara (ego). 2.71 |
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(2.71) He who abandons all desires and acts free from longing,
without any sense of mineness or egotism, he attains to peace. Cp, the well-known saying of the Upaniṣad. "The
human mind is of two kinds, pure and impure. That which is intent on securing
its desires is impure; that
which is free from attachment to desires is pure."1 Carati: acts. He freely and readily spends himself without measure for something
intuitively apprehended as great and noble. śāntim: peace; the
suppression of all the troubles of earthly existences. 2 1 mano hi dvividhaṁ proktaṁ śuddhaṁ cāśuddham eva ca aśuddham kāmasaṁkalpaṁ suddha
kāmavivarjitam. 2. sarvasaṁsaraduḥkhoparamatvalakṣaṇāṁ,
nirvāṇākhyām. S. |
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एषा ब्राह्मी
स्थितिः पार्थ
नैनां प्राप्य
विमुह्यति । |
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स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि
ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति
॥२- ७२॥ |
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eṣā brāhmī
sthitiḥ pārtha nai ’nāṁ
prāpya vimuhyati |
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eṣā1
brāhmī2 sthitiḥ3 pārtha4
na5 enām6 prāpya7 vimuhyati8 |
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pārtha4 = O Partha
(Arjuna); eṣā1 = this;
[is] brāhmī2 sthitiḥ3
= the State of Brahman; prāpya7
= attaining; enām6 =
this; na5 vimuhyati8 = he does not5
become bewildered or deluded8. sthitvā9
= established asyām10 =
in this state; [he] ṛcchati14
= attains, achieves; brahma-nirvāṇam13=
Absorption in Brahman, Brahman-hood, Brahman Bliss, Liberation of soul; api12 = even; anta-kāle11 = at the end of time (in the
autumn period of his life). |
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(2.72) This is the divine state (brāhmīsthiti) Pārtha (Arjuna), having attained
thereto, one is (not again) bewildered; fixed in that state at the end (at
the hour of death) one can attain to the bliss of God (brahmanirvāṇa). brāhmīsthiti: life
eternal. nirvāṇam, mokṣam.
s. nirgasataṁ vānaṁ gamanaṁ yasmin prāpye brahmaṇi
tan nirvānam, Nīlakaṇṭha. Nirvāṇa has been
used to indicate the state of perfection in Buddhism. Dhammapada says: Health is the
greatest gain, contentment is the greatest wealth, faith is the best friend
and nirvana is the highest happiness. I These saints have points in common with the superman of
Nietzsche, with the deity-bearers of Alexander. Joy, serenity, the
consciousness of inward strength and of liberation, courage and energy of
purpose and a constant life in God are their characteristics. They represent
the growing point of human evolution. They proclaim, by their very
existence, character and consciousness, that humanity can rise above its assumed
limitations, that the tide of evolution is pushing forward to a new high
level. They give us the sanction of example and expect us to rise above our
present selfishness and corruption. Wisdom is the supreme means of liberation, but this
wisdom is not exclusive
of devotion to God and desireless work. Even while alive, the sage rests in
Brahman, and is released from the unrest of the world. The sage of steady
wisdom lives a life of disinterested
service.
1 204. See also MB., 14, 543. vihāya sarvasaṁkalpān
buddhyā
śārīramānasān sa vai nirvāṇam
āpnoti
nirindhana īvānalaḥ. Cp. Plato: "If the soul takes its departure in a
state of purity, not carrying with it any clinging impurities which during
life, it never willingly shared in, but always avoided; gathering
itself into itself and making this separation from the body its aim and study
... well then, so prepared the soul departs to that invisible region of the
Divine, the Immortal, and the wise." Phaedo, Sec. 68. The descriptions of the ideal man, the jñānin, the stḥitaprajña, the yogārūḍha, the guṇatita
or the bhakta agree in all essentials. See VI, 4-32; X, 9-10; XII. 13-20; XIII 7-1I; XIV, 21-35; XVI, 1-3; XVIII, 50 - 60. Iti ... sāṁkhyayogo nāma dvitīyo This is the second chapter entitled The Yoga of
Knowledge. |