The 2nd Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is the starting point of what we have known as the Bhagavad Gita.
Chapter name:- Sankhya Yog || Chapter number:- 2nd
तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् |
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदन: || 1||
Pronunciation:- sañjaya uvācha: taṁ tathā kṛipayāviṣhṭamaśhru pūrṇākulekṣhaṇam| viṣhīdantamidaṁ vākyam uvācha madhusūdanaḥ ||
Translation:- Sanjay said: Seeing Arjun overwhelmed with pity, his mind grief-stricken, and his eyes full of tears, Shree Krishna spoke the following words.
Interpretation:- This sloka is displaying the image of Arjun, as a totally devastated man who already lost the War within himself even before the beginning of the Kurukshetra war in real-time.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् |
अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन || 2||
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गम: पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते |
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप || 3||
Pronunciation:- śhrī bhagavān uvācha: kutastvā kaśhmalamidaṁ viṣhame samupasthitam| anārya-juṣhṭamaswargyam akīrti-karam arjuna|| klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayyupapadyate| kṣhudraṁ hṛidaya-daurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣhṭha parantapa||
Translation:- The Shree Bhagavan said: My dear Arjun, how has this delusion overcome you in this hour of peril? It is not befitting an honorable person. It leads not to the higher abodes, but to disgrace.O Parth, it does not befit you to yield to this unmanliness. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O vanquisher of enemies.
Interpretation:- These are simply motivational statements that are used by Shree Bhagavan to motivate Arjun. This method is called Rinaatmak Protsahan Vidhi or Negative Motivational Method. In this method, the motivator tries to show the subject (Person who is motivated by) the negative aspect of his/her decision which he has decided because of this depression which is also the product of his/her perspective about reality. Here Shree Bhagavan is telling Arjun that this sort of attitude is not right for a person like him who has an image and reputation in the society by using the phrase "klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha". The word "klaibyaṁ" comes from the word "Klaibayata" which is a slang or informal word and it means "Pusillanimity/Coward/Funk". There are two kinds of methodologies to motivate any person when that person is in a state of depression.
- Dhanatmak Protsahan Vidhi (Positive Motivational Method)
- Rinaatmak Protsahan Vidhi (Negative Motivational Method)
In "Rinaatmak Protsahan Vidhi" the motivator or counselor uses slang or informal words and talks in an inconvenient way where the counselor basically vanquishes the subject's ego and watch him/her strike back in return, it is just like squeezing a spring and release the tension or force instantly. In this motivator should know the subject very well before executing this method. This knowing of the subject will help the motivator to predict the reaction of the subject.
Normally, counselors use the first method and not the second one, because the second method is a little bit risky and difficult in nature. Because in the second method subject can react incongruously and might get into a more severe condition of mental trauma, which might push the subject into a state of mind which today we called "Suicidal Tendency"; it is the last stage of Depression, when a person reaches this state of mind he/she might get motivated from his/her inner sense to commit suicide.
Shree Bhagavan has used this method because he is at the War field of Kurukshetra and the War is about to begin. If he uses the first method then it would take a longer time to show its result, cause the first method is a slow and rhythmic process of healing someone from depression but the second method works faster.
अर्जुन उवाच |
कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन |
इषुभि: प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन || 4||
गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान्
श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके |
हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव
भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् || 5||
न चैतद्विद्म: कतरन्नो गरीयो
यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयु: |
यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषाम
स्तेऽवस्थिता: प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्रा: || 6||
कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभाव:
पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेता: |
यच्छ्रेय: स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे
शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् || 7||
न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद्
यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् |
अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं
राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् || 8||
Pronunciation:- Arjuna uvācha: kathaṁ bhīṣhmam ahaṁ sankhye droṇaṁ cha madhusūdana| iṣhubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāvari-sūdana|| gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān, śhreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣhyamapīha loke| hatvārtha-kāmāṁstu gurūnihaiva, bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān|| na chaitadvidmaḥ kataranno garīyo, yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ| yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣhāmas, te ’vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣhṭrāḥ|| kārpaṇya-doṣhopahata-svabhāvaḥ, pṛichchhāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-chetāḥ| yach-chhreyaḥ syānniśhchitaṁ brūhi tanme, śhiṣhyaste ’haṁ śhādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam|| na hi prapaśhyāmi mamāpanudyād, yach-chhokam uchchhoṣhaṇam-indriyāṇām| avāpya bhūmāv-asapatnamṛiddhaṁ, rājyaṁ surāṇāmapi chādhipatyam||
Translation:- Arjun said: O Madhusudan, how can I shoot arrows in battle on men like Bheeshma and Dronacharya, who are worthy of my worship, O destroyer of enemies? It would be better to live in this world by begging than to enjoy life by killing these noble elders, who are my teacher and mentor, thus respectable to me. If we kill them, the wealth and pleasures we enjoy will be tainted with blood. We do not even know which result of this war is preferable for us—conquering them or being conquered by them. Even after killing them, we will not desire to live. Yet they have taken the side of Dhritarasthra, and now stand before us on the battlefield. I am confused about my duty and am besieged with anxiety and faintheartedness. I am your disciple and am surrendered to you. Please instruct me with certainty what is best for me. I can find no means of driving away from this anguish that is drying up my senses. Even if I win a prosperous and unrivaled kingdom on the earth, or gain sovereignty like the celestial gods, I will be unable to dispel this grief.
Interpretation:- As we can see, that after Krsna's "Rinaatmak Protsahan Vidhi" usage on Arjun, from the sloka number 4 to 8, Arjun's mental state started calming down. Arjun has reached a state of mind where he decided to leave the War but now because of Krsna's counseling process, his inner inquisitiveness started churning again. This is a positive sign. It simply means Arjun can be recovered. At the end of Chapter One, we saw Arjun who is mentally devastated, now that same Arjun is ready to clear the confusion of this situation which fabricates inside his mind because of the amalgamation of his Emotional Ethics and Conscientious Ethics. Thus Arjun asked the question in the sloka number five in chapter two, "How can he killed his own teacher and mentor, one who taught him the War skills and another who guided him how to live a respectful life as a Kshatriya". This inquisitiveness is good. Humans are naturally curious. This curiousness has played a foundational role in the development process of human civilization.
**On this development process of human civilization, I am writing a blog where I discuss the evolution of human civilization (in a storytelling way) on the face of the earth. The link to that blog is:- gyanversity.blogspot.com
Before get into all these, let me describe the definitions of Emotional Ethics and Conscientious Ethics.
1. Emotional Ethics:- This is a version of ethics that helps a person control the emotional agitations inside his/her mind.
For Example:- Suppose, A man is waiting for the signal to open and cross the road but there he found a beautiful girl dressing in an attractive way standing at the opposite side of the road to cross the road at the same time. Eventually, the signal opened and both of them cross over while that man is staring constantly at that girl but that girl just ignores that and walks away, and because of this the Man whose eyes on not in the right direction gets hit by the signal post of the opposite side. This kind of scenes we can found in cartoons, movies, Tv series, and at that moment we just laugh. But, if someone faced this situation in real life that this can be a good example of losing Emotional Ethics.
To be precise, Emotional Ethics is ethics that stops a man to have sexual intercourse with his mother or with animals, it also stops a man to rape a girl or lady, or child, it stops a man to do murder or other criminal activities; basically, it stops all those crimes which is executed because of the uncontrollable emotional perturbation. This is the version of Ethics that also provokes a human to understand the profoundness of a great epic or literature or other forms of Art. This Emotional Ethics makes a man emotionally intelligent; High ethical standards mean higher emotional intelligence.
2. Conscientious Ethics:- This is a version of ethics that helps a person to fulfill his/her responsibility towards his/her family, community, country, society, nature.
For Example:- There are two men. Both of them are unemployed. They are well educated from reputed universities of their country. They attained many job interviews but unfortunately or for unknown reasons both of them unable to clear them. Eventually, both of them got depressed. Suddenly both of them got two different ideas. One of them decided to start a business venture and went to the Bank and applied for a business loan. Another man joined a criminal gang or terrorist gang and involved in promoting various crimes. The first man has a higher Conscientious Ethical Standards but the second man has a lower Conscientious Ethical Standards towards country, society, community, family, and nature.
It is Conscientious Ethics that motivates a person to earn for his/her family, pay government taxes, create a harmonious eco-system in the community and society and with nature.
At this very point in time, inside Arjun's mind, these two ethical standards are colliding with each other. Now, Let's understand how...
As a warrior, he has to participate in this war, he can not run away at the last moment because there are lots of things are already in process. If he runs away from this war then his image, his reputation would be vanquished not only in front of this society but also in front of his own family members like his wife, his sons, his brothers etc. Everybody will mock him in verious possible ways. All these because he descourage to execute his resposability at the end moment which comes under Conscientious Ethics.
This Kurukshatra war is happening because of verious reasons and each reason has a story with it without knowing that story it is impossible to understand the situation. Fot that I will recommend to read Mahabharat epic. Don't watch the Tv series of Mahabharat because the Tv series lack information lots of things are missing in those Tv series. These Tv series are just to entertain and have a summarized overview of the entire epic which will only help when once anyone reads the epic entirely.
But Arjun has to fight against his own family members and respected ones with whom he has intense emotional attachments. He respects them and now there is a situation in which he has to kill them and that is against the Emotional Ethics. Because Emotional Ethics teachs us to respect our elders. Thus this inquisitiveness appeared in his mind and because of this Arjun takes shelter under Krsna's guidance, because Krsna is his good friend and he also understands the intensity and sensitivity of this situation. Thus in the 7th sloka of Chapter two, he pronounced "śhiṣhyaste ’haṁ śhādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam". The word "śhiṣhyaste" means "I'm taking your shelter as a student"; it shows that Arjun is fully confused and incapable to decide the ethical way to deal with this situation.
सञ्जय उवाच |
एवमुक्त्वा हृषीकेशं गुडाकेश: परन्तप |
न योत्स्य इति गोविन्दमुक्त्वा तूष्णीं बभूव ह || 9||
तमुवाच हृषीकेश: प्रहसन्निव भारत |
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वच: || 10||
Pronunciation:- sañjaya uvācha: evam-uktvā hṛiṣhīkeśhaṁ guḍākeśhaḥ parantapa| na yotsya iti govindam uktvā tūṣhṇīṁ babhūva ha|| tam-uvācha hṛiṣhīkeśhaḥ prahasanniva bhārata| senayorubhayor-madhye viṣhīdantam-idaṁ vachaḥ||
Translation:- Sanjay said: Having thus spoken, Gudakesh, that chastiser of enemies, addressed Hrishikesh: “Govind, I shall not fight,” and became silent. O Dhritarashtra, thereafter, in the midst of both the armies, Shree Krishna smilingly spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjun.
Interpretation:- Sanjay said to Dhritarashtra that Arjun again decides not to participate in this war until this confusion gets dissolve. This is actually, called the rights in friendship, this can be found between any two persons who are friends of each other. After beholding this "friendly adamant nature", Krsna chuckles beautifully and speaks up.
** After this, there will two sections, in the first section there will be sloka written in "Devnagari" and its translation. In the second section, there will be slokas written in "Latin alphabets" and their interpretations.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे |
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिता: || 11||
न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपा |
न चैव न भविष्याम: सर्वे वयमत: परम् || 12||
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा |
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति || 13||
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदु: खदा: |
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत || 14||
यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ |
समदु:खसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते || 15||
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सत: |
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभि: || 16||
अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् |
विनाशमव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित्कर्तुमर्हति || 17||
अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ता: शरीरिण: |
अनाशिनोऽप्रमेयस्य तस्माद्युध्यस्व भारत || 18||
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् |
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते || 19||
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूय: |
अजो नित्य: शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे || 20||
वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनमजमव्ययम् |
कथं स पुरुष: पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम् || 21||
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि |
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही || 22||
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावक: |
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुत: || 23||
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च |
नित्य: सर्वगत: स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातन: || 24||
अव्यक्तोऽयमचिन्त्योऽयमविकार्योऽयमुच्यते |
तस्मादेवं विदित्वैनं नानुशोचितुमर्हसि || 25||
अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् |
तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि || 26||
जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च |
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि || 27||
अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत |
अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना || 28||
आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेन
माश्चर्यवद्वदति तथैव चान्य: |
आश्चर्यवच्चैनमन्य: शृ्णोति
श्रुत्वाप्येनं वेद न चैव कश्चित् || 29||
देही नित्यमवध्योऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत |
तस्मात्सर्वाणि भूतानि न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि || 30||
स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि |
धर्म्याद्धि युद्धाच्छ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते || 31||
यदृच्छया चोपपन्नं स्वर्गद्वारमपावृतम् |
सुखिन: क्षत्रिया: पार्थ लभन्ते युद्धमीदृशम् || 32||
अथ चेतत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि |
तत: स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि || 33||
अकीर्तिं चापि भूतानि
कथयिष्यन्ति तेऽव्ययाम् |
सम्भावितस्य चाकीर्ति
र्मरणादतिरिच्यते || 34||
भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथा: |
येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम् || 35||
अवाच्यवादांश्च बहून्वदिष्यन्ति तवाहिता: |
निन्दन्तस्तव सामर्थ्यं ततो दु:खतरं नु किम् || 36||
हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम् |
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चय: || 37||
सुखदु:खे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ |
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि || 38||
एषा तेऽभिहिता साङ्ख्ये
बुद्धिर्योगे त्विमां शृणु |
बुद्ध्या युक्तो यया पार्थ
कर्मबन्धं प्रहास्यसि || 39||
नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते |
स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् || 40||
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन |
बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश्च बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम् || 41||
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चित: |
वेदवादरता: पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिन: || 42||
कामात्मान: स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम् |
क्रियाविशेषबहुलां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति || 43||
भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम् |
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धि: समाधौ न विधीयते || 44||
त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन |
निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् || 45||
यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वत: सम्प्लुतोदके |
तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानत: || 46||
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 47 ||
योगस्थ: कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय |
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्यो: समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते || 48||
दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय |
बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणा: फलहेतव: || 49||
बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते |
तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योग: कर्मसु कौशलम् || 50||
कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिण: |
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ता: पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम् || 51||
यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति |
तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च || 52||
श्रुतिविप्रतिपन्ना ते यदा स्थास्यति निश्चला |
समाधावचला बुद्धिस्तदा योगमवाप्स्यसि || 53||
Translation:- The Shree Bhagavan said: While you speak words of wisdom, you are mourning for that which is not worthy of grief. The wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead. Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. Just as the Dehi continuously passes from childhood to youth to old age, similarly, at the time of death, the Dehi passes into another body. The wise are not deluded by this. O son of Kunti, this happiness and sadness are non-permanent, and come and go in life like the winter and summer seasons. O descendent of Bharat, one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed. O Arjun, noblest amongst men, that person who is not affected by happiness and distress, and remains steady in both, becomes eligible for liberation. Of the transient, there is no endurance, and of the eternal, there is no cessation. This has verily been observed by the seers of the truth, after studying the nature of both. That which pervades the entire body, know it to be indestructible. No one can cause the destruction of that imperishable. Only the material body is perishable; the imperishable within this body is indestructible, immeasurable, and eternal. Therefore, fight, O descendent of Bharat. Neither of them has the proper comprehension of this fact that, the one who thinks this imperishable can slay and the one who thinks this imperishable can be slain. For truly, this imperishable neither kills nor can it be killed. This imperishable is neither born nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. This imperishable is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. O Parth, how can one who knows this imperishable to be imperishable, eternal, unborn, and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill? As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, this imperishable casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one. Weapons cannot shred the imperishable, nor can fire burn it. Water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it. The Imperishable is unbreakable and incombustible; it can neither be dampened nor dried. It is everlasting, in all places, unalterable, immutable, and primordial. The Imperishable is spoken of as invisible, inconceivable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body. If, however, you think that the imperishable is subject to constant birth and death, O mighty-armed Arjun, even then you should not grieve like this. Death is certain for one who has been born, and rebirth is inevitable for one who has died. Therefore, you should not lament over the inevitable. O scion of Bharat, all created beings are unmanifest before birth, manifest in life, and again unmanifest on death. So why grieve? Some see this Imperishable as amazing, some describe it as amazing, and some hear of this Imperishable as amazing, while others, even on hearing, cannot understand it at all. O Arjun, this Imperishable that dwells within the body is immortal; therefore, you should not mourn for anyone. Besides, considering your swadharma as a warrior, you should not waver. Indeed, for a warrior, there is no better engagement than fighting for the upholding of Dharma. O Parth, happy are the warriors to whom such opportunities to defend Dharma come unsought, opening for them the stairway to the extravagant comforts and pleasures. If, however, you refuse to fight this Dharma war, abandoning your swa-dharma and reputation, you will certainly incur sin. People will speak of you as a coward and a deserter. For a respectable person, infamy is worse than death. The great generals who hold you in high esteem will think that you fled from the battlefield out of fear, and thus will lose their respect for you. Your enemies will defame and humiliate you with unkind words, disparaging your might. Alas, what could be more painful than that? If you fight, you will either be slain on the battlefield and go to the celestial abodes, or you will gain victory and enjoy the kingdom on earth. Therefore arise with determination, O son of Kunti, and be prepared to fight. Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin. Hitherto, I have explained to you Sānkhya Yog or analytic knowledge regarding the nature of the soul. Now listen, O Parth, as I reveal Buddhi Yog or the Yog of Intelligence. When you work with such understanding, you will be freed from the bondage of karma. Remaining in this state of consciousness and taking initiatives, there is no loss or adverse result, and even a little effort saves one from great danger. O descendent of the Kurus, the intellect of those who are on this path is resolute, and their aim is one-pointed. But the intellect of those who are irresolute is many-branched. Oh Partha, when those with limited understanding listened to the flowery speech of them which are mentioned in the Vedas, they advocate that. They glorify only the Karmakanda portion of the Vedas where different rituals are mentioned which are to please different material desires. With their minds deeply attached to worldly pleasures and their intellects bewildered by such things, they are unable to possess the resolute determination. The Vedas deal with the three modes of material nature, O Arjun. Rise above the three modes to a state of pure spiritual consciousness. Freeing yourself from dualities, eternally fixed in truth, and without concern for material gain and safety, be situated in the self. Whatever purpose is served by a small well of water is naturally served in all respects by a large lake. Similarly, one who realizes the Absolute Truth also fulfills the purpose of all the Vedas. You have only the rights over your prescribed duties, but you have no control over the feedback of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction. Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O Arjun, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yog. Seek refuge in buddhi yog, O Arjun, and discard inferior actions with certainty and established in the state of intellectuality. Miserly are those who seek to enjoy the outcomes of their works. One who performs deeds while using Buddhi -Yog, he can get rid of both good and bad reactions in this life itself. Therefore, strive for Yog, which is the art of working skillfully. The wise endowed with equanimity of intellect, abandon attachment to the outcomes of actions, which bind one to the cycle of life and death. By working in such consciousness, they attain the state beyond all suffering. When your intellect crosses the quagmire of delusion, you will then acquire indifference to what has been heard and what is yet to be heard. When your intellect ceases to be allured by the fruitful sections of the Vedas and remains steadfast in divine consciousness, you will then attain the state of perfect Yog.
Interpretation:- From here (Chapter 2, sloka number 11) onwards, Krsna (Shree Bhagavan) starts what we called Bhagavad Gita. Till now, all these previous slokas are just the (I called these) "Swaha" in the "Homam" to get the "Tathastu" from the Krsna. I have already described the meanings of the words "Swaha" and "Homam" in my another blog names"gyanbharatha.blogspot.com/" and here I just share the link of that:- Rig vedic civilization chapter 3; The word "Tathastu" means "Be what you want", it simply means delivering/dispatching the demand(s).
Shrī bhagavān uvācha
aśhochyān-anvaśhochas-tvaṁ prajñā-vādānśh cha bhāṣhase|
gatāsūn-agatāsūnśh-cha nānuśhochanti paṇḍitāḥ||
In the 11th sloka, the Shree Bhagavan or Krsna, he stated that "aśhochyān-anvaśhochas-tvaṁ prajñā-vādānśh cha bhāṣhase", in this statement, Krsna points out that Arjun who is well-educated and intellectually stable, right now, is talking like an uneducated person who doesn't have enough experience of the reality, which is not true at all. Because of the way Arjun's life moved throughout the time until he reached this very situation of the Kurukshetra War, is full of ups and downs where he many times enjoyed the happiness and victory over his opponents and many times he is vanquished by his opponents deliberately in such a level that is not just directly hit to his reputation and social image but also hit him in an emotional level too. This first statement or the entire eleventh number sloka of chapter two is Sarcastic in nature. Krsna deliberately mocked Arjun in this sloka, which is a common thing in a friendship.
na tvevāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ|
na chaiva na bhaviṣhyāmaḥ sarve vayamataḥ param||
In the 12th sloka, Krsna pronounced a weird statement, he stated that all these people who are standing in this war field have actually existed before this and will exist after the end of this war. This is a bizarre statement. Bizarre because it doesn't fit into common sense. It is acceptable fact that all these people including Krsna and Arjun have existed before this war but even after this war all these people will exist, this sounds creepy, because its a common sense that if there is a war then there would many deaths. This sloka indicates something beyond the common understanding.
dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā|
tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati||
In the 13th sloka, Krsna tells that "dehino ’smin yathā dehe", means there is something called "Dehi" which is stayed inside this "Dehe/Body"; and it not just stays but also witnesses the transformation of this body from "kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā" and that means from childhood to youth and to the old age. In the 2nd section of this sloka, Krsna tells that the wise intellectuals do not worry or feel despair while witnessing this incident, they not even feel shocked even when they witness the living of this "Dehi" from this body which is commonly known as death. As per Krsna, this is an unchangeable reality.
Till now, in the sloka number 12th, Krsna stated that "All these people including Krsna and Arjun will also exist even in the future", in the 13th sloka he indicated a thing which is called "Dehi" and the nature of this thing is that it witnesses the transformation of this body and even it witnesses the death, actually the death is nothing but when this "Dehi" evacuates this body. It means "Dehi" does not die, it leaves the body. But Krsna still not describing what this "Dehi" is. But there are two things One is "Dehi" and another is "Dehe".
mātrā-sparśhās tu kaunteya śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ’nityās tans-titikṣhasva bhārata
In the 14th Sloka, Krsna talks (continuing his previous statement) about a circular process of approaching happiness and sadness in our lives, which repeats itself. Noone is escaped from this circle and no one will be in the future. Krsna used the word "titikṣhasva" which means "Sense of getting rid of", Krsna is telling Arjun to get rid of the impacts of this circular process of happiness and sadness. He is not prescribing the method of doing so, he is just prescribing Arjun what to do.
yaṁ hi na vyathayantyete puruṣhaṁ puruṣharṣhabha
sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so ’mṛitatvāya kalpate
In the 15th Sloka, he is continuing his dialogs and telling Arjun that the signs of that person who achieves this phenomenon of getting rid of the impact of the circular process of happiness and sadness, that person gets into a state of mind known as "dhīraṁ" which means "Steadiness", so you mean Arjun should try to achieve this for that he (Arjun) should learn the method of doing so. If he manages to achieve this steadiness then he will become eligible for "kalpate" which means "going beyond the realm of the time", in short, liberation.
Till now, we get to know about few terms...
- Dehi
- Dehe
- Circular process of Happiness and Sadness
- Titiksha
- Dhiram
- Kalpate
In the 17th sloka, continuing with his statement, he(Krsna) is proclaiming that in this body there is a thing or object which is imperishable in nature. Here again, Krsna is pointing out the "Dehi" and telling that "Dehi" is imperishable in nature but in an indirect way. In the 13th sloka Krsna first introduced this "Dehi" term and in the 17th sloka he is declaring two properties of that "Dehi" which are...
- Avināśhi/Imperishable
- Yena sarvam idaṁ tatam means (This Dehi pervades the entire body)
- Indestructible/Anāśhino
- Immeasurable/Aprameyasya
- Eternal/Nityas
- This Dehi doesn't perform any deeds/actions
- Ajaḥ/Unborn
- Nityaḥ/Eternal
- Shāśhvataḥ/Immortal
- Purāṇaḥ/The ancient
- Na hanyate/Is not destroyed
In the 21st sloka, Krsna used a method of communicating which is known as "Prasnabachik Upathapan/Questionative Presentment". In this method, the communicator presents his/her idea or standpoint in a question form. It is a very powerful method because it directly projects its impact on the Logical aspect of human intelligence. Krsna is presenting the same fact which he already expounded in his previous slokas but in a questioning form that provokes Arjun's logical aspect, which would motivate Arjun to ruminate about the decision that he made about participating in the War and provokes him to inquiry and rethink about his decision. Many politicians, motivating speakers, counselors use this technique in their speaking, even during any professional presentation, the presenter uses this technique to convince their client.
vāsānsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛihṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śharīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānya
nyāni sanyāti navāni dehī
In the 22nd sloka, Krsna is explaining the process of movement of this imperishable(Dehi/Shariri) from one body to another. He is comparing this process with changing clothes from old to new. In this sloka, it looks that this imperishable is like an object that has the capability to move from one body to another. This is a new property which is introduced by Krsna about this Imperishable. In the 19th sloka, Krsna mentioned a property of this imperishable that this imperishable doesn't perform any deed or action but here in this sloka, he mentioned that this Imperishable has the capability to move from one body to another and it also uses this capability and changes the body. Both these statements are looking contradictory to each other.
nainaṁ chhindanti śhastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na chainaṁ kledayantyāpo na śhoṣhayati mārutaḥ
In the 23rd sloka, Krsna is exhibiting that this imperishable(Dehi/Shariri) can not be influenced by any physical things or activity. Indirectly, he is telling that this Imperishable is a Non-physical entity. This is another property of this imperishable. In this sloka, Krsna is speaking indirectly or in a passive voice. The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action. In this sloka, this object is the imperishable one which is Krsna identified with the terms such as Dehi and Shariri.
achchhedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śhoṣhya eva cha
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur achalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ
In the 24th sloka, Krsna again exhibits a few old and few new properties of this Imperishable. The old properties which Krsna mentioned here are
- "Adāhyaḥ/Incombustible"
- "Akledyaḥ/Cannot be dampened"
- "Achchhedyaḥ/Unbreakable"
- "Aśhoṣhyah/Cannot be dried"
- "Nityaḥ/Everlasting or Eternal"
- "Achalaḥ/Immutable"
The new properties are
- "Sthāṇuḥ/Unalterable"
- "Sanātanaḥ/Primordial"
- "Sarva-gataḥ/All pervading or Omnipresent"
Krsna also introduced a new term to identify this Imperishable, which is "Ayam" which belongs to the masculine gender/pung linga and it means "This One (But with certainty)". It is an indicative word. In the 17th sloka, Krsna already stated a statement which is "Yena sarvam idaṁ tatam" which means "This Dehi/Shariri pervades the entire body". This statement looks similar to the word "Sarva-gataḥ" which Krsna used in this sloka but the meaning of this word is not the same. In the 17th sloka, Krsna told that this Dehi or Shariri remain throughout the body but here he is pointing out that this Dehi/Shariri presents everywhere which includes within and outside the physical body. Thus the meaning of these two phrases are different, in the 17th sloka the Dehi is restricted within the limits of the physical body but in the 24th sloka that same Dehi or Imperishable expends its limits and goes beyond the physical body. This might be the reason that Krsna has introduced a new term to identify this Dehi, which is "Ayam" because the term Dehi or Shariri is unfitting to elevate the macro aspect of this Dehi/Shariri. It simply means that the Dehi or Shariri has two aspects. One is the Micro aspect which is limited to the physical body and identified by the words "Dehi" or "Shariri" and the Second is the Macro aspect which has no limits and identified by the word "Ayam".
avyakto ’yam achintyo ’yam avikāryo ’yam uchyate
tasmādevaṁ viditvainaṁ nānuśhochitum arhasi
In the 25th sloka, Krsna is still continuing his explanation of the Macro aspect of this Imperishable and he introduced new properties and those are...
- Avyaktaḥ/Unmanifested
- Achintyaḥ/Inconceivable or That which is beyond the human comprehension
- Avikāryaḥ/Unchangeable
- Avināśhi/Imperishable
- Yena sarvam idaṁ tatam means/This Dehi pervades the entire body
- Indestructible/Anāśhino
- Immeasurable/Aprameyasya
- Eternal/Nityas
- This Dehi doesn't perform any deeds/actions
- Ajaḥ/Unborn
- Nityaḥ/Eternal
- Shāśhvataḥ/Immortal
- Purāṇaḥ/The ancient
- Na hanyate/Is not destroyed
- This Imperishable has the capability to move from one body to another and it also uses this capability and changes the body
- This Imperishable is a Non-physical entity
- Adāhyaḥ/Incombustible
- Akledyaḥ/Cannot be dampened
- Achchhedyaḥ/Unbreakable
- Aśhoṣhyah/Cannot be dried
- Nityaḥ/Everlasting or Eternal
- Achalaḥ/Immutable
- Sthāṇuḥ/Unalterable
- Sanātanaḥ/Primordial
- Sarva-gataḥ/All pervading or Omnipresent
- Avyaktaḥ/Unmanifested
- Achintyaḥ/Inconceivable or That which is beyond the human comprehension
- Avikāryaḥ/Unchangeable
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| The Diagram of the Kaal Chakra |
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| Diagramical representation of the sloka No.28 |
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| Sir Isaac Newton |
In the 32nd sloka, Krsna uses the word "Swarga". This is a confusing word because the word means "Celestial Abodes/Heavens" and it also means "All kinds of physical and material comforts and happiness and pleasures a human can think of or experience in his life". Krsna is indirectly implanting greed into Arjun's mind, in this statement but in a positive way, he is saying that if anyone knows his/her swa-dharma and follows it then he/she will enjoy the best quality of comforts and pleasures. It is my understanding that in this sloka Krsna is not talking about heavens but rather he is talking about the extravagant comforts and pleasures.
atha chet tvam imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṅgrāmaṁ na kariṣhyasi
tataḥ sva-dharmaṁ kīrtiṁ cha hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi
In the 33rd sloka, Krsna is saying that it would be "Papam/Sin" if Arjun runs away at this ending moment when the war is about to begin. In this statement, Krsna is injecting fear of Sin into Arjun's mind. But Krsna is not explaining what kind of Papam/Sin he is talking about.
akīrtiṁ chāpi bhūtāni
kathayiṣhyanti te ’vyayām
sambhāvitasya chākīrtir
maraṇād atirichyate
In the 34th sloka, Krsna is talking that the "Akīrtim/Infamy" of Arjun will spread across the land, and for a person like Arjun, the "Akīrtim/Infamy" is greater than death. It shows that Krsna's sense of practicality about society. Krsna's point of view is pretty clear, Death is the end of life but if a person is alive and his reputation put down by any mean then it would become tough for this person to live a peaceful life in society. Society will create an invisible psychological suffocated eco-system around that person which would only inject negativity into that person's mind and make that person feel culpable till that person commit suicide or run away somewhere in an isolated place.
bhayād raṇād uparataṁ mansyante tvāṁ mahā-rathāḥ
yeṣhāṁ cha tvaṁ bahu-mato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam
In the 35th sloka, Krsna is prescribing the instant reaction if Arjun leaves the War field. It is an example Krsna is presenting in front of the Arjun with respect to his previous sloka.
avāchya-vādānśh cha bahūn vadiṣhyanti tavāhitāḥ
nindantastava sāmarthyaṁ tato duḥkhataraṁ nu kim
In the 36th sloka, Krsna is prophesying the aftereffect of Arjun's decision where he has to face the humiliation, social embarrassment, and different levels of mortifications as a gift or consequence of his decision from his enemies.
hato vā prāpsyasi swargaṁ jitvā vā bhokṣhyase mahīm
tasmād uttiṣhṭha kaunteya yuddhāya kṛita-niśhchayaḥ
In the 37th sloka, Krsna continues with his practical approach in this sloka also, as per Krsna, dying in war if Arjun lost or enjoy the administrative power if he wins, both these are prominent and acknowledgeable step and situation. In this sloka also, Krsna is promoting greed in front of Arjun. Here a question might arise in a few peoples' mind which is enjoying administrative power and a vast kingdom can be a greedy sentence but "How can be dying in a War field promotes greed?". Here we have to remember that Arjun is an experienced warrior who fought many wars before this Kurukshetra War and for a warrior like Arjun whom people consider as the greatest warrior of his era, has an image of a hero/champion in the society, for a person like him dying in the War is becoming a martyr which is more respectable then running away from War.
sukha-duḥkhe same kṛitvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi
In the 38th sloka, Krsna is suggesting to Arjun that he should consider happiness and sadness and victory and loss as the same or giving them equal importance and then participate in the War. It is a tough task for a person like Arjun who is emotional by nature. This is a state of mind about which Krsna is talking.
eṣhā te ’bhihitā sānkhye
buddhir yoge tvimāṁ śhṛiṇu
buddhyā yukto yayā pārtha
karma-bandhaṁ prahāsyasi
In the 39th sloka, Krsna has used two words 1. "Sānkhya Yog" and 2. "Buddhiḥ Yog". He also tells that till now he talked about "Sankhya Yog" in which he used many terms to explain different perspectives of two things. 1. Dehi and 2. Dehe. All these are theories, there is no execution method or applied methodology of these concepts which is explained by Krsna till now. Now, Krsna is going to talk about a Yog which he named as "Buddhiḥ Yog". As the name suggests that this yog is related to Buddhi or Intelligence that means here Krsna might explain the methodology of the theories he explained previously.
nehābhikrama-nāśho ’sti pratyavāyo na vidyate
svalpam apyasya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt
In the 40th sloka, The word "Abhikrama" means Initiative/Effort. The word "Nehā" which actually pronounced as "Naiha" where the word "Na" means "Not" and "Iha" means "in this (With certainly)". Here, the word "Iha" is an indicator that is used by Krsna to indicate the "Dehi/Imperishable" within the physical body. Krsna is talking about the micro aspect of the Imperishable or Dehi. He is pointing out that if and only if a person, who is experiencing or has been experiencing this Dehi which is within that person's physical body and then participate in the world affairs then whatever he/she does in the world either virtue or sin, he/she doesn't experience the positive or negative effects of those initiatives which have taken by him/her. Here the word "Dharmasya" means "Virtuous or impeccable deeds". This word constructed with the amalgamation of two words "Dharma"+"Asya", when the word "Asya/Particularly in this" used as a suffix with the word "Dharam" which is by nature, denotes an Abstract ideology that becomes Actual or Representational in nature. Thus it becomes operational too, and when this word relates to this specific context of this sloka it produces this particular meaning. Krsna still not clarifying the How it is possible at least till now.
vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-śhākhā hyanantāśh cha buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām
In the 41st sloka, Krsna has started explaining this "Buddhiḥ Yog". He is saying that "Vyavasāyātmikā Buddhir Ekeha", means "Vyavasāyātmikā/Behavioral, Buddhir/Intelligently, Ekeha/Singular" in nature. It simply means this Yog, about which he has started describing, have only a singular version. But In the second line of this sloka, Krsna is also saying that "Bahu-śhākhā hyanantāśh cha buddhayo", means "Bahu-śhākhā/Many sects, Hy/Indeed, Anantāśh/Infinite or Endless, cha/and, Buddhayo/intellectually". First look at the formation of the word "Buddhayo", which is individually pronounced as"Buddhayaḥ" which means "Buddhi Dwara/By the use of intelligence or intellectually". The word "Vyavasāyātmikā" also means "Applied/Executable form/ Practical application-oriented/Real-time usability". Krsna is saying that in the foundational level this Yog has only one interpretation or Singular approach but many different sects have interpreted this Yog in infinite or endless interpretations by using their intellect. Krsna used a word at the end of this sloka "Avyavasāyinām" which means "This creates irresolute in the system or confusion among peoples' mind". Here "Bahu-shakha" means many different sects and here sects mean "Rishi Parampara".
**Rishi parampara is a set of traditions where different Rishis involved themselves in a subject or subjects to understand that subject on a profound level. After understanding that subject, they describe that subject in their own way and present that interpretation in front of this world.
yāmimāṁ puṣhpitāṁ vāchaṁ pravadanty-avipaśhchitaḥ
veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ (42)
kāmātmānaḥ swarga-parā janma-karma-phala-pradām
kriyā-viśheṣha-bahulāṁ bhogaiśhwarya-gatiṁ prati (43)
In the 42nd sloka, First understand the meaning of the words. Yamimam(Yam+Imam) means "Bestow" and "All these", puṣhpitāṁ(pusha+Itam) means "Flower" and "like that"; so the word puṣhpitāṁ means "Flower-like or Flowery", vāchaṁ means "Speech/Lecture", pravadanty means "Discussion", avipaśhchitaḥ(A+vipaśhchit+ah) where word vipaśhchit means "Wise/Learned One" when "A" added to it then the word generate its own antonym and it changed its meaning and becomes "those with limited understanding/educated fools", at the end when "ah" added to it then the meaning of the word intensified means Krsna is saying the statement with certainty. veda-vāda-ratāḥ means "Engaged in initial/outer knowledge of the Vedas", nānyad(na+anyat) means "Not" and "Anything else", astīti(Asti+iti) means "is or accepting" and "ending", so the word means "discouraging/denying", vādinaḥ means "advocating/arguing", the word comes to existence by joining two words "vadin+ah", 'vadin' means "to speak out/spoke out" and 'ah' used to create certainty in that speech.
In this sloka, Krsna is describing that when those with limited understanding of the Vedic wisdom discuss this Yog after listening to the flowery words, which have been spoken by Rishis; he is defining about those who fall into this category, he is saying that people who fall into this category will always be engaged in the initial/outer knowledge of the Vedas and advocate or argue on the basis of that with the Rishis who are describing this Yog to these avipaśhchitaḥ(educated fools) as per their level of intelligence.
*The word "Avipaśhchitaḥ" is an informal or slang word from Sanskrit vocabulary.
In the 43rd sloka, kāmātmānaḥ(kāma+ātmān+aḥ) means "Desire" and "Own/Self" and it means "desirous of sensual pleasure of their own", swarga-parāḥ(swarga+parāḥ) means "beyond the level of sky or heaven", the entire phrase "kāmātmānaḥ swarga-parā" is a Sanskrit proverb or metaphor which is used to describe when someone's desires crossed the limits of the sky. Here word Swarga means Sky, not heaven. "Janma-karma-phala-pradām" is also another Sanskrit proverb that means when someone takes initiative for the instantaneous outcome or tangible outcome or for both which either has an economical value or emotionally fascinating. For example, buying a car or house or luxury items or having sex, giving birth to a child or children, etc falls into this category.
"Kriyā-viśheṣha-bahulāṁ" is also another Sanskrit proverb that means when someone participates in different actions or takes different initiatives to achieve something and that something is "bhogaiśhwarya(bhoga+aiśhwarya)" which means a certain type of luxury which can be consumed. This "bhogaiśhwarya" is actually a mindset or individual mentality or animalic ethos which can be found in humans too. This ethos provokes a person to behold this physical world as a consumable item, a person who admires this ethos in his/her life, for him/her everything is an object. This mindset gives birth to an ideology in the society which is known as "Objectification". There are people who think this way. Krsna also used two words at the end of this 43rd sloka which are "gatiṁ" and " prati"; the word "gatiṁ" means "Progress, Motion, Acceleration" and the word "prati" means "Toward, To", it is an indicative word. So "bhogaiśhwarya-gatiṁ prati" means this ethos is progressive in nature, it increases with time within that person who supports this mindset.
bhogaiśwvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛita-chetasām
vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate
In the 44th sloka, The word "prasaktānāṁ(Pra+Asakta+Nam)", the word "Pra" comes from "Prati" and the word "Prati" is an indicative word that means "Continuity or Continuous Fashion or Flow". The "Asakta" word means "Attachment, Addiction, Compulsion, Enslavement, Subjugation" and the "Nam" word is to make this 'Asakta' certain, it is a suffix word to intensify the meaning of the word.
So, "bhogaiśwvarya-prasaktānāṁ" means "The person or people whom's mind is tremendously or deeply involved or attached in the Objectification ideology". The word "tayāpahṛita (Taya+apahṛita)" where the word "Taya" means "There, By something or somebody, With something or somebody, That" and the word "Apahṛita(A+Pah+Rita)" where the word "Pah" means "To" and "Rita" means "Proper, Right, Honest, Truthful, Worshipped, Respected" and when "A" added at the beginning of this word to make it opposite word of the word "Pahrita" which means "Informed, Crystal clear, Transparent"; so the word "Apahṛita" means "Bewildered, Confused, Unclear". The word "chetasām(Cheta+sam)" where the word "Cheta" means "Intellect" and "Sam" means "With, Together with, Along with, Together, Altogether "; so, "chetasām" means "Along with intellect".
So, "tayāpahṛita-chetasām" means "That bewildered along with intellect". The word "vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ" means "Practical intelligence/Behavioral intelligence". The word "samādhau (Sama+dhau)" where the word "Sama" means "Equal" and the word "Dhau" means "Resolute, Determined"; so the word "samādhau" means "Equally Determined". The word "Na vidhīyate" means "Not in protocolic way or Not in a methodological fashion".
In this sloka, Krsna is trying to say that when a person's mind deeply involved in the objectification ideology, then that mind remains bewildered along with the intellect of that person. Thus the practical intelligence or the behavioral intelligence of that person, which should be equally determined in that person but cannot remain so because of this confusion in both mind and intellect of that person.
It is true that when a person admires objectification ideology always remains busy in the consumption of any object which automatically makes that person unaware or less aware of the reality which makes that person full of confusion inside that person's mind and intellect; that person can not able to take a resolute decision in life, any decision this type of person takes in life can be changed by a little bit effort of showing greed of consumption of any object to this person. Thus this sort of person can be controlled by anyone who wants to control and fulfill any desire through this type of person.
trai-guṇya-viṣhayā vedā nistrai-guṇyo bhavārjuna
nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kṣhema ātmavān
In the 45th sloka, Krsna introduced a new term, which is "Trai-gunya"; it means "Three modes". He is advising Arjun that the "Vishaya" means "Subjects" are having three modes. Here the subjects which are mentioned in the Vedas. That's why Krsna pronounced "trai-guṇya-viṣhayā vedā". He (Krsna) is advising Arjun to get rid of these subjects which are mentioned in the Vedas. He used the word "nistrai-guṇyo" for that. The phrase "nistrai-guṇyo" means "nis which is a prefix added to the phrase trai-guṇyo" and it is used in Sanskrit for discouraging anything. He is (Krsna) also advising Arjun to attend a state of "nirdvandvo" which means "Free from the dilemma" and that to in a continuous manner.
Here, I have to explain that the word "nitya" has dual impressions in this sloka where this word we can addon to its previous word and also to its imidate next word to understand the profoundness of the meaning of this sloka. When we do that then, a complex meaning arises from the sloka where two phrases dominate the meaning.
- "nirdvandvo nitya" which means "Free from the dilemma that to in a continuous manner".
- "nitya-sattva-stho" which means "Establishing in the eternal truth".
Now, we can see that Krsna is telling Arjun not just to get rid of the dilemma but also to settle down in the eternal truth. In the end, Krsna used "niryoga-kṣhema" which means "detachment from the tranquillity" and become "ātmavān" which simply means "Self-controlled/Self-mastery".
So in this sloka, Krsna is suggesting to Arjun that he should become a self-controlled being and to become one he means Arjun has to free from the dilemma and needs to settle down in the eternal truth which only happens when Arjun will understand the three modes of subjects of Vedas and then go beyond these three modes.
**In this sloka Krsna doesn't mention anything about these three modes and eternal truth.
yāvān artha udapāne sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvānsarveṣhu vedeṣhu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ
In the 46th sloka, Krsna is explaining the importance of eternal truth. He is claiming that if one human realizes the eternal truth that human fulfills all the purpose mentioned in the Vedas. He used "udapāne/ a well" and "samplutodake/ a large lake" as an example to describe his standpoint. He says " yāvān" which means "Whatever" purpose is served by a small well of water that the same purpose can also be served by the water of a large lake also. He means it is better to stick to the small well water because it is easy to deal with the well compared to the large lake. Here small well is the eternal truth and the large lake is the Vedas. Krsna identified eternal truth as small well because the eternal truth is simple and short as per this sloka.
karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi
In the 47th sloka, Krsna is illuminating a fact that Arjun has only rights over his responsibilities, not over the feedback or result which will generate after his performed action. For this, he used the phrase "karmaṇy-evādhikāras te" which illuminate this fact then he says "mā phaleṣhu kadāchana" which means "don't think about the feedback or result or outcome at any time". He also says "mā karma-phala-hetur" which means "don't perform any action, assuming the feedback before" and "mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi" which means "don't indulge in akarmaṇi state". This "akarmaṇi" is a new term that means "being inactive or inaction". The word "bhūr" is a joiner which means "Be" and it brings both these statements together in one sentence.
** This sloka is unclear, Krsna doesn't clarify it here.
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yog uchyate
In the 48th sloka, The phrase "yoga-sthaḥ" means "This is Yog". The phrase "kuru karmāṇi" means "performed deeds" and the phrase "saṅgaṁ tyaktvā" means "abandoned from attachments". "dhanañjaya" is another name of the Arjun. The phrase "siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo" means "equipoised in the success and failure" and the last phrase "bhūtvā samatvaṁ yog" means "appears as samatvam yog" and "uchyate" means "called". So basically, Krsna is defining what is samatvaṁ yog, in this sloka. He is saying performing one's prescribed deeds while having detachment which is possible when that person considers both success and failure as equal things.
dūreṇa hy-avaraṁ karma buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya
buddhau śharaṇam anvichchha kṛipaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ
In the 49th sloka, Krsna is guiding Arjun to stay away (dūreṇa hy) from "avaraṁ karma" means "inferior deeds" which is possible by the use of "buddhi-yogād" or "Yog of Buddhi or Intelligence". So seek the refuge of "buddhau" or intellectuality because only "kṛipaṇāḥ" or avaricious person executes deeds with the desire of outcomes.
* "kṛipaṇāḥ" is an informal or slang word.
** Krsna doesn't define the definition of "avaraṁ karma" or inferior deeds in this sloka.
buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛita-duṣhkṛite
tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśhalam
In the 50th sloka, when a person performs deeds using his/her intelligence(buddhi-yukto) then that person easily gets rid of(jahāti)both good and bad reactions or outcomes(ubhe sukṛita-duṣhkṛite). The word "īha" is an indicator which is indicating the present situation when any action is performing. "tasmād yogāya yujyasva" which means "Therefore, strive for Yog" and this Yog will help that person to execute any Karma or action skillfully.
karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣhiṇaḥ
janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ padaṁ gachchhanty-anāmayam
In the 51st sloka, "manīṣhiṇaḥ" means the Wise people, "tyaktvā phalaṁ" means detach themselves from outcomes because they execute any karma using their intelligence only. This helps them to "gachchhanty" which means "Attain" a "padaṁ" which means "State" which is "janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ" and that means "free from the circle of birth and death".
This is a new phrase => "janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ/free from the circle of birth and death".
yadā te moha-kalilaṁ buddhir vyatitariṣhyati
tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śhrotavyasya śhrutasya cha
In the 52nd sloka, The phrase "moha-kalilaṁ" means "quagmire of delusion", the word "vyatitariṣhyati" means "Overcome/Crossover"; the word "nirvedaṁ" means "flow of wisdom mentioned in Vedas".
Krsna is suggesting to Arjun that "yadā/when" "te/he" overcomes the quagmire of delusion "tadā/then" "gantāsi/ you will acquire" the flow of wisdom mentioned in Vedas neither as "śhrotavyasya/mysterious-sounding" nor as "śhrutasya/sounding devout".
śhruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niśhchalā
samādhāv-achalā buddhis tadā yogam avāpsyasi
In the 53rd sloka, "śhruti" means "Four Vedas", "vipratipannā" which can be split into two parts "vi + pratipannā" where "vi" is to create the opposite meaning of the word "pratipannā" which means "influenced by fruitive action" and when the "vi" prefix added to it then it's meaning changes and becomes "Without being influenced by the fruitive results of the four Vedas". The word "niśhchalā (niśh[discourage]+chalā[go/move])" means "Steadfast/Unwavering/Resolute". The word "samādhāv" (samā[equilibrium/blancing]+dhāv[running/accelerating]) means "accelerating while maintaining a state of equilibrium". The word "achalā" is a synonym of "niśhchalā". The word "yogam(yog+am)" means "the superlative state of Yog".
So, Krsna is suggesting to Arjun that when he will discard himself from the fruitive results of the four Vedas and he will"sthāsyati/remain" steadfast and with that steadfast intelligence when he will execute while maintaining a state of equilibrium in his intelligence then he will "avāpsyasi/attain" the superlative state of Yog.
Here, the "achalā buddhis" phrase is a state when human intelligence becomes steadfast or a certain amount of calmness appears in it. The word "buddhis" first combines with the word "achalā" and then this entire phrase will combine with the word "samādhāv" to get the exact meaning of that portion of this sloka.
Till now Krsna has spoken out these terms and phrases while lecturing about the system of Yog. The list is as follows...
- Avināśhi/Imperishable
- Yena sarvam idaṁ tatam means/This Dehi pervades the entire body
- Indestructible/Anāśhino
- Immeasurable/Aprameyasya
- Eternal/Nityas
- This Dehi doesn't perform any deeds/actions
- Ajaḥ/Unborn
- Nityaḥ/Eternal
- Shāśhvataḥ/Immortal
- Purāṇaḥ/The ancient
- Na hanyate/Is not destroyed
- This Imperishable has the capability to move from one body to another and it also uses this capability and changes the body
- This Imperishable is a Non-physical entity
- Adāhyaḥ/Incombustible
- Akledyaḥ/Cannot be dampened
- Achchhedyaḥ/Unbreakable
- Aśhoṣhyah/Cannot be dried
- Nityaḥ/Everlasting or Eternal
- Achalaḥ/Immutable
- Sthāṇuḥ/Unalterable
- Sanātanaḥ/Primordial
- Sarva-gataḥ/All pervading or Omnipresent
- Avyaktaḥ/Unmanifested
- Achintyaḥ/Inconceivable or That which is beyond the human comprehension
- Avikāryaḥ/Unchangeable
- Kaal Chakra/ Circle of Time
- Aparihārye arthe/Inevitably or Sense of inevitable
- Avadhyo/Can't be killed
- Swa-Dharma
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