Arjun submits to Krushna (Part 1 of Ch 2)

Chapter 2

Sankhya Yoga

Part 1 (Stanza 2.1 to 2.10)

Topic: Arjun submits to Krushna.

Synopsis: 

The Chapter 2 of Gita is named as Sankhya Yoga. Sankhya means a reliable method of gaining knowledge. In spite of the name pointing to one topic i.e knowledge, in fact the other topics are included in the chapter, to cover the core principles of Gita. Therefore, this chapter is also reckoned as gist of entire Gita. 

Before the core topics are initiated, the ongoing problem of Arjun’s grief (which is the subject of chapter 1) is carried further. This topic is comprising of 1-10 stanzas of chapter 2.

In the last stanza of Chapter 1, Sanjay narrated to Dhrutrashtra, that ‘Arjun put aside his bow along with the arrows and sat down in the rear part of the chariot’ thus indicating that Arjun is not going to fight.

Thenceforth, Sanjay continues in the first stanza  of chapter 2 as follows.

sañjaya uvāca

तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् ।
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः ॥ २-१ ॥ 

taṃ tathā kṛpayā''viṣṭam aśrupūrṇākulēkṣaṇam|

           viṣīdantamidaṃ vākyamuvāca madhusūdanaḥ||1||

Sañjaya said:

1. Krsna spoke these following words to that grieving Arjuna who was completely overpowered by attachment as described before and whose eyes were blurred with brimful of tears.

Inference:
I). In this stanza Sanjay has used a word ‘Krupaya’ for the cause of Arjun’s grief.

Many scholars have translated ‘Krupaya’ as compassion. Compassion is shown by a strong person to week. Here Arjun is not even in self control, forget about being strong to help others. The correct word for the cause of his grief is his delusion due to the attachment or bond with some persons in enemy army.

śrībhagavānuvāca |

कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् ।
अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन ॥ २-२ ॥

kutastvā kaśmalamidaṁ viṣame samupasthitam |

           anāryajuṣṭamasvargyama kīrtikaramarjuna ||2||

2. Lord Krsna said – Oh! Arjun! From where did this dejection which is not entertained by noble people, which will not lead to heaven and will lead to ill-fame come to you at this wrong moment?

क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते ।
क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥ २-३ ॥

klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitattvayyupāpadyate |

           kṣudraṁ hṛdayadaurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa ||3||

3. Oh Arjuna! Do not take to unmanliness. This state does not befit you.Having given up this mean faint heartedness, get up, Oh Arjun!

                 iśrībhagavānuvāca |

kutastvā kaśmalamidaṁ viṣame samupasthitam |

           anāryajuṣṭamasvargyama kīrtikaramarjuna ||2||

2. Lord Krsna said – Oh! Arjun! From where did this dejection which is not entertained by noble people, which will not lead to heaven and will lead to ill-fame come to you at this wrong moment?

klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitattvayyupāpadyate |

           kṣudraṁ hṛdayadaurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa ||3||

Inference:

i) Though in the beginning of the stanza, a word 'Bhagvan’ means  God is used   for Krushna, his speech is not yet with divine touch. He has given only worldly advice to Arjun to pull him out of despondency. Had Arjun responded to this advice and agreed to fight, there would be no enough ground to teach him Gita.     

ii) Krushna asks Arjun, from where this kashmalm means unfit attitude has come to you.

ii) Arya is translated as Noble. The meaning of Arya in Sanskritn is a person who does not lose mental balance in adverse conditions. He will intelligently confront the conditions and take best decisions and act to improve the situation. According to the standards of that time, a warrior should fight for right values even at the cost of his life.

arjuna uvāca |

कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन ।
इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन ॥ २-४ ॥

kathaṁ bhīṣmamahaṁ saṁkhye droṇaṁ ca madhusūdana |

iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāvarisūdana ||4||

4. Arjuna asked – Oh Krsna! How can I fight against adorable Bhīṣma and

Drōṇa in his war with arrows, Oh Krsna?

गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान्
        श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके ।
हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव
        भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् ॥ २-५ ॥

gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān

śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyamapīha loke |

hatvārthakāmāṁstu gurūnihaiva

bhuñjīya bhogāna rudhirapradigdhāna ||5||

5. In this world, even to live on alms is indeed better than killing the noble

Gurus. On the other hand, by killing these Gurus I will enjoy here only the

blood-stained pleasures of wealth and sense objects.

Inference:

Instead of favorably responding to Krushna’s encouraging words, Arjun is  lamenting for  Bhishma –his highly loving grand uncle and Drona his Guru, a teacher loving him most,. Both are venerable for Arjun and therefore, though he is capable to fight with them, due to the attachment, he finds  it difficult.  He says it is better to do begging for living rather than kill them and enjoy the kingdom stained with their blood.

         

न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो
        यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः ।
यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषाम-
        स्तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः ॥ २-६ ॥

na caitadvidmaḥ kataranno garīyo

yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ |

yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣāmaste'vasthitāḥ

pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ ||2.6||

6. Moreover, we do not know which one of these two courses is better and whether we will conquer them or they will conquer us. Those very Kauravas killing whom we will not even decide to live, are assembled in front.

Inference:
In this stanza, it appears that thinking faculty of Arjun is impaired due to attachment.

Arjun had fought many battles in the past. Therefore bloodshed and maiming and killing would not be unbearable for him to see. Also he had won against Bhishma, Duryodhan and Karn etc in other war as described in Mahabharat. As a Kshatriya warrior, it is Arjun's duty to fight but he is upset by the consequences of the war. He thinks that he can avoid a war and its bad consequences merely by not fighting. This amounts to dereliction of duty which will entail the sin of omission of the duty.

He also thinks of getting alms for his sustenance. According to Varnasram dharma, only Brahmin caste can ask for the alms. Also, out of four Ashrams (stages of life), in Grihsth ashram, one cannot take alms . Only Brahamchari, Vanprashta or Sanyasi can ask and get the alms with dignity. Arjun does not qualify for living on alms and he should know that but still thinks of living on alms. That would be the simple begging which is a sin of commission.

In Arjun’s belief, to fight or not ,either way there is a sin.  

Arjun is so confused that he doubts which will be better whether they (Pandava) win or they are won by Kauravas, He says that by killing whom we do not wish to live - those sons of Dhrutrashtra are in front of us.

 

कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः
        पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेताः ।
यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे
        शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् ॥ २-७ ॥

kārpaṇyadoṣopahatasvabhāvaḥ
pṛcchāmi tvām dharmasaṁmūḍhacetāḥ |
yacchreyaḥ syānniścitaṁ brūhi tanme
śiṣyaste'haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam ||2.7||

7. With my mind overpowered by helplessness and with my intellect completely deluded regarding righteousness, I ask You. Decidedly tell   (me) that which is good for me. I am Your disciple. Teach me who have surrendered to You.

Inference: 

In Stanza 4 - 6, Arjun has degraded from the level of attachment to the grief level and further down to confusion. This sequence is called in Sanskrit as ‘Raga, Shok and Moha’  This is a vicious circle. When one is confused, one cannot think clearly and hence one becomes unable to decide on his own, what is right.It is necessary to speak to some capable person for the guidance.

Arjun realizes this and takes refuge in Krushna, in this stanza.

न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद्
        यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् ।
अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं
        राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् ॥ २-८ ॥

na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād

yacchokamucchoṣaṇamindriyānām |

avāpya bhūmāvasapatnamṛddhaṁ

rājyaṁ surāṇāmapi cādhipatyam ||8||

8. I do not see anything that can remove this sorrow of mine which

weakens all my sense organs, even after getting an unrivalled prosperous

kingdom upon earth and even after getting the kingship over the gods.

sañjaya uvāca |

एवमुक्त्वा हृषीकेशं गुडाकेशः परन्तपः ।
न योत्स्य इति गोविन्दमुक्त्वा तूष्णीं बभूव ह ॥ २-९ ॥

evamuktvā hṛṣīkeśaṁ guḍākeśaḥ prantapaḥ |

na yotsaya iti govindamuktvā tūaṣṇīṁ babhūva ha ||9||

Sañjaya said:

9. Having spoken thus to the Lord Krsna, Arjuna, the destroyer of enemies,

said to Krsna “I will not fight” and became quiet.

tamuvāca hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasanniva bhārata |

senayorubhayormadhye viṣīdantamidaṁ vacah ||10||

10. Smiling, as it were, Lord Krsna spoke these words to that (Arjuna) who

was grieving in between the two armies, Oh Dhrtarastra!

       

 kārpaṇyadōṣōpahatasvabhāvaḥ pr̥cchāmi tvām dharmasaṁmūḍhacētāḥ (2.7)

Its translation is ‘Due to this weakness of confusion, unable to decide what is right for me and hence I am asking you to tell me what is right. I am your disciple and have taken refuge in you.

 
In stanza 8, Arjun elaborates further; the kingdom, which will be won by the war- howsoever wealthy and heavenly and unopposed will not  save him from  all- organs drying grief

Utilitarian Doctrines:

i) Rāgaḥ meaning  attachment;  is not only Arjuna's problem. This is the fundamental human problem; the object of attachment will vary from person to person, but the problem of attachment is universal.

.

Once a person has the attachment, then, there is the natural consequence called sorrow, which is called viṣādaḥ. (grief). If a person is attached to something, and when he loses that, there is sorrow (vishad)

Then the third problem is when the mind is under the grip of rāgaḥ and śokaḥ, one loses the capacity to judge things properly; one loses the capacity to discriminate between right and wrong; what is dharma and adharma, This  problem of confusion is called ‘mohaḥ’ means  conflict.

In the essence, the attachment with persons or even objects will lead to grief due to the thought of losing them. This will further cause confusion to such an extent that you will not understand what is right and wrong for you.

ii)            Arjuna  discovers the helplessness and really surrenders whole hog.

When you are confused it is better to surrender to God and pray for guidance and also seek advice of wise and helpful person.