Bhagawad Gita - Ch.1 - Verses 15-22

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Chapter 1. Arjuna-Grief

[Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda]

 

pAMcajanyaM hRshikESO dEvadattaM dhanaMjayaH |

pouMDraM dadhmou mahA saMkhaM bheemakarmA vRkOdaraH || 1.15

 

1.15. Hrishikesa blew the Panchajanya and Dhananjaya (Arjuna) blew the

Devadata and Vrikodara (Bhima), the doer of terrible deeds, blew the great

conch, named Paundra.

 

In his description of the Pandava array, Sanjaya is very particular to

mention even the name of each warrior's special conch. Panchajanya was

blown by Krishna.

 

Hrishikesa is the name of the Lord and it has often been described as

meaning the 'Lord of the Senses.' But this is according to an old

derivation: Hrishika + Isa = 'Lord of the Senses.' But the word 'Hrishika'

is an obscure one. Modern commentators prefer to explain it as Hrish+kesa

'Having short hair.'

 

 

anaMta vijayaM rAjA kuMteeputrO yudhisthiraH |

nakulaH sahadEvaSca sughOsha maNipushpakou || 1.16

 

1.16. King Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya; Nakula and

Sahadeva blew the Suhosha and the Manipushpaka.

 

 

kASyaSca paramEshvAsaH SikhaMDeeca mahArathaH |

dhRshTadyumnO virATaSca sAtyakiScAparAjitaH || 1.17

 

1.17. The king of Kasi, an excellent archer, Sikhandi, the mighty commander

of eleven thousand archers, Dhristadyumna and Virata and Satyaki, the

unconquered;

 

 

dRpadO droupadEyASca sarvaSaH pRdhiveepatE |

soubhadraSca mahAbAhuH SaMkhandadhmuH pRdhak pRdhak || 1.18

 

1.18. Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, O Lord of the Earth, and the son of

Subhadra, the mighty armed, blew their respective conches.

 

In the above verses we have the enumeration of the great Maharathas,

battalion-commanders, who, with enthusiasm, loudly blew their conches,

again and again, in an ascending cadence. The arrow that ultimately felled

Bhishma in the Mahabharata-war came from Sikhandi. The charioteer of

Krishna, who was also a battalion-commander in the Pandava army, was called

Satyaki.

 

The report is being addressed to Dhritarashtra and it is indicated by

Sanjaya's words, 'O Lord of the Earth.'

 

 

saghOshO dhArta rAshTrANAM hRdayAni vyadArayat |

nabhaSca pRdhiveeMcaiva tumulO vyanunAdayan || 1.19

 

1.19. That tumultuous sound rent the hearts of (the people of)

Dhritarashtra's party and made both heaven and earth reverberate.

>From the fourteenth stanza onwards Sanjaya gives us in all detail an

exhaustive description of the Pandava forces, and he spares no pains to

bring into the mind of Dhritarashtra a vivid understanding of the

superiority of the Pandava forces. Perhaps, the minister hopes that his

blind king will realize the disastrous end and, at least not, will send

forth a command to stop the fratricidal war.

 

atha vyavasthitAndRshTvA dhArta rAshTrAn kapidhvajaH |

pRavRttE Sastra saMpAtE dhanurudyamya pAMDavaH || 1.20

 

hRsheekESaM tadAvAkyamidamAHa maheepatE |

arjuna uvAca:

"sEnayOrubhayOrmadhyE rathaM sthApayamEcyuta || 1.21

 

yAvadEtAnnireekshEhaM yOddhukAmA navasthitAn |

kairmayA saha yOddhavyaM asminraNa samudyamE || 1.22

 

1.20-21. Then, seeing the people of Dhritarashtra's party standing arrayed

and the discharge of weapons about to begin, Arjuna, the son of Pandu,

whose ensign was a monkey, took up his bow and said these words to Krishna

(Hrishikesa), O Lord of the Earth!

 

In these one and a half verses we have a description of the arrival of the

hero of the Mahabharata war, Arjuna, on the battle-field. The exact time

and nature of his entry are noted here. The shooting had not yet started,

but it was imminent. It was the most tense moment; the crisis had risen to

its highest pitch. It was at this moment that Arjuna, whose ensign was that

of Hanuman, said the following words to Lord Krishna.

 

In those ancient days of chivalrous warfare, each honoured hero had his own

personal flag, carrying on it conspicuously, a well-recognized symbol. By

the flag flying on the chariot, the enemy could recognize who was the

occupant of the chariot. A hero was not generally shot at by an ordinary

soldier, but each fought with his equal on the battle-field. This system of

carrying a symbol to recognize individuals in the battle-field is

faithfully followed even in modern warfare. A high official's vehicle

carries insignia of the officer's rank on its very number-plate; on the

very uniform enough details are pinned on to recognize the wearer and

identify him. Arjuna's ensign was that of a monkey.

 

The stanza also gives us, in hasty strokes, the information that Arjuna was

impatient to start the righteous war. He had raised his instrument of war,

his bow, indicating his readiness to fight.

 

 

1.21-22. Arjuna said:

In the midst of the two armies, place my chariot, O Achyuta, that I may

behold those who stand here desirous of fighting and, on the eve of this

battle, let me know with whom I must fight.

 

Here, we hear Arjuna's soldier-like command to his charioteer to drive and

place the vehicle between the two armies so that he might see and recognize

the various heroes whom he has to meet and fight in the great war. In

expressing thus a wish to review the enemy lines the great hero is showing

his daring and chivalry, his great courage and firm determination, his

adventurous readiness and indomitable energy. Upto this point in the story,

Arjuna, the invincible hero of the Mahabharata, was in his own true element

unaffected by any mental hysteria.

 

[cont...]

 

Personal note from MADHAVA:

Please contemplate very much on Arjuna's command(!) to Lord Krishna:

"sEnayO rubhayOrmadhyE rathaM sthApaya mEcyuta". I would like to know your

views on what this command means to you. Thank you.

[Guest guest]

namaste,

 

Somehow it does not strike as a command, so much as a request;

the curiosity to know how Duryodhana's army is arrayed. considering that it

is one-and-onehalf times the size of the Pandava army. Secondly, how is it

that the sound of the conches is so feeble from the enemy side!

 

With hindsight from the verses coming later on [ 2:3 & 7, and 11: 41

& 42], I had to re-configure the scenario.

 

Before the war, Arjuna had spent one whole year at the court of King

Virat, as Brihannaraa, a dance teacher, a eunush dressed in female attire,

to remain incognito ( as per Kaurava's demands ).

 

This must have surely affected Arjuna's mind-set.

 

I had always wondered why Krishna could have used such harsh words

as 'klaibyam, kshudram, hR^idayadaurbalyam) to a warrior of Arjuna's

standing!

 

In 2:7, Arjuna admits his surrender to the Charioteer,and becomes his

disciple.

 

In 11:41 & 42 he seeks forgiveness & pardon for wrongly judging

Krishna's relationship with him, (besides being his own brother-in-law).

 

 

Regards,

 

S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

----Original Message Follows----

"Madhava K Turumella" <madhava

advaitin

<advaitin >

Bhagawad Gita - Ch.1 - Verses 15-22

Mon, 31 Jan 2000 12:02:19 -0800

 

 

Personal note from MADHAVA:

Please contemplate very much on Arjuna's command(!) to Lord Krishna:

"sEnayO rubhayOrmadhyE rathaM sthApaya mEcyuta". I would like to know your

views on what this command means to you. Thank you.

 

 

 

____

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[Guest guest]

namaste,

 

Thank you, Madhavaji for stimulating the allegorical line of thought.

 

The Brihannara archetype struck me because that is how we lead our

phenomenal lives; the Soul masking Itself or wandering 'incognito'

assuming a false identity. Identified with this mask of personality,

there is no awareness of 'svadharma', like the eunuch.

 

Maybe I am far off the mark, but it is an amateurish attempt to probe

the mind-set of a warrior who lived an antipodal existence

(the 'sa.nskaaras' that cling to one's mask are not easily shaken off).

 

Regards,

 

S.

 

>Madhava K Turumella <madhava

>advaitin

>advaitin

>Re: Bhagawad Gita - Ch.1 - Verses 15-22

>Fri, 04 Feb 2000 10:20:30 +0300

>

>[THE FOLLOWING IS COMPLETELY MY PERSONAL FEELINGS TOWARDS Gita, please feel

>free to correct/comment.

>

>If you find any mistake, forgive me, because that is entirely mine. And if

>you find that there is something good, then it entirely belongs to my

>divine teachers, starts right from Lord Shiva, his incarnation AdiGuru

>Shankara and to my teacher Swamini Amma.]

>

>personally, Arjuna's action/command/request convyed me the following

>advise:

>

>"DURING THE DEEP MEDITATION: TRY TO STAY NEUTRAL BETWEEN THE RIGHT AND

>WRONG WITH IN YOU; AND OBSERVE... YOU CAN WITNESS YOUR OWN TRUESELF. You

>may not accept the harsh reality after the realizaton. Only a strong man

>could really remain calm after realizing the mundanity of the existance!

>How ever strong you may look outside, you are week inside then, you may get

>afraid; you may weep; you may would like to runaway; you may get confused;

>you may look around for the right guidance... AND you may find a guide who

>is sitting very close to you.... You may find THE MASTER OF YOUR LIFE..."

>

>

>Lord Krishna is the only one who is sitting quite close to Arjuna. Thus a

>divine dialogue has started... We have to absorb the events took place

>before the dialogue, we have to closely observe Arjuna's state of mind. He

>desperately wanted to fight the war! And he prepared for it so well that

>he fought even with the Mighty Lord Shiva in order to get the ultimate

>wepon "pAsupata". Finally, after entering the battlefield, he wanted to

>witness both sides.

>

>It is a divine war that took place with in a Sadhaka (seeker). A seeker

>who wants to fight the war of conquring the evil has to first understand

>what *is* evil in its true meaning. In order understand what is Evil you

>have to temperarily get out of the good within you. Stay neutral and

>witness. We often bounce into people who behave with a "holier-than-thou"

>attitude. I would say, these people are biased towards good. Orthadoxy

>starts from them. Thinking that they are good, they drive away, people who

>are believed to be evil from becoming good. Before Bharata war starts,

>Dharmaraja announces for the final time "IF anybody would like to join from

>that side to this side, you are most welcome". And a few warriors come out

>of the Army of Duryodhana and join hands with The army of Dharmaraja.

>

>I remain yours,

>Madhava

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

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[Guest guest]

At 07:42 PM 2/3/00 EST, you wrote:

>"Sunder Hattangadi" <sunderh

>

>namaste,

>

> Somehow it does not strike as a command, so much as a request;

>the curiosity to know how Duryodhana's army is arrayed. considering that it

>is one-and-onehalf times the size of the Pandava army. Secondly, how is it

>that the sound of the conches is so feeble from the enemy side!

>

>Personal note from MADHAVA:

>Please contemplate very much on Arjuna's command(!) to Lord Krishna:

>"sEnayO rubhayOrmadhyE rathaM sthApaya mEcyuta". I would like to know your

>views on what this command means to you. Thank you.

 

namastE!

 

[THE FOLLOWING IS COMPLETELY MY PERSONAL FEELINGS TOWARDS Gita, please feel

free to correct/comment.

 

If you find any mistake, forgive me, because that is entirely mine. And if

you find that there is something good, then it entirely belongs to my

divine teachers, starts right from Lord Shiva, his incarnation AdiGuru

Shankara and to my teacher Swamini Amma.]

 

personally, Arjuna's action/command/request convyed me the following advise:

 

"DURING THE DEEP MEDITATION: TRY TO STAY NEUTRAL BETWEEN THE RIGHT AND

WRONG WITH IN YOU; AND OBSERVE... YOU CAN WITNESS YOUR OWN TRUESELF. You

may not accept the harsh reality after the realizaton. Only a strong man

could really remain calm after realizing the mundanity of the existance!

How ever strong you may look outside, you are week inside then, you may get

afraid; you may weep; you may would like to runaway; you may get confused;

you may look around for the right guidance... AND you may find a guide who

is sitting very close to you.... You may find THE MASTER OF YOUR LIFE..."

 

 

Lord Krishna is the only one who is sitting quite close to Arjuna. Thus a

divine dialogue has started... We have to absorb the events took place

before the dialogue, we have to closely observe Arjuna's state of mind. He

desperately wanted to fight the war! And he prepared for it so well that

he fought even with the Mighty Lord Shiva in order to get the ultimate

wepon "pAsupata". Finally, after entering the battlefield, he wanted to

witness both sides.

 

It is a divine war that took place with in a Sadhaka (seeker). A seeker

who wants to fight the war of conquring the evil has to first understand

what *is* evil in its true meaning. In order understand what is Evil you

have to temperarily get out of the good within you. Stay neutral and

witness. We often bounce into people who behave with a "holier-than-thou"

attitude. I would say, these people are biased towards good. Orthadoxy

starts from them. Thinking that they are good, they drive away, people who

are believed to be evil from becoming good. Before Bharata war starts,

Dharmaraja announces for the final time "IF anybody would like to join from

that side to this side, you are most welcome". And a few warriors come out

of the Army of Duryodhana and join hands with The army of Dharmaraja.

 

I remain yours,

Madhava