BHAGAVAD-GITA 18:1

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 18:1

 

arjuna uvaca

sannyasasya maha-baho

tattvam icchami veditum

tyagasya ca hrsikesa

prthak kesi-nisudana

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

arjunah uvaca--Arjuna said; sannyasasya--of renunciation; maha-baho--O

mighty-armed one; tattvam--the truth; icchami--I wish; veditum--to

understand; tyagasya--of renunciation; ca--also; hrsikesa--O master of

the senses; prthak--differently; kesi- nisudana--O killer of the Kesi

demon.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Arjuna said: O mighty-armed one, I wish to understand the purpose of

renunciation [tyaga] and of the renounced order of life [sannyasa], O

killer of the Kesi demon, master of the senses.

 

PURPORT

 

Actually the Bhagavad-gita is finished in seventeen chapters. The

Eighteenth Chapter is a supplementary summarization of the topics

discussed before. In every chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna

stresses that devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of

Godhead is the ultimate goal of life. This same point is summarized in

the Eighteenth Chapter as the most confidential path of knowledge. In

the first six chapters, stress was given to devotional service:

yoginam api sarvesam... "Of all yogis or transcendentalists, one who

always thinks of Me within himself is best." In the next six chapters,

pure devotional service and its nature and activity were discussed. In

the third six chapters, knowledge, renunciation, the activities of

material nature and transcendental nature, and devotional service were

described. It was concluded that all acts should be performed in

conjunction with the Supreme Lord, represented by the words om tat

sat, which indicate Visnu, the Supreme Person. The third part of

Bhagavad-gita has shown that devotional service, and nothing else, is

the ultimate purpose of life. This has been established by citing past

acaryas and the Brahma-sutra, the Vedanta-sutra. Certain

impersonalists consider themselves to have a monopoly on the knowledge

of Vedanta-sutra, but actually the Vedanta-sutra is meant for

understanding devotional service, for the Lord Himself is the composer

of the Vedanta-sutra and He is its knower. That is described in the

Fifteenth Chapter. In every scripture, every Veda, devotional service

is the objective. That is explained in Bhagavad-gita.

 

As in the Second Chapter a synopsis of the whole subject matter was

described, in the Eighteenth Chapter also the summary of all

instruction is given. The purpose of life is indicated to be

renunciation and attainment of the transcendental position above the

three material modes of nature. Arjuna wants to clarify the two

distinct subject matters of Bhagavad-gita, namely renunciation (tyaga)

and the renounced order of life (sannyasa). Thus he is asking the

meaning of these two words.

 

Two words used in this verse to address the Supreme Lord--Hrsikesa and

Kesi-nisudana--are significant. Hrsikesa is Krsna, the master of all

senses, who can always help us attain mental serenity. Arjuna requests

Him to summarize everything in such a way that he can remain

equipoised. Yet he has some doubts, and doubts are always compared to

demons. He therefore addresses Krsna as Kesi-nisudana. Kesi was a most

formidable demon who was killed by the Lord; now Arjuna is expecting

Krsna to kill the demon of doubt.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.