Bhagavad Gita - Daily One Verse Brief Explanation - II 1:20 II

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II 1:20 II

 

atha vyavasthitan drishtva, dhartarastran kapi-dhvajah

pravrtte shastra-sampate, dhanur udyamya pandavah

hrishikesham tada vakyam, idam aha mahee-pate (Gita 1:20)

 

Then, O Lord of the earth, seeing Dhrtarstra's sons arrayed in their

positions and the fighting about to commence, Pandava (Arjuna) whose

ensign badge is Hanuman, lifting his bow, spoke the following words

to Hrsikesa (Krishna).

 

From Gita Prabodhani in Hindi pg. 9 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

--------------------------

Chapter 1, Verse 20 is as follows;

 

Atha = now

Vyavasthitaan =standing arrayed

Drushtvaa = seeing

Dhartraraashtraan = Kauravaas

KapidhwajaH = monkey ensigned flag

Pravrutte = about to begin

Shastrasampaate = discharge of weapons

DhanuH -Udyamya =having taken his bow

PaandavaH = Arjuna

Hrusheekesham =to Lord Krishna

Tadaa = then

Vaakyam = words

Idam = these

Aah = said

Maheepate = O Lord of the Earth! i. e. O king Dhritarashtra!

 

English translation:-

 

O Ruler of the Earth – O king Dhritarashtra, after observing the

army of Kauravaas being positioned and the discharge of weapons

about to commence; Arjuna, whose ensign badge is Hanuman – the

monkey god, lifting his bow named `Gaandiva', spoke the following

words to Krishna.

 

For the past thirteen years in the exile, Arjuna was meticulously

scheming and planning the battle with his brothers, that was about

to commence hence forth. Suddenly, in a moment of self analysis and

introspection, Arjuna realises that this battle is going to be the

most decisive in his life and quiet distinct from all the earlier

ones that he had fought in his entire career as the best archer in

the Kuru kingdom.

 

In a fraction of a second, his anguished mind takes over his

intellect and his physical body and he plunges himself into a vortex

of all negative thought processes. He visualizes that the impending

struggle to recapture their usurped kingdom from the vicious

Kauravaas, in the ultimate analysis, will result into an erosion of

his personal value system and a total destruction of the principles

of the pious life that he had lead so far, that was based on the

great traditions of race, family and culture, the law and order of

the then prevailing society, the reverence for the great teachers

and masters, the patriotism – of course, all these from his personal

point of view.

 

This was the carry forward effect of the arguments of Sanjaya, who

had been asked by king Dhritarashtra to dissuade the Pandavaas from

the battle, by appealing to their nobility and large heartedness.

Even Yudhishthira was impressed by the logic put forward by Sanjaya.

The traces of lingering thoughts of the futility of the battle in

the mind of Arjuna, were about to overpower his intellect and his

sense of the obligatory duty to fight the righteous battle

irrespective of its consequences including the material gains to

himself upon victory.

 

Arjuna knew quite well who were his enemies. However, the

overpowering of his mind over his intellect stopped him from

initiation of his obligatory duty. In the normal circumstances, he

would have immediately started showering arrows from his divine bow

called as `Gaandiva'. The sudden loss of clarity of thought

processes, which were not based on the superiority of intellect over

mind and physical body, illustrate the devastating effects of the

vacillating human mind, even on the finest human beings like Arjuna.

 

Thanks & Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi.

 

N.B. Goodbye to the troublesome year 2008 to all of us, now let us

look forward to the impending new year 2009. Happy new to all the

fellow Sadhakas! O Lord Krishna, please lead us from unreal to the

Real, from darkness to light and from death to immortality.

---

 

Shree Hari

Ram Ram

Thank you Mrs. K Asani for requesting shloka explanation on a daily

basis and Thank you Shri Shrikantji Joshi for taking the initiative

to support this divine work.

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Ram Ram