Bhagavad Gita - Daily One Verse Brief Explanation - II 1:28, 1:29 II

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II 1:28 II

 

arjuna uvaaca:

 

drstvemam sva-janam Krishna, yuyutsum samupasthitam

seedanti mama gaatrani, mukham ca parisushyati

vepathus ca sareere me, roma-harshas ca jayate (Gita 1:28, 1:29)

 

arjuna said:

 

O Krishna! at the sight of these kinsmen thus arrayed here, eager to

wage the war, my limbs give way, my mouth is parched, my body

trembles and hair stands on end.

 

From Gita Prabodhani in Hindi pg. 12 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

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Chapter 1, Verses 28 and 29 are combined as follows;

 

Arjuna = Arjuna

Uvaacha = said

DruShtvaa = having seen

Imam = these

Svajanam = kinsmen

Krishna = O Krishna!

Yuyutsum = eager to fight

Samupasthitam = arrayed

Seedanti = fail

Mama = my

Gaatraani = limbs

Mukham = mouth

Cha = and

ParishuShyati = is parching

VepathuH = shivering

Cha = and

Shareere = in body

Me = my

RomaharShaH = horrification

Cha = and

Jaayate = arise

 

English translation:-

 

Arjuna said, " O Krishna, seeing these kinsmen, collected here

prompted by war, my limbs fail and my mouth is parched up; my body

quivers and my hair stand on end. "

 

The word `Krishna' has following three meanings;

 

1. One who is with dark blue skin colour that represents his

infinite nature. It is the colour of element copper near to its

melting point which is called as `Tapta Taamra VarNa " in Sanskrit

language.

 

2. `Krish' means existence and `na' means bliss. One whose very

existence signifies eternal knowledge and immeasurable bliss is

`Krishna'. This is very well illustrated by Lord Krishna himself in

verse 27 of chapter 14 in Shreemad Bhagawad Geeta.

 

3. One who is saviour of devotees from their physical pain and

mental distress.

 

The very thought, of he himself being held responsible for ruthless

slaughter of his own near and dear ones; causes Arjuna enormous

distress and immeasurable mental anguish.

 

Up until this time, fighting a war was mere natural reflex action

for Arjuna. So far for him, war was an easy game to play. Killing a

number of enemies in a war was a matter of mere statistics without

any lingering effects on him.

 

Now suddenly, realising the unimaginable consequences and disastrous

effects of a war on his kinsmen; it was an eye opening event for

Arjuna.

 

The debilitating mental stupor of Arjuna can be classified as a

typical symptom of anxiety related neurosis as per modern

psychology.

 

Being overwhelmed by uncontrollable emotions, Arjuna's mental

disorder finally results into a total loss of control of his mind

and intellect over his own physical body. His physical organs fail;

his mouth is parched up, his body trembles and his hair stand on

end.

 

Arjuna falls into a state of utter despondency and that is the

reason `Arjuna Vishaada Yoga' is an apt title of the first chapter

of Shreemad Bhagawad Geeta. It is Lord Krishna's divine role to pull

Arjuna out of his despondency and make him realise his false

attachments arising out of ignorance of his own unblemished state of

Pure Consciousness i.e. Aatman, which is a subset of all pervading

Brahman.

 

It reminds me of a beautiful prayer of poet Gulzar, that is as

follows;

 

" Hum Ko Mana Kee Shakti Dena, Hum Vijaya Karen;

Dusaronkee Jaya Se Pahele, Khuda Vijaya Karen "

 

It means, " O Lord Krishna, please give us physical, mental and

intellectual strength for victory; however let us conquer ourselves

first, before we conquer others " .

 

Thanks & Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi.

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Shree Hari

Ram Ram

Thank you Shri Shrikantji Joshi for taking the initiative to support

this divine work and to Mrs. K Asani for requesting shloka

explanation on a daily basis.

From Gita Talk Moderators

Ram Ram