gIta sArodhdhAra - English - 2

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Dear hari bhaktas

 

Here is shrI Bannur Ramachandra Rao's English notes on the third verse of the

gIta sArodhdhAra. As always, his notes are a true 'feast' for the mind!

 

nishkAma karma, nijavAda dharma

madhusudhana bhimasena rao

hunsur sriprasad

 

Shloka 3-30

==========

mayi sarvAni karmAni sanyasyAdhyAtmachetasA

nirAshirnirmamObhUtvA yudhyasva vigatajvara:h

 

Word-by-word meaning:

==================

AdyAtmachetasA = with mind fixed on the Lord

nirAshi:h (bhutva) = having no desire for fruits.

nirmama:h (bhutvA) = having the concept that you are not the independent doer

sarvAnikarmAni = all actions

mayi sanyasya = having surrendered in Me (in other words, having the

concept

that all actions are the worship of Vishnu)

vigata jvara:h = forgetting all your sadness (at having to kill

your kith and kin)

yudhyasva = partake in the war

 

Summary:

========

(Here, Arjuna is directly addressed by Sri Krishna as follows:)

 

Having fixed your mind on Me (always thinking of Me, the supreme

Lord) and with the full conception that you are dependent on Me

and hence you are not the independent doer (all your actions are

prompted by Me), and surrendering all your actions to Me (as My

worship) take part in the war, getting rid of all the sadness

expressed by you at the beginning of the war (as stated in the

first chapter) for fear of killing your kith and kin .

 

Explanatory notes:

==============

It may be clearly understood that what is stated in this stanza

is similar to what we studied regarding 'nishkama karma' in shloka

2-50 . At the start of the third chapter of the BG, Arjuna asks Sri

Krishna whether Sankhya yoga or the importance of Jnana stressed

in the second chapter is greater (more correct) than the 'Karma yoga'

referred to later in the same chapter. Sri Krishna deals with the

importance of Karma combined with the Jnana, that is, the right

knowledge, is the correct path to be followed and not renunciation

of the world and keeping without any action. The culmination of this

subject, dealt with in shlokas 3 to 29 of chapter 3, is the subject

matter of this shloka. Sri Krishna gives here the conclusion that

the right path for a true 'jnani' is performance of one's ordained

duties according to his varNAshrama dharma, with the concept that

all actions are the worship of the Lord. He exhorts Arjuna to

follow this principle and to perform his duties as a kshatriya by

taking part in the war.

 

In the Gita Tatparya, while dealing with this shloka, Srimadacharya

has quoted the lines 'nAhamkartA Hari:hkartA...' in support of the

interpretation he has given in the Bhashya and the Tatparya (which

have been summarised by Sri Satyadhyanatirtha).

 

It may be interesting to note that Shankaracharya also has given a

similar interpretation to this shloka. (The wordings of this shloka

are so direct that there is no scope to bring in the concepts of

Mithyatva or vyavaharikatva in interpreting the concept of bheda

between Sri Krishna and Arjuna which is so clear from the wordings.

This is the case with a number of shlokas in the Bhagavadgita.).