Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 9 to 10

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Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 9 to 10

 

(Verse Translation by Swami Gambirananda, Gita Bhasya and commentary

by Swami Chinmayanandaji)

 

Sanjaya Uvaacha: (Sanjaya said)

Evamuktwaa tato raajan mahaayogeshwaro harih;

Darshayaamaasa paarthaaya paramam roopamaishwaram. Verse 9

 

9. O King, having spoken thus, thereafter, Hari [Hari: destroyer of

ignorance along with its consequences.] (Krsna) the great Master of

Yoga, showed to the son of Prtha the supreme divine form:

 

Rajan, O King, Dhrtarastra

uktva, having spoken evam, thus, in the manner stated above

tatah, thereafter

harih, Hari, Narayana

maha-yogeswarah, the great Master of Yoga-who is great (mahan) and

also the master (isvara) of Yoga

darasyamasa showed

parthaya, to the son of Prtha

the paramam, supreme

aisvaram, divine

rupam, form, the Cosmic form:

 

The versatile genius of Vyasa has never left anything that he has

touched without raising it to the most sublime heights of perfection.

With unimaginable capacities for composing incomparable poetry,

unique prose-diction, chaste descriptions, artistic, literary

designs, original innovations both in thought and form --- a

brilliant philosopher, a man of consummate wisdom, a genius in

worldly knowledge, at one time in the palace, at another time in the

battle-field, at still another time in Badrinath, and again, among

the silent snow peaks --- strode the colossus, Sri Vyasa, as an

embodiment of what is best in the Hindu tradition and in the Aryan

culture. Such an all-round genius has not yet been reported ever to

have been born, lived or achieved so much in the history of this

globe, at any other time!

 

After Lord Krishna gave Arjuna a hint as to what he should expect and

where he would gain the vision of the Cosmic-Man, etc., Vyasa

introduces a small section in which Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra,

the blind father of the wicked Kauravas.

 

The literary purpose served by this stanza is only to show to the

readers that Krishna, according to his promise, had actually revealed

his Cosmic-Form to Arjuna. But along with that, the deft mastery of

the ancient writer of Mahabharata tries to paint for us the mental

attitude and the inward sympathies of Sanjaya. We have stated earlier

that Sanjaya is " OUR OWN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. " His sympathies are

clearly with the Pandavas, the friends of the Lord. This tendency in

Sanjaya is unquestionably revealed when he addressed his own master

merely as " O King " (Rajan) while he uses the terms, (a)

Mahayogeshwara ... " the Great Lord of Yoga " and (b) Harih ... " the

one who maintains the champions of Truth by destroying the powers of

falsehood, " to indicate Lord Krishna. The implied suggestions of

these words point at a bloodless murder of the blind old King!

With Sanjaya's words, the crowd of listeners and students of Geeta

are shifted from the field of the battle to the palace of the battle-

monger. This is perhaps necessary to remind the readers that the

philosophy of the Geeta has an intimate practical application to

life. Sanjaya informs Dhritarashtra that the Great Lord of Yoga

showed to Arjuna his Supreme Ishwara-form. Sanjaya entertains a thin

hope that, at least on hearing that the Lord of the Universe is on

the side of his nephews, the blind King will foresee the sure defeat

of his sons and, in his discrimination, will cry a halt to the

impending disastrous war.

 

IN A ROUGH OUTLINE SANJAYA DESCRIBES THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WERE

VISIBLE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE DIVINE CHARIOTEER:

 

Anekavaktra nayanam anekaadbhuta darshanam;

Anekadivyaabharanam divyaanekodyataayudham. Verse 10

 

10. Having many faces and eyes, possessing many wonderful sights,

adorned with numerous celestial ornaments, holding many uplifted

heavenly weapons;

 

A form aneka-vaktra-nayanam, having many faces and eyes

aneka-adbhuta-darsanam, possessing many wonderful sights

as also

aneka-divya-abharanam, adorned with numerous celestial ornamentsand

divya-aneka-udyata-ayudham, holding many uplifted heavenly weapons.

 

This whole portion is connected with the verb '(He) showed' in the

earlier verse. With numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wonderful

sights, with numerous divine ornaments, with numerous divine weapons

uplifted (such a form He showed)

 

With numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wonderful sights, with

numerous divine ornaments, with numerous divine weapons uplifted

(such a form He showed)