BG Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Saankhya Yoga – The Yoga of Knowledge 

• Section-1 (Shloka 1-8)               Arjuna‘s faintheartedness discussed (Sharnagathi- Surrender)

• Section-2 (Shloka 11-30)         Sankhya Yoga or the Yoga of Knowledge

• Section-3 (Shloka 31-38)          Khshatriya’s duty

• Section-4 (Shloka 39-53)          Karma Yoga or the Yoga of Action

• Section-5 (Shloka 54-72)          Identification and glories of ‘man of stable mind’

सञ्जय उवाच 

तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम्।

विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः॥१॥ 

sañjaya uvāca

taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭamaśrupūrṇākulekṣaṇam,

viṣīdantamidaṁ vākyamuvāca madhusūdanaḥ. 

(1) तम् - to him; तथा - thus; कृपया - with pity; आविष्टम् - overcome; अश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् - with eyes full of tears and agitated; विषीदन्तम् - despondent; इदम् - this; वाक्यम् - speech; उवाच - spoke; मधुसूदनः - Madhusūdana 

1. Sañjaya said : To him, who was thus overcome with pity and despondency, with eyes full of tears and agitated, Madhusūdana spoke these words.

श्रीभगवानुवाच कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम्।

अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन॥२॥ 

śrībhagavānuvāca 

kutastvā kaśmalamidaṁ viṣame samupasthitam,

anāryajuṣṭamasvargyamakīrtikaramarjuna. (2)

कुतः - whence; त्वा - upon thee; कश्मलम् - dejection; इदम्- this; विषमे - in perilous condition; समुपस्थितम् - comes; अनार्य - unworthy; जुष्टम् - practised by; अस्वर्ग्यम् - heaven excluding; अकीर्तिकरम् - disgraceful; अर्जुन - O Arjuna 

2. The Blessed Lord said: Whence is this perilous condition come upon thee, this dejection, un-Ᾱryan-like, heaven excluding, disgraceful, O Arjuna?

क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते।

क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप॥३॥ 

klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitattvayyupapadyate,

kṣudraṁ hṛdayadaurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa. 

(3) क्लैब्यम् - impotence; मा स्म गमः - do not get; पार्थ - O Pārtha; न - not; एतत् - this; त्वयि - in thee; उपपद्यते - is fitting; क्षुद्रम् - mean; हृदयदौर्बल्यम् - weakness of heart; त्यक्त्वा - having abondoned; उत्तिष्ठ - stand up; परन्तप - O scorcher of foes 

3. Yield not to impotence, O Pārtha! It does not befit thee. Cast off this mean weakness of heart! Stand up, O Parantapa (O scorcher of foes)!

अर्जुन उवाच 

कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन।

इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन॥४॥ 

arjuna uvāca 

kathaṁ bhīṣmamahaṁ saṅkhye droṇaṁ ca madhusūdana,

iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāvarisūdana. (4)

कथम् - how; भीष्मम् - Bhīṣma; अहम् - I; सङ्ख्ये - in battle; द्रोणम् - Droṇa; च - and; मधुसूदन - O Madhusūdana; इषुभिः - with arrows; प्रतियोत्स्यामि - shall fight; पूजार्हौ - worthy to be worshipped; अरिसूदन - O destroyer of enemies 

4. Arjuna said: How, O Madhusūdana, shall I in battle fight with arrows against Bhīṣma and Droṇa, who are fit to be worshipped, O destroyer of enemies!

गुरूनहत्वा हि महानुभावान् श्रेयो भोक्तुं भैक्ष्यमपीह लोके।

हत्वार्थकामांस्तु गुरूनिहैव भुञ्जीय भोगान् रुधिरप्रदिग्धान्॥५॥ 

gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyamapīha loke,

hatvārthakāmāṁstu gurūnihaiva bhuñjīya bhogān rudhirapradigdhān.

(5) गुरून् - teachers; अहत्वा - instead of slaying; हि - indeed; महानुभावान् - most noble; श्रेयः - better; भोक्तुम् - to eat; भैक्ष्यम् - alms; अपि - even; इह - here; लोके - in the world; हत्वा - having slain;

अर्थकामान् - wealth and desires; तु - indeed; गुरून् - Gurus; इह - here; एव - also; भुञ्जीय - enjoy; भोगान् - enjoyments; रुधिरप्रदिग्धान् - stained with blood 

5. Better indeed, in this world, to eat even the bread of beggary than to slay the most noble of teachers. But, if I kill them even in this world, all my enjoyments of wealth and desires will be stained with blood.

Once we misread a situation, sentiments cloud our understanding and then we too act in life as Arjuna did in his. This is clearly indicated here in the detailed narration of the incident by Vyāsa. 

न चैतद्विद्मः कतरन्नो गरीयो-

यद्वा जयेम यदि वा नो जयेयुः।

यानेव हत्वा न जिजीविषाम-

स्तेऽवस्थिताः प्रमुखे धार्तराष्ट्राः॥६॥ 

na caitadvidmaḥ kataranno garīyo-

yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ,

yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣāma-

ste’vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ.

(6) न - not; च - and; एतत् - this; विद्मः - we know; कतरत् - which; नः - for us; गरीयः - better; यत् - that; वा - or; जयेम - we should conquer; यदि - if; वा - or; नः - us; जयेयुः - they should conquer; यान् - whom; एव - even; हत्वा - having slain; न - not; जिजीविषामः - we wish to live; ते - those; अवस्थिताः - are standing; प्रमुखे - in face; धार्तराष्ट्राः - sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra 

6. I can scarcely say which will be better; that we should conquer them or that they should conquer us. Even the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, after slaying whom we do not wish to live, stand facing us.

Saranagati Sloka

कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः

पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेताः।

यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे

शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्॥७॥ 

kārpaṇyadoṣopahatasvabhāvaḥ

pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharmasammūḍhacetāḥ,

yacchreyaḥ syānniścitaṁ brūhi tanme

śiṣyaste’haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam. 

kārpaṇya = of miserliness; doṣa = by the weakness; upahata = being afflicted; svabhāvaḥ = characteristics; pṛcchāmi = I am asking; tvāṃ = unto You; dharma = religion; sammūḍha = bewildered; cetāḥ = in heart; yat = what; śreyaḥ = all-good; syāt = may be; niścitaṃ = confidently; brūhi = tell; tat = that; me = unto me; śiṣyaḥ = disciple; te = Your; ahaṃ = I am; śādhi = just instruct; māṃ = me; tvāṃ = unto You; prapannaṃ = surrendered.;

7) My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask Thee. Tell me decisively what is good for me. I am Thy disciple. Instruct me, who have taken refuge in Thee.

Krupana - yo va etad aksharam gargy aviditvasman lokat praiti sa kripanah.

Shreya -

Shishsya

न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद्
यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् ।
अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं
राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् ॥ २-८॥

na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād
yacchokamucchoṣaṇamindriyāṇām
avāpya bhūmāvasapatnamṛddhaṃ
rājyaṃ surāṇāmapi cādhipatyam 2-8

na = do not; hi = certainly; prapaśyāmi = I see; mama = my; apanudyāt = can drive away; yat = that which; śokaṃ = lamentation; ucchoṣaṇaṃ = drying up; indriyāṇāṃ = of the senses; avāpya = achieving; bhumau = on the earth; asapatnaṃ = without rival; ṛddhaṃ = prosperous; rājyaṃ = kingdom; surāṇāṃ = of the demigods; api = even; ca = also; ādhipatyaṃ = supremacy.;

8) I do not see that it would remove this sorrow that burns up my senses, even if I should attain prosperous and unrivalled dominion on earth, or even Lordship over the gods.

तमुवाच हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव भारत।

सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वचः॥१०॥

 tamuvāca hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasanniva bhārata,

senayorubhayormadhye viṣīdantamidaṁ vacaḥ. (10)

 तम् - to him; उवाच - spoke; हृषीकेशः - Hṛṣīkeśa ( the master of the senses); प्रहसन् - smiling; इव - as it were; भारत - descendent of Bharata; सेनयोः - of the armies; उभयोः - of both; मध्ये - in the middle; विषीदन्तम् - despondent; इदम् - these; वचः - words 

10. To him, who was despondent in the midst of the two armies, Hṛṣīkeśa as if smiling, ‘O Bhārata’ spoke these words.