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Geeta Chapter 2 Verse 1

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 1

तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् ।
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः ॥२-१॥

Tam tatha kripavistam Arshrupurna kulekshanam
Vishidant midam Vakyam uvacha madhusudan ॥ 2-1 ॥

Transliteration

In bhagavad gita chapter 2 verse 1, Sanjaya narrates the state of mind and plight of Arjuna while facing his adversary... Army of Kauravas which comprised of his cousins, guru, maternal grandfather... close relatives and friends! Eyes full of tears, and extremely troubled at heart Arjuna was overcome with grief... all the time feeling pity for those in enemy camp.

Seeing this state of affairs... Lord Krishna, Madhusudana advised Arjuna thus...

The Explanation

On seeing enemy camp full of close relatives and friends... Arjuna, the Pandava Prince is overcome with extreme grief. He feels pity for all. Inherently he knows that as Lord Krishna was on his side, chances of his losing the war were nil. Krishna stands for Dharma. The War of Kurukshetra was a fight between Dharma (righteousness) and evil forces of adharma (lawlessness). When outcome was predetermined, fixed... extreme grief (pity) took hold.

As the ultimate winner... he had nothing to offer his enemy than express pity for all! He felt remorse with teary eyes and prepared self to listen to Krishna, what all he had to say! Here Lord Krishna has been referred as Madhusudana. Literally Madhusudana means... slayer of demon Madhu! Spiritually this translates to... a power that has capability to demolish those who expressed outwardly love towards us, those who had a sting of nectar.

Those in enemy camp... the Kauravas were intimately related to Arjuna, the Pandava camp! Still, the war of Dharma (righteousness) was to be won at all costs. One who could deliver human being from inherent ills, the power of ego so that one could use power of discrimination to distinguish right from wrong! Such a one could be called a Madhusudana... the slayer of evil forces of nature! In the coming shlokas verses, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna about merits of siding with Dharma (righteousness)... to root out adharma (evil) forever.

In bhagavad gita chapter 2 verse 1, Arjuna feeling pity for all in the Kaurava camp has been highlighted. Why? Arjuna always sided with Dharma (righteousness). This was his inborn trait of character. Even the presence of his beloved maternal grandfather Bhishma Pitamah and guru Dronacharya in the enemy camp did not deter him from thinking otherwise. As Bhishma Pitamah and Dronacharya wrongly sided with adharma (lawlessness)... chances of their winning the war were nil.

Fighting such accomplished warriors brought a feeling of extreme grief and remorse in Arjuna. He knew in his heart that by the time war ended, his beloved maternal grandfather Bhishma Pitamah and guru Dronacharya would face a humiliating defeat in war. This brought tears to his eyes. He felt pity for them as they may get killed in the process. Arjuna never wanted to fight a decisive war with his kith and kin... no matter what!

The biggest cause for sorrow, pity and compassion for Arjuna was not only Bhishma Pitamah and Dronacharya and other close relatives and friends getting killed at their hands but deaths of thousands of innocent soldiers and civilians, for the wrongly act of few.Even though initially Arjuna appears cowardly in the battle of Mahabharata but internally he was a great warrior! He bitterly grieved for what lay in store for all involved in the battle.

Lord Krishna inherently knew that with passage of time... he would succeed in convincing Arjuna to fight the just battle of Mahabharata! And for that matter... wisdom of Bhagavad Gita was conveyed to Arjuna through 700 shlokas verses. By the time Lord Krishna completed his oratory... Arjuna prepared self for fighting the enemies head-on.

As the entire battle of Mahabharata is an allegory to establish supremacy of spirituality for reaching God Almighty in present life... it has rightly been said that a war of Mahabharata is all the time happening within every human being on mother earth. It is only by indulging in teachings contained in Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna in the battle of Mahabharata, human beings finally succeeded in establishing absolute control over five senses and mind... leading to total purification of our soul atman, the spirit within!

The prime purpose of Bhagavad Gita is human beings gaining enlightenment in their lifetime and finally reaching stage of moksha salvation. Realizing our true inner self is the ultimate goal of life on mother earth.

Commentary by: Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani"... The Man who Realized God in 1993 - Aug 27, 2014

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