bhagavad gita - comm sankara, tr. aiyar

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S R I S A N K A R A S
G I T A B H A S H Y A
(Sri Sankaracharya's Commentary
on the Gita)
Translation
by
C V. R A M A C H A N D R A A IY A R
Foreword by
SWA M I RA N G A N A TH A N A N D A
BH R TIY VIDY BH V N
Kulapati K. M. Munshi Marg
Bombay 400 007
R s . 100
P R I N T E D I N I N D I A
By C. T. Nac hiappan , at K alakshetra Publications, Kalak shetra
R oa d, Thiruvan niiyur, M adras-600 04 1, and Published by S. Ram a-
krishnan, Executive Secretary, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kulapati
Munshi Marg, Bombay-400 007.
II II
ankaram añkar
O B E I S A N C E
I bow again and again
to the two Divine Personages—
a
ñkar
ñkara (the
1
), who is
(none else than Visnu,) the Lord of r*—the authors (respectively)
of the Commentary (Bhsya) and the (Original) Glt.
1 . n Kr sn a de l i s ere i l the GItii t o A r jun a , w hi t e ac t i n g ns h i s char i o t ee r
on the bat t l e - f i e l d .
2 .
L a k s m i , t h e G o d d e s s o f B e a u t y a n d P l e n t y , t h e C o n s o r t o f V i s n u .
8/20/2019 Bhagavad Gita - Comm Sankara, Tr. Aiyar
F O R E W O R D
hare been requested by Sri T. Sadasivam to write a Foreword
to the late Sri C. V. R am ach and ra Aiy ar's boo k :
Sri Sankara's
Gita Bhashya; and I am glad to do so.
The book is an English translation of Adi Sankarachurya's
famous com m entary on the Srimad Bha gavad -Gita. This great
book was for long centuries lying hidden in the immense literature
of the M ah ab ha rata epic. It was the great San karach arya who
brought it out of that obscurity, wrote his famous commentary on
it, and placed it before the people at large for their philosophical
and spiritual guida nce. Since then , it has been com m ented upo n
by many succeeding acharyas and scholars, medieval and modern.
It has now become accepted as the most popular book on Sanatana
D ha rm a and practical Vedanta. San karac hary a's Introduction to
his Gita Commentary is a masterpiece of Sanskrit prose, expound
ing the wide scope of the Vedic philosophy embracing the material
and spiritual welfare of all humanity and the purpose of
the Sri Krishna incarnation as the expounding of that comprehen
sive philosophy and spirituality known as Yoga.
Since the first English translation of Sankara's Gita Commen
tary by Mahadeva Sastry was published a little less than a century
ago, several othe r transla tions have app eare d and have found
welcome by the read ing p ublic. Th ere is grow ing interest in the
Gita all over the wo rld. In tha t context, the pub lication, by the
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bom bay, of this new trans lation by Sri
C. V. Ram ach and ra Aiyar is welcom e; his rendering is lucid and
his notes illumine the text of the Com m entary . 1 ho pe this bo ok
will have a wide circulation.
R A N G A N A T H A N A N D A
Ramakrishna Math
Hyderabad-500 029.
P U B L I S H E R S
PREFACE
along with the Upanishads and the Brahmasutras, occupies a pre
eminent place among the sacred books of the world. Its unique
ness, as the world is slowly coming to realise, is that it is a devotional
work
with bhakti,
treatise
have the aptitude to become /nam s and a practical
guide to action to those who have evolved themselves as Karma-
yogis. Thus, its distilled wisdom
is
as
The teachings of
m i n d
for the
man. Who
else than the greatest embodiment of jnana and bhakti the
world has ever seen, Adi Sankara Bhagavadpada,
is
better
quali-
fied t o write the commentary on the Gita Many are the com
mentaries written on Bhagavad Gita
by
before and after Adi Sankara, but Sri Bhagavadapada
s
Gita
Bhashya
is in
a class by itself and has stood the test of time.
The venerable Shri C. V. Ramachandra Aiyar. ripe in age
and wisdom, devoted the last years of his life to translating
Sri Bhagavadpada's Gita Bhashya from the original Sanskrit into
English. Though some English translations of Sri Bhagavad
pada's Gita Bhashya have appeared, this excellent translation and
lucid commentary by Sri Ramachandra Aiyar is a welcome addi
tion. Posterity owes a deep debt of gratitude to this great savant.
Shri Ra. Ganapati, the MafcrZ-soaked devoted son of the great
scholar-father, spared no pains to make the book ready for publi
cation, and the unique and generous Sadasivam Dampati, ever
ready to extend their helping hand for all noble causes, came for
ward with financial and other assistance to make this publication
possible.
Dampati and considers itself privileged to play its humble part
in bringing out this m onu m ental work of a dedicated savant. W e
hope that this book will nurture ethical and spiritual values in the
present society, buffeted by materialistic trends, and also will
attract lovers of Vcdanta.
R. R. D1WAKAR
S . R A M A K R I S H N A N
General Editors
P R E S E N T A T I O N
Bowing down to the G itacharya and Sank aracharya I carry
out the holy and pleasant duty of presenting this book to the readers,
a duty that has devolved up on me as the son of the tran slato r
Sri C. V. Ramachandra Aiyar of sacred memory.
C. V. R. A iya r (1905-1979) cam e of a pious and eru dite family
of the temple-town C hid am ba ram . Right from his early years
he began imbibing devotion to the Kula-Devata, the Divine Mother,
knowledge of our scriptural lore and
sraddha
in religious obser
vances at the feet of his rshi-like uncle, Sri Doraiswami Aiyar.
At the time he finished schooling, the family faced a rude economic
set-back and he had to get admitted into the Sri Ramakrishna
Mission S t u d e n t s H o m e , w h i c h p r o v i d e d f r e e b o a r d and l o d g i n g
to deserving boys, when he began his collegiate education in the
Presidency College, Madras.
It was a blessing in disgu ise. F o r it bro ug ht C. V. R. under the
inspiring tutelage of Sri N. Subramania Aiyar, affectionately called
"Anna" (elder brother), who was later to become not only the
President of the R. K. Mission Home, but also one of the respected
spiritua l illum inati of Ta m ilnad u. As a further stro ke of divine
luck during his days in the H om e, C. V. R. had the great good
fortune of rendering service to Pujya Sri Swami Brahmananda,
the 'Spiritual Son' of Sri Ramakrishna, when he sojourned in
M ad ras. Out of the abu nda nce of his heart the Swami gave
diksha
youn g C.V.R.— a fact which the
latter never divulged but cam e to light through "A n n a " His
deep devotion to the Paramahamsa and the Holy Mother gave a
refreshing catholic touch to his strict Conformism, which naturally
led him to hold Sri Sankara Bhagavadpada, the doughty upholder
of the Vedic T rad itio n, in the highest esteem. This Ga nga-Y am unu
confluence in C.V.R. is brought to the fore by the present volume
itself—a rendering of the Bhashya of the Bhagavadpada dedicated
to the Paramahamsa.
As the years rolled on , C.V .R. intensified his upasana and
continued extending the horizons of his spiritual scholarship.
Gaining mastery in Vedanta and Mantra-sastra he took a share
xi
in many of Anna's scriptural classics in Tamil—in jealously guarded
anonymity.
Though
Bhaktl-upasana
through
puja
and
japa
was his main
sadhana, he was an advaitin by conviction. A nd conviction con
summated into flashes, at least, of Realisation under the benign
influence of Sri Ramana Maharshi, whom he revered as one of his
gurus .
.R . took his B.A. degree with H on ou rs
in Mathematics when he was barely nineteen and immediately
entered governm ent service. But his heart was no t in it. Th ou gh
he brought to bear his sincerity and thoroughness in the official
assignments that fell to his lot, he did not care to take the depart
mental tests for promotion, with the result that when he retired
after thirty-six years of loyal service he had not risen above the rank
of T ah sild ar If at all he stuck on to professional ca reer it was
because of the heavy responsibilities he had to shoulder as the
eldest among seven offspring of an economically shaken family.
He did acquit himself well in discharging the duty cast upon him,
an d th e family ever rem ained grateful to him . On the dom estic
front he was blessed with a noble wife, a real salui-dhaima-cliarini,
who, in spite of her very poor health, ably and heartily carried out
the heavy chores that housekeeping for an orthodox Brahmin,
g i v e n
to elaborate rituals, entails. H er po or health w as, again, a
blessing in disguise to
continent life right from his thirtieth year, which beside contributing
to his spiritual sa dh an a, also sharpe ned his intellect. Absolutely
honest and guileless, 'allergic' to public gaze, uncompromising in
principles, unkn ow n to mincing w ord s, assiduou s in wh ateve r h e
d id , this stickler for frugality an d simplicity was forbidd ingly re
served, and, to add to the forbidding aspect, was quick-tempered.
If, in spite of th is, he elicited no th ing bu t love a nd respect
from all w ho knew h im, that surely was a mark of the intrinsic pow er
of the purity of heart.
On retirem ent, which he w as eagerly look ing forward to , he
plunged into what his heart was athirst for—puncitilious Devi
Puja
H e devoutly at
tached himself to the Sage of Kanchi, His Holiness the Parama-
charya, for enlightenment on many abstruse and intricate points.
xii
The Sage always had a softer corner in his soft heart for this sincere
sanatanisl-.sw
//7fl
/c
never disappointed the disciple without
a
and ever enthused him with the illumination he sought from
t h e
v e n e r a b l e G u r u d c v a . I n his l a s t y e a r s C.V.R. w a s a l s o d r a w n in
profound devotion to
S r i
Satya Sai Baba. It is moving to thin k of
his very last moments on earth—On the forenoon of that snivana
pumima, a fully conscious and meditative C.V.R. w a s gracefully
slipping out of the body. Q u i t e unexpectedly the vibhuti of the
Baba arrived at the nick of time. C.V .R. had it smeared on his
forehead and chest and a pinch placed on his tongue. He raised
up his h a n d s t o fold the p a l m s u p a b o v e his head . W ith that
final act of suprem e thanks giving ended in na tur al
e a s e a
life of
life-long prayer.
t o
t h e story of t h e Translat ion:
Years back , 'A n n a' was app rised of the interest of a certain
religious institution in bringing out an English translation of the
Sanskrit Commentary of Sri Sankarn Bhagavadpada on the
Bltagvad-
Gita.
Imm ediately he thoug ht of C.V.R. and entrusted the difficult
task to him . C.V .R. set himself to the
punya kainkarya
heart and
soul and wo rking on it for years brou ght ou t the finished pro du ct.
" A n n a ' sent it to the veteran Professor of Philosophy, Sri P . Sankara-
narayana n for com m ents. Sri
P .
tion and recommended it for publication without any correction
or touch ing up . But, unfortun ately, the expected publishing
arran gem ent fell thro ug h. Th oug h he had un derta ke n a rigorous
tapasyct
over the work , C.V.R. was least worried abou t its publica
tion

He had carried out the behest o f h i s Guru, 'Anna' , and there
the m atte r ended for him He passed away in 1979, nine years
before his m onum ental labou r of love and piety w a s t o s e e the light
of the day. Th e Hla of the Lord is insc rutab le
could have struck upo n the present publishing arrangem ent
through the god-parenting of the
Kalpalaiii-tlanipcili,
sivam
w a s
alive. B u t I purposely kept back because o f m y k n o w l e d g e that
this Kalpa taru is no t one overladen with fruits wh ich it could
e a s i l y dispense w i t h as soon a s o n e comes under i t , but one that
has itself to strike newer roots to tap the resources to produce the
fruit needed by the new -com er T o pu t it factually— a fact tha t
may sound like fiction—this renowned Benefactor-Couple have
never cared to build up any large fortune out of which to draw
upon when
a
person than the
Sage of Kanchi once said, they do not give out of what they have
got, but they set ou t to get in ord er to give The beauty of it is,
that in this way they have been helping cause after worthy cause
as not even crore-patis can d o On ce they feel a cause worthy
of their espousal, either M.S. offers her golden voice to bring in the
needed shower of gold, or T.S. addresses himself to the delicate
task of calling u po n th e liberality of his affluent friends, or bo th .
A s I did not want them to take the trouble involved, I scrupu
lously avoided telling them about my father's unpublished manus
cript for over a decad e. But in His inscrutab le
iia,
back I found myself blurting out the'secret' to them. Perhaps
it was His will that the book must come out only during the grand
celebration of the 1200th
and with the utmost warmth, the Sadasivams became the godparents
of the project and began nourishin g it as they would a pet ch ild
It was bu t the spo ntan eou s expression of not only their devo
tion to the Gitacharya and the Bhashyakara but also their genuine
regard for my father and affectionate love for inc. Unb urd enin g
m c of any the least responsibility and absolving m c of dereliction
of filial duty, Sri Sadasivam made over' the project to himself
and with his characteristic thoroughness attended to every little
detail of its planning and execution. In particu lar, he arranged
for the free supply of the paper and the printing of the book at
modest charges, and
writing this, is busy planning the
Release. W hat an am brosial nou rishm ent for this
Gita-chM
of Mother Subbulakshmi bring in the entire
resources for the printin g Th anksg iving being imp ossible,
I pray with all my heart that this blessed-and-blessing Dampati
are ever in the shower of the Bliss Supernal
My very grateful th an ks are due to Sri G an ga Pr asad Birlaji
for his generous and prompt gift of the entire bulk of paper needed
for the book.
I owe a deep debt of gratitud e to Sri C. T. N ach iapp an of the
Kalakshetra Publications, not only
for his personal involvement in the publication, which he under-
4-3-1988.
RA.
G A N A P A T I
took not as a business proposition but as an opportunity for being
of some help to the Sadasivams.
It is in the fitness of things tha t this grea t spiritual treasu re of
Bharat is published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, one of the
foremost institutions dedicated to the dissemination of our cul
tur al legacy to the wo rld at large. I than k the Bhavan, an d in
pa rticular , its energetic Executive Secretary Sri S. Ram ak rish na n,
who has evinced a keen interest in the shaping of the book.
M y affectionate than ks are du e to artist ' V in u ' for his beau ti
ful wrapper design and frontispiece, and to Sri S. Mohanaraman
for his diligent preparation of the typescripts.
Above all I tender my grateful pranama to Pujya Sri Swami
R an ga nath an an da for blessing the boo k with a Forew ord. The
prom ptness with which he responded to ou t request, in spite of his
indispo sition, spea ks volum es for his genuine interest in the p ro
paga tion of the Go spel of the two Jng adg urus, Sri K rishna and
Sri Sankara.
M ay the blessings of Sri K rishn a, the A vatar of V ishnu, wh o
delivered the
elucidated it,
and on all the readers
T R A N S L A T O R ' S P R E F A C E
The scheme adopted in this book is to give, first, the Sanskrit
text
script; second, its transliteration; third, its bare literal translation;
and fourth and last, the translation of r Sa nk arac ary a's Sanskrit
Bhya (Commentary) on it, which, often develops into discus
sions on various points touching the teaching—mostly by way of
raising the prima facie view of the opponent (prva-paksa) and
then critically analysing an d refuting it to establish the final and
settled conclusion of the proponent (siddhnta).
In this English rendering, utmost attention has been given
to closely follow both the interpretation and structure of the original
Bhsya.
In particu lar, it is m ade in such a way , tha t to the m axi
mum possible extent it incorporates within it the phrases of the
bare translation of the verses in their syntactical order in English.
That is, the words and phrases of the bare verse-translation are
interspersed in the translation of the
Bhfyn
in the same structu ral
orde r. T o m ake this clear to the reader, the w ords occurring in
the bare verse-tran slation are italicised when inco rpo rated in
the Com m entary p ortio n. Because of this, w ords (like those in
Sanskrit) w hich do no t occur in the b are verse-translation, and
which would otherwise be italicised arc given in the Roman
type itself in tha t portion of the Co m m entary w hich incorp orates
wo rds of the bare verse-translation. But in the Ch ap ter-In trod uc
tions and those portions of the discussions which come after the
com plete inco rpo ration of all the w ords of the bare verse-transla
tion, the usual rules of italicising are followed.
As for the transliteration of the verses, it strictly conforms
to the literal struc ture of the original in D ev an gari script. Ye t,
to facilitate easier reading and understanding, compound words
have been split, as far as possible, into their constituent words by
hyphenation—to the extent of separating the first constituent word
by hyphen even when its last letter undergoes a change, e.g., yat
changing into yad and yaj in IX.27 ; but when both the last letter
of the first constituent and the first letter of the second constituent
undergo changes they are not separated by hyphenation, e.g.
tacchrnu (VII. 1), compounded of ta t and
rwi,
word and not separated by hyphen as tac-chrmi. Also capitals,
tor pro pe r nam es in the second or further constituents have been
dispensed with in such unsplit compounds, e.g., Arjuna without
capital A in
many
points in
th e Bhsya are given in the foot-notes, mostly by quoting from
Sri Git Bhsya /ik,
13th
cent.)
+ , * *
The crya has not commented on the First Chapter and upto
verse 10 of the Second Chapter, since this portion is just a prelude
to the Lord's Teaching, which commences only in verse 11 of the
Second Cha pter . Th e Introdu ction (pp 1-6) is, of cou rse, by the
Acrya .
beginning the
* * *
It is fully realised that the translation cannot be perfect, con
seq uen t on the inheren t difficulty in render ing a classical w ork
into a m odern languag e such as English. M oreover, the Bhsya is
so vast and pro found that, every time one studies it, newer shades
of meaning and newer app roach es to the interpretations of the
language used ca nn ot fail to reveal them selves. It is nevertheless
hoped that the version in its present form brings out the teaching
of the Gtcrya,
rl
Sankara with
a reasonable degree of accuracy, as the translator feels that he has
had their guida nce as his inner light in som e m easu re. Sh ort
comings in understanding the text and expressing the meaning in
English, due to defect in the human intellect and power of expres
sion, there surely must be; and the translator will feel highly grate
ful if learned readers will be good enough to bring errors and defects
to notice.
It is felt that no apology is needed for making the translation
rather literal, as the intention is that even the reader with only an
elementary knowledge of Sanskrit should be induced to study the
original
Bhsya
side, and be enabled to un der
stand and appreciate it. The tran slator prays to Sri Rm akrsna»
to whom this work is dedicated in humble devotion, that He would
give His blessings to the fulfilment of this wish.
* * *
Nowadays i t is held by a considerable segment of the scholars
(some of them also claiming allegiance to the Acarya's doctrine of
Advaita) that the Path to Perfection/Liberation as established in
the
Gita
is one of eclecticism, advocating activity (Karma), per
formed in a spirit of devotion to God (Bhakti), and based on and
guided by Knowledge
(Jñ
n a). Th at is to say, the Pa th combines
together A ction and Kn ow ledge (while also incidentally eiifolding
D evo tion). A ccording to this interpretatio n the Kno wledge-
b a s e d A c t i v i t y m u s t b e p r a c t i s e d b y t h e s p i r i t u a l a s p i r a n t r i g h t u p t o
Liberation , without his ever having to em brace the
sarhnyusin's
Contrary to this assessment,lhe crya
h a s ,
Bhsya,
interpreted the Gita as laying down the Path of Action and the
Path of Knowledge as two distinctly different courses, never to
b e
combined, each of them being meant for people of a particular
level of evolution. Th e Path of Kn ow ledge dem andin g the total
dedication of the aspirant to deep reflection on the abstract truths
regarding the Self is only for the mature
utlamdhikrin. H i s
total dedication to reflection,
implies his complete
renu nciatio n of the life of activity. Since it is only the co nsta nt
reflection on the Self that directly leads to Self-Realisation, which
is Perfection/Liberation, t h e Path of Knowledge alone is the
proximate means to that Goal.
The Path of Action, according to the Acrya, is only the remote
means to the G oa l. Tt is the remo te pa th th at leads to the proxi
m ate path of Kno wledge. Tho ugh only the rem ote one, it alone is
the Path for the not-so-mature
madhyamdhikrin,
Self.
By following the Pa th
of Action exclusively, his mind gets purified (not necessarily in a
single birth), and (only) after the mind is completely cleansed of
the imp urities, he gets the com petence to tak e to the Path of
F-ii
Knowledge. The 'perfection' which the aspirant in the Path of
Action is said to attain to by t h e Lord (XVIII. 45-6), is according
;
and is attainable only by Knowledge, but the lesser mental per
fection which makes him "qualified for steadfast adherence in the
Path of Knowledge".
There are passages in the Gila which appear to accord t o the
Path of Action the highest place among the spiritual disciplines.
These, the crya explains (away), as falling under
Arthu-vda
(praise, eulogy). Artha-vda c o n s i s t s in o v e r - p r a i s i n g a t h i n g s o
as to enthuse the listener to betake himself to it. Arjuna and the
majority of t h e people t o whom the Gita is a d d r e s s e d through h im
b e l o n g t o the ' n o t- s o - m a tu re ' t y p e , w h o m u s t i m m e d i a t e l y b e
weaned from pursuing their ego-ccn t rcd and sense-oriented actions
and directed to their dhrmic duties, otherwise called 'the Path of
Action'. At their level, they could be persuaded t o give up their
easy way of living and induced to take upon the constraints of
dharmic action only if that spiritual discipline is presented t o t h e m
a s the summum bonum. Therefore the Lord resorts
t o Artha-vda.
Any open-minded reader will be convinced t h a t t h e Acarya's
interpretation alone brings out the true import of the Gt, since
we hear in it the Lord's categorical and unequivocal isolation of the
two Paths in such statements as, "This which has been declared
unto you is the wisdom in regard to Srhkhya (the Path of Know
ledge). Hearken now to the wisdom of Y o g a (Path of Action)"
(11.39); " b y J n a n a -Y o g a for the S m k h y a s , (and) by Karma-Yoga
for the Yogins" (111,3). Having such statements
a s
his main plank,
the Acrya explains and elucidates v e r s e after v e r s e of t h e Holy
Text to establish that the Lord's settled and conclusive view is that
the Path of Action and the Path of Knowledge are two distinct
ones, meant respectively for the Karma-yogins and the Jñna-
yogins (who have adopted
two paths is incompatible.
This is not to deny that the aspirant in the Path of Action
m u s t h a v e a b a s i c and g e n e r u l i n t r o d u c t i o n i n t o t h e v e r i t i e s c o n
cerning Self-Knowledge, since there is no other means of deliverance
to rescue one under misconception (p. 40, last para). The Glt-
teaching, in fact, commences only with instructions about the action-
xix
less Self (IT. 12 ft'). Nor is the crya unalivc to the Enlightened
Man of Knowledge also engaging himself in action, simply for
the
sake of promoting the weal of the world. This is amply borne
out by the Commentary
himself,
Man of Knowledge ever engaged in spiritual service to humanity.
(As for Bhakti, Devotion to God, both the Man of Action
and the Man of Knowledge partake of it on different levels, accord
ing to the crya. In the case of the Man of Action, he has to
dedicate the fruits of his actions to the Lord. His very performance
of his natural duties is worship of the Lord, as is clearly stated by
the Lord
(XVII1 .46) .
have again the
Lord's own declaration that he is the foremost among the devotees
most beloved of Him (VI 1
.1
crya defines "highest devotion" as "consisting in the Know
ledge of the Supreme Reality" (p. 397). In the
Acarya
jñ
na-bhakti towards
the Lord: "he who has consigned his entire being to Me, the
Supreme Lord, the Omniscient, the Supreme Teacher, Vsudeva;
—he,
whose intellect (understanding) is permeated with the all-
possessing idea that all he sees, hears, or touches are none but the
Lord Vsudeva" (p.
438).
According to the Acrya, God is not only the dispenser of
the fruits of actions of those engaged in Karma-yoga, but it is
equally
of
introduction to Ch. XV., p. 485.)
* * *
know and assimilate
what ri Rmakrsna has to say on the moot question, whether
the Paths of Action, Devotion (belonging to the planes of
dualism and qualified monism
to
the.
plane of monism) arc separate or conjoined. We refer the reader
to r Saradananda's
go
be
quoted.
2 . Sri Ramakrishna, the Great Master- Second Revised Edition, pp.
2 9 9 - 3 0 0 .
X X
. . ."th e doc trines of d ualism , qualified m onism and monism
cam e to each man of themselves with his spiritual prog ress. Th e
Master, therefore, said that they were not contradictory to one
another but
on particular stages of evolution of the
human mind .. . It was .. . necessary for the Master, the incar
nation of the age, to realize all the three doctrines in different
stages of his own life and propagate among all men their wonderful
harmony . . .
" Remember what the Master said on this topic :
" ' Kn ow tha t the no n-dual state of consciousness is the
ultimate one to be realised; it is a realization that is beyond mind
and speech
" ' On the part of ordina ry hum an beings, in whom the attach
m ent to worldly object prevails, dualism is c om m en da bl e. '"
Is it not clear from the above that the different doctrines, and
therefore, the different paths come one after the other, and not
together, each depending on the particular stage of the aspirant's
evolu tion? ri R m ak rs na , be it no ted, is stated to have realized
them not conjointly or simultaneously but
in different stages of
The sine qua non of total renunciation of works (samnysa)
for the aspirant on the Path of Knowledge (Non-dualism) is also
corroborated by ri Ramakrsna when he says that it is a state "be
yond mind and speech", therefore much more beyond action.
Still more clearly:
" The Master put a limit to the performance of actions also
for the spiritual development of man and said, * The actions of
a m an with a pred om inanc e of Sattva naturally dro p ofT. H e
cannot perform them in spite of his efforts to do so—to put it in
another way, Go d does not allow him to do s o ' "
s
he was, ri Ramakrsna could not offer water-oblation in memory
3 .
to be renounced by the Man of Knowledge.
Equally with ri Rmaktsna, the Acrya also did not hold
the Paths as mutually contradictory. Otherwise how could the
Path of Action itself equip the aspirant with the competence to
enter into the Path of Knowledge? And, we also saw how he
made Devotion part and parcel of both Action and Knowledge.
This,
and not rolling the different paths into a single amorphous
amalgam, is what evidently is called the 'wonderful hamony' pro
pagated by ri Rmakr§na.
Having given the attestation of ri Rmakrsna, it would be
superfluous to add anything more by way of introducing the Com
mentary to the reader, who is exhorted to study it reverentially
with the sole object
understanding it, and to profit himself by
clearing his mind of any misconceptions he may have at the
outset, so that at the conclusion he can exclaim, even as Arjuna
did at the conclusion
Nasto mohah snytirlabdh
" Gone is delusion, and remembrance (of the true nature of the Self)
regained "
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
This version in English
the Bhagavad GitS, with the Com
mentary of ri añkarcrya and Notes, is the result of a pious
obligation undertaken at
t h e
Pjya r " Anna " N. Subramania Aiyar of the Sri Ramakrishna
Mission Students' H o m e , M a d r a s . W i t h o u t his incitation,
inspira tion, blessings and help, it could simply not hav e been p r o
duced . It was he who provided copies of the text of the Co m
mentary with Anandagiri 's G l o s s (Tfka) i n S a n s k r i t , p u b l i s h e d b y
the Anandasrama Press, Poona, and o f the translation i n Eng lish
by ri A. M ah dev a stri, published by V.V.R. Sastrulu & Sons,
M ad ra s. H e also gave a copy of the edition of the text with tra ns
l a t i o n
and Notes in English by rimat Svmi Svarpnanda)
published by the
R a m a k r i s h n a
Mission.
t h e
W o r k s a b o v e m e n t i o n c d , a s a l s o th e Gita-Tattva Num bers a n d the
Hind i translation of the C om m entary , published by the Gita Press,
Gorakhpur .
Translator
K E Y T O T H E T R A N S L I T E R A T I O N
A N D P R O N U N C I A T I O N
3T a o in 'so n '
3TT
I
3 u Li in 'b ull'
v-K o o ii i 'c o ol '
5R r ru in Fre nch
(Midway between ri and r u
r
ir ai y in 'm y'
aft o o in 'n o '
STf an ou in 'm ou th'
lit ng (p rac tically )
• h half-articu lated
j[ g g in 'ge t'
q gh gh in ' log-h ut'
7
c ch in 'chu rch '
^ ch chh in 'ca tch -h im '
* j
hog'
of ng)
Z
th th in 'an t-h ill'
5 d d in 'd o '
(
^ d th in 'th en '
ST
here
* n
P
1
b
?T
T
7
^ v
Of the two forms a m ka ra and a
ñk ar a for the name
o f
the C om m enta tor, the latter is ad op ted in this b oo k, since in
t h e
c o m m o n s p e l l i n g ( w i t h o u t d i a c r i t i c a l m a r k s )
th e
f o r m S a n k a r a
has gained universal currency.
A B B R E V I A T I O N S

Ai . . . . Aitareya
Ai. Ar . . Aitarcya-Aranyaka.
ñkar
crya.
IT . . .. following.
Gau. . . . . Gautama-Dharma-Stra.
Dedication
Obeisance
Foreword
Abbreviations
Contents
T E X T
C H A P T E R :
I Arjun a Vi$da Yoga h (Yo ga of the Dejection of
Arjuna)
II Siukhya Yo gah (Way of Kn ow ledge)
I I I K a r m a Yogah (Way of Action)
IV
Jñ
tion of Action in Knowledge)
V Ka rma saninysa Yo gah (Way of Ren unciation of
Action)
V I Dlvyna Y o g a h (Way of Meditation)
VII Jñna Vijñna Yogah (Way of Knowledge with
Realisation)
Wrapper : GUopadeki, the Lord deliv ering the Gt to Arjuna.
Front
(Artist : -Vinu*)
Brahman) , , 269
Knowledge and Kingly Secret) . . 290
X Vibhti Yogah (Mode of Divine Glory) ., 317
XI Vivarpa Daranam (Vision of the Universal
Form) ..
344
XII Bhakti Yogah (Way of Devotion) . . 382
X I I I P r a k r t i - P u r u s a - V i v e k a - Y o g a h ( W a y o f D i s c r i m i
nating Matter and Spirit) . . 399
XIV Guna-Traya-Vibhga Yogah (The Way of
Discriminating the Three Gunas) . . 463
XV Purusottama Yogah (Way to the Supreme Spirit) 485
X V I
Y o g a h
( T h e m o d e
o f Dividing Divine and D e m o n i a c P r o p e r t i e s ) . . 5 0 6
XVII raddh-Traya-Vibhga Yogah (The Mode of
Division of the Three Kinds of Faith) . . 524
XVIII Moksa-Samnysa Yogah (The Yoga of Libera
tion in Renunciation) • • 543
RIMAD BHAGAVAD-GT DHYNA- LOKH
V E R S E S O F M E D I T A T I O N O N R M A D
B H A G A V A D - G T A
1
«ft
TOTTO |
ri Ganeya namah
O beisan ce to r G an ca (the D eity w ho wa rds off
obstacles) .
I
n (joplakrsnya namah
O beisan ce to rl K rsna , the C ow he rd (the Gifter
of the Gt) .
svdyam
astdaidhyayimm-
1 , T h e s e i n v o c a t o r y v e r s e s a r c r e c i te d a t t h e c o m m e n c e m e n t o f a G W - s e s s i o n .
dvesinm
GODDESS)
O m . O M o t h er , B h a g a v a d - G t - w i t h w h o m
Prtha (Arjuna) wa s enlightened by Lo rd N r y an a
(V isnu) H im self ( in H is incarnation as Kr$ na); and
who was incorporated in the Muh-Bhrata by the
ancient sage Vysa; who consists of e ighteen chapters
and showers the nectar of Advaita; who is the Destroyer
o f samsra (m etemp sych os is ) ,— on Th ee , O G od d e ss
I m editate . ( I )
ñyata-
patra-netra
mayah pradpah
( O N
O Vysa of extensive intel lect; Thou with eyes large
as the petals of a full-blown lotus; by whom the l ight
2
of wisdom ( in the lamp) f i l led with the oi l of Mah-
bhrata wa s kin dled M ay (this) salutatio n be to
T h e e (
P R i f a T S ^ W II \ U
2 . n a m e l y , t h e Bhagavud-Glt
itself.
KKSNA,
Salutation to Krsna, the Milker of the Gt-nectar,
Who is the Prijata
of those taking refuge in Him
and W h o h old s a w hip of cane in on e hand and the
jñna-mudr* ( in the other) . ( 3 )
Sarvopanisado gvo dogdh Gopla-nandanah
mdhdt
With al l the Upanisads as cows and Prlha as
calf,
6
as milkman has extracted
the supreme milk of the nectar of the Gita, for the
enjo ym ent of the m an that hath a purified und erstan d
ing. (4)
live wish-yielding
trees o f he av en , p rod uce d at the chu rn ing of
t h e O c e a n o f
Milk.
4 . M ud r s are sym bo l ic s igns o f the f ingers . In the
J ñ
n a -m u d r o r S i g n o f
W i s d o m , th e fo r e fi n g e r a n d th e th u m b o f th e r ig h t h a n d a r e jo i n e d to g e th e r to
d e n o te th e u n i o n o f th e i n d i v i d u a l s o u l w i th th e A b s o l u te .
5 . T h e L o r d w a s t h e f o s t e r - s o n o f N a n d a , t h e c o w h e r d p r i n c e. " G o p l a -
n a n d a n a h " c a n a l s o b e t r a n s l a t e d a s ' th e d c l i g h te r o f th e c o w h e r d s ' .
xxxii
1
salute Krsna, the Son o f V as ud ev a; the sup reme
del ight of Devaki; the Destroyer of ( the demon)
Kaii isa and (the demoniac wrest ler) Cnra; (veri ly)
God (Himself ); the Teacher (Guru) of the universe. (5)
Wft ^ $<fa
Avatlhrna-Vikarnci-ghora-makar Dwyodhanvartim.
Keavah
The batt le-river—with Bhsnia and Drona as i ts
banks and Jayadratha as the water; with the prince
o f G n dh r a (a kun i) as the dark rock, alya as
the sh ar k; and w ith K rp a as the curren t, Kartria as
the distract ing t ides, and A v atth m and Vikarna as
terrible crocodiles (therein); and Duryodhana as the
whirl-pool ( in i t )—was indeed crossed over by the
Pndavas, through the grace of Keava (Krsna)
W h o w as their ferryman." (6 )
%^4
}mfai
wfanmsafa
*i
w §
ll • II
6 . T h e n a m e s g i v e n h e r e a r e t h o s e o f t h e i m p o r t a n t w a r r i o r s o f t h e a r m y o f
t h e K a u r a v a s , w i t h w h o m t h e ra
9
Bhyd-Bhrata-pttmkqjam Kcdi-mala-pradhvainsi
nah reyasf
( O N T HE EPIC M A H A - B H R A T A , I N W H I C H TH E B H A G A -
V A D - G T A O C C U R S )
May the taint less lotus of the Mah-bhrata—
growing in the lake of PraryV words: richly
endowed with the fragrance of the meaning of the
Gt: with many an episode as i ts stamens: ful ly
op ene d by the pure sunlight of the disco urse s on H ari
8
(Visnu); whose nectar is drunk joyously day after day
by the bees of the go od (virtu ous) men in the w or ld;
and which destroys the impurit ies of the Kali age—
be for our supreme go od . (7 )
^ «TCHH^ ii * ll
Yat-krp tam-aham vande paramnanda M dhavam
( A G A I N , O N R I K R S N A )
1 salute the All-bl iss M d ha va , W ho se grace m ake s
the mute eloquent , and the cripple leap over moun
tain. (8)
7.
8.
S a g e V y s a , t h e s o n o f S a g e P a t a r a .
O c c u r r i n g i n i t a n d a l s o s p e c i a l l y i n t h e s u p p l e m e n t k n o w n a s
Hurivaiha.
T P T ^ * ^ ^ T O T II II
Yam Bm hm-Vayunendra-Rudra-M anttah stunvanti
divyaih stavaih
yoginn
namah
Varurja, ndra, Rudra and the Maruts praise with
divine hymns; Whom the chanters of the Smans'
J
of the auxil iary sciences (Vedngas)
1 0
m od es of recitat ion kn ow n) as
Pada, Krama
in meditat ion; and Whose bounds
e v e n
(9)
Santa- Veda.
10. iks ( p h o n e t i c s ) , Kalpa ( r i t ua l ) , Vykarana ( g r a m m a r ) , Mrukia ( e t y m o
l o g y ) ,
( p r o s o d y ) a n d
Jyotisa
3TT rVft^ s(m
O m T a t - s a t B r a h m a n e n a m a h
O m O b e i s a n c e l o T h a t T r u th A b s o l u t e
nmad-Bhagavad-Gt
ñkara-Bh
syam
T H E C O M M E N T A R Y O F
SAN K A R A O N R I M A D - B H A G A V A D - G I T
UPODGHTAH
I N T R O D U C T I O N
Om Nryanah paro{a)vyaktd-andam -avyakta-
sambhavam
O m . N r y a n a
1
is beyo nd the U nm an i fes t
2
; the
3
ha s ar isen from the U nm an ifest ; an d these
w o r l d s
4
M.S. I. 11 ).
1.
T h e r e v e r ed C o m m e n t a t o r c o m m e n c e s t h i s i m p o r t a n t w o r k i n t h e t r a di
t i o n a l m a n n e r w i t h t h e c o n t e m p l a t i o n o f t h e
Ista-Devat
( o n e ' s c h o s e n D e i t y ) ,
N r y a
n
a . ( A )
c p . B u t b e y o n d t h e U n m a n i f e s t i s t h e S u p r e m e P e r s o n a l l - p e r v a d i n g a n d
d e v o i d o f a l l m a r k s , k n o w i n g w h o m m a n g e t s f r e e d a n d a t t a i n s i m m o r t a l i t y .
(Ka.
V I . 8 ) .
2 . Avyaktam : T h i s i s d e s c r i b e d in X t l I - 5 C o m . a s t h e Avykrta ( u n - d i f f e r e n -
t ia t e d
Ivara-akti
( P o w e r o f t h e L o r d ) , o t h e r w i s e c a l l e d
Afy,
w h i c h i s t h e
s e e d - f o r c e s u p p o r t i n g t h e c o s m i c p r o c e s s .
3 . T h e C o s m i c - E g g (Brahmpdam) r e p r e s e n t s H i r a n y a g a r b h a ( f i g u ra t i v e ly
t e r m e d
Mrtyu -
Df.
a n d 2 C o m . )
4 . W i t h i n t h e C o s m i c E g g s p r a n g u p P r a j p a t i — V i r j , t h e F i r s t - b o r n — t h e
B e i n g i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e s u m - t o t a l o f a l l b o d i e s
(Br.
I -i i- 2 a n d C o m ) . F r o m
V i r j a r e f o r m e d t h e w o r l d s , Bhfih an d o t h e r s , f ou r t e e n in a l l .
5 .
Medinl
: T h e e ar t h i s s o c a l l e d b e c a u s e i t i s m ixe d wi t h t h e f a t
(medas)
o f t h e d e m o n s M a d h u a n d K a i t a b h a . w h o w e r e s la i n b y L o r d V i s a u .
6 .
Jamba,
P l a k s a , l m a l i ,
Kuia,
Krauñca, k a , a n d P u s k a r a a r e t h e
s e v e n d v l p a s ( I s l a n d s ) .
2
H e, the Lord, having created this universe, and desirous of
ensuring its sustenance, first created Marlci and other Prajpatis' ,
and made them hold on to the Religious Path characterised by
Act ion
8
, mentioned in the Ved a. A nd then, H e created oth ers
9
such
as Sanaka and Sanandana and made them adopt the Religious
Path of Renunciat ion
, characterised by Knowledge and Non-
attac hm en t. Th is two-fold Religion enjoined by the Veda, chara c
terised by Action and by Renunciation, is verily the cause of the
sustenance of the universe. And this Religion, being the direct cause
of the pro spe rity as well as of the libera tion of sentient beings , has
been practised by B rh m an as and othe rs, belonging to the several
c a s t e s
1 1
and hereafter).
1 3
1 1
(the minds of) its followers and the consequent diminution of
7 . L o r d s o f c r e a t e d b e i n g s . A c c o r d i n g t o Mann Smfii (1 - 3 4 ) , t hey a re t en
in n u m b e r . S e c a l s o
Bhgavata
l [ - x i i - 2 l , 2 2 , a c c o r d i n g t o w h i c h t h e o t h e r n i n e
a r e : A t r i , A u g i r a s , P u l a s t y a , P u l a h a , K r a t u , B h r g u , V a s is fc h a , D a k s a a n d
N r a d a .
8 . Pravflti: l i te r a l l y , ' t e n d e n c y t o g o o u t w a r d ' i . e ., a c t i v i t y . ( X V U I - 4 0
C o m . ; s e e a l s o X V I I 1 - 3 0 C o m . )
9. T h e f o u r ' S a n a ' s ( t h e o t h e r t w o , n o t m e n t i o n e d i n t h e t e x t , b e i n g S a n a -
t a n a a n d S a n a t k u m r a ) a r e t h e e a r l i e s t t e a c h e r s o f tma-lattva ( t h e t r u e n a t u r e
o f t h e S e l f ) . S e e
Bhgavata
I I -v i i -5 .
10 . Nivrni : l it e r a ll y , ' t e n d e n c y t o c o m e b a c k ' , i .e . , a b s t a i n f r o m a c t i v i t y
( S e c a l s o X V I 1 1 - 3 0 C o m . ) .
1 1 .
T h e f o u r p r i n c i p a l c a s t e s
{vaiyas)
a r e B r h m a n a , K s a t i i y a , V a i y a a n d
S d r a , r e s p e c t i v e l y l o o k i n g a f te r t h e s p i r it u a l a n d s e c u l a r w i s d o m , t h e p o l i t i c a l
g o v e r n a n c e , t h e e c o n o m i c w e l l - b e i n g a n d t h e m a n u a l s e r v i c i n g o f th e p e o p l e .
1 2 . T h e f o u r o r d e r s '
iminas
' a r e B r a h m a c a r y a , G r h a s t y a , V n a p r a s l h a a n d
S a r h n y s a , r e s p e c t i v e l y t h e m o d e s o f l i f e o f t h e r e l i g i o u s s t u d e n t o b s e r v i n g
c e l i b a c y , t h e m a r r i e d h o u s e - h o l d e r , t h e h e r m i t l i v i n g i n t h e f o r e s t a n d c a r r y
i n g o u t V e d i c r i t e s a n d t h e a s c e t i c w h o h a s c o m p l e t e l y r e n o u n c e d t h e w o r l d
a nd a l l i t s dut i e s , inc lud ing V ed ic r i t e s .
1 3 . T h e K r t a a n d th e T r e t a Y u g a s h a d p a s s e d a w a y a n d th e U v a p a r a Y u g a
w a s c o m i n g t o i t s e n d . (A).
1 4 .
Kama
: T h i r s t f o r d i s t a n t ( i . e . u n a t t a i n c d ) o b j e c t s ( V I I -1 J C o m . ) . I t h a s
s p e c i a l r e f e r e n c e t o s e x u a l d e s i r e .
discriminative knowledge, Religion became suppressed by irreligion
an d irreligion was increasing, H e, the Original C rea tor Visnu,
known by the name of Nryana intent on the maintenance of
the stability of the universe, was bo rn, as it w er e" , in amd
16
of Vasudeva (the father) in Devaki (the mother) for the protection
of the brhm ana -hoo d (spir itual potency) of the Earthly B rah m an
1
' .
Fo r, it is only by the protection of br hm an a-h oo d tha t the Religion
of the Vedas can remain preserved, since the distinctions of castes
and orders of life are based on it. A n d being ever possessed of
(infinite) knowledge, sovereignty, power, strength, valour and
splendour^, He, the Lord controll ing My, the Original cause
which belongs to Himself as Vi§nu and is comprised of the three
gunas
1
", appears by His own My as if H e were bo rn , possessed of
a
body, and bestowing grace on the universe—though He is in fact
the Unborn, the Indestructible, the Overlord of the entire creation
2
",
1 5 . T h e w o r d kila in t h e t e x t h a s t h e s e n s e o f ' f e i g n e d a c t i o n ' ( u n f e t t e r e d b y
karma).
16 .
Ama
g e n e r a l l y m e a n s ' p a r t ' . B u t t h e K . r s
n
a-avatra i s he ld to be a fu l l
i n c a r n a t i o n o f t h e L o r d . T h e r e f o r e t h e t e r m ' athena ' in th e tex t i s exp la i ne d
b y A n a n d a g i r i a s m e a n i n g ' w i t h a n i n s c r u t a b l e f o r m p r o d u c e d b y H i s o w n f r ee
w i l l '
(svecclt-nirmitena my-m ayena svarpena).
1 7. T h e r e v e r e d C o m m e n t a t o r h e r e f o l l o w s t h e S m f t i t ex t : ' Bhaitmasya
Brahm arto guptyai Vasudevd ajijanat' (M.B. Santi 4 7 - 2 9 ) .
(A)
' E a r t h l y B r a h m a n ' r e fe r s t o V e d a s , R r h m a
n
a s a n d Yajaas ( sacr i f i c e s )
( N d a k a n t h a ) . T h e s e c o n s t i t u t e t h e t h r e e - f o l d e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e L o r d ' s C r e a t i v e
W i l l o n e a r t h , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e Git ( X V 1 I - 2 3 ) . C
o m
a r e a l s o C o m
- o n t h e
n a m e s '
Brahmanyah'. ' Brahmakrt'
i n V . S . ( 6 6 1 ,
6 6 2 a n i l 6 6 5 ) , w h e r e ' B r a h m a ' i s e x p l a i n e d t h u s : '
Tapo Vedsca Viprica
Jnnam cu Brahma-samjñitam ' — b y ' B r a h m a n ' a re d e n o t e d a u s t e r i t i e s , t h e
V e d a s , t h e B i h m a n a s a n d K n o w l e d g e .
1 8 c p . Aivaryasva samagrasya dharm asya yaasah riyah Jftnuvairagya-
yocaiva san nm bhaga itirav (V.P. - V I - v - 7 4 ) . S e e a l s o C o m . o n 1 1 1 -3 7 ) .
1 9 . S e e X 1 V - 5 e t . s e q . a n d C o m . f o r a d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e
gupas. My
h a s
n o e x i s t e n c e a p a r t f r o m , a n d d o c s n o t a c t i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f , t h e L o r d w h o
h o w e v e r i s q u i t e i n d e p e n d e n t o f i t. H e r e i n l i e s t h e d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n d i e
My o f t h e V e d n t a a n d t h e Prak
r
ti ( a l s o c a l l e d Pradhna) o f t h e S a r h k h y a
s c h o o l .
2 0 . C l o s e l y f o l l o w s I V
-6 .
S e e C o m . t h e r e o n .
and
Free.
2 1
who was
widespread growth only when grasped
and put
into practice
8 2
in seven hundred verses called
Glts
23
This well-known Git-stra is the epitome and essence of the
teaching
it has
*
wi t h a view to bringing out its import, I h a v e o b s e r v e d t h a t it has
been comprehended
by the
samsra
26
with
its
root-cause,
Git stra
is
fixity
in
Self-
t h i r d a m o n g
the
P n d a v a p r in c e s ,
and a
of the
L or d
( s e e X l - 4 1 and 42 , and X V I I - 6 4 ) .
2 2 . cp . 111-21.
2 3 . V y s a i n c o r p o r a t e d Hie Uita
hi
the d i v i s i o n " B h i $ m a P a r v a " of his e p i c
Mah-Bhrata.
See
at en d of
c h a p t e r s .
2 4 . A c c o r d i n g to I n d i a n L o g i c (Turka-stra), the ( i v e - m e m b e r c d s y l l o g i s m
c o m p r i s e s
Pratija
of the
p r o p o s i t i o n
to be
hctu (the
f o r
an
i n f e r e n c e — m i d d l e t e r m ) ,
udharana
( i l l u s t r a t i o n ) ,
upanaya (the
a p p l i c a
t i o n to the c a s e in q u e s t i o n ) , and nigamana (the d e d u c t i o n ; c o n c l u s i o n ) .
2 5 . S u c c e s s i o n
of
;
m e t e m p s y c h o s i s .
2 6 . F o r m i n g c h a p te r s 16 to 5 1 of t h e " A v a m e d h a -p a r v a " of t h e Mahbhrata.
o f
(M.B.-Av.
16-12)—
(i.e.
'He is without (free from) merit and without demerit, without
weal and w itho ut woe (Ibid 19-7) ;
'H e who may be merged in the Sole S ea t
1 7
(Ibid. 43-23).
Here (the present work, Gita) also, at the end Arjuna is thus
exhorted:
'Dis card ing all dharmas*", resort to M e alone as re fu ge '
(XVIII-66).
The religious Path characterised by Action has been prescribed
in respect of the (several) castes and orders of life with the object
of securing their prosperity; and it is also the means of attaining
the position of gods*
3
and the like. N on ethe less, if practised w ith
the sense of dedication to the Lord and without the desire for (the
enjoyment of) the fruits, it brings about purity of mind; and by him
of a pure mind is gained the means for securing final beatitude,
8 0
tion of (spiritual) Knowledge and the actual dawn of (spiritual)
Kn ow ledge. Acco rdingly, having in mind this very same imp ort,
the Lord says :
' Yogins perform (their) actions, leaving all attachment, for
their self-purification '
S 1
(V- l l ) .
2 7 . i .e . t h e S u p p o r t ( B r a h m a n ) . ( A )
2 8 .
R i g h t e o u s d e e d s a s a l s o u n r i g h t e o u s d e e d s ( X V I I I- f id C o m . ) .
2 9 .
devdisthna-prpti : m e a n s a l s o ' r e a c h i n g t h e a b o d e o f g o d s e t c '
30 . F o r a f u ll d i s c u s s i o n o f t h is t o p i c , s e e X V I I I - 4 5 t o 5 5 a n d C o m .
3 1 .
tma-uddhi—
t m a ' ( se l f ) h e r e m e a n s ' t h e m i n d ' ( V . 11 C o m . ) .
6
T he Glt - stra unfolds this two-fold Religion, having for its
aim final be atit ud e; an d, in especial, it has for its subject-m atter
the nature of the Supreme Truth, Para-Brahman, known as
Vsudeva.
Tt°*
thus bears a specific relation (to bo th). As by t h e
comprehension of its import, the achievement of all the aspirations^
of hu m an life is secu red, I am un de rtak ing to explain it.
3 2 . H e r e a r e s t a l e d t h e
unitliaiidha-cuitittaya,
t h e f o u r m u t u a l l y c o n n e c t e d
e l e m e n t s o f a
astra
( s c r i p t u r e ) , n a m e l y ,
Vifaya,
t h e s u b j e c t - m a t t e r ( P a r a - B r a h m a n ) :
I'rayojana,
(mokfa,
f ina l be a t i t u de ) ;
Adhikrin,
t h e c o m p e t e n t a s p i r a n t ( h e w h o s e e k s d e l i v e r a n c e f r o m
xathsara);
Sambandha,
c o n n e c t i o n . ( T h i s w o r k e x p l a i n s t h e s u b j e ct t o t h e a s p ir a n t
a n d e q u i p s h i m w i t h t h e m e a n s f o r a t t a i n i n g t h e o b j e c t . ) .
3 3 . T h e f o u r
purusarthas
Ariha
Kama
( w o r l d l y e n j o y m e n t ) a n d Mokfa ( L i b e r a t i o n ) .
SRIMAD-BHAGA VAD-GITA
T H E H O L Y S O N G O F T H E L O R D
II 5TOHtss
C H A P T E R T
(3T3p f a <? ^ ^ J )
(ARJUNA VIS ADA YOG AH)
( Y O G A O F T H E D E J E C T I O N O F A R J U N A )
S P ^ # $ W
Sañjaya
— -
1 . Prelude to the Gita—All n e g o t i a t i o n s w i t h t h e K a u r a v a P r i n c e D u r y o
d h a n a f o r t h e p e a c e f u l r e s t o r a t i o n o f t h e i r k i n g d o m t o t h e P n d a v a s , t h e i r
c o u s i n s , h a v i n g f a i l e d , b o t h s i d e s p r e p a r e d t h e m s e l v e s f o r w a r . ' T h e L o r d ,
r i K r s n a , c on s e n t e d t o se r v e as c h a r io t e e r t o A r j u n a , t h e t h ir d o f t h e five
P n d a v a b r o t h e r s , b u t w i t h o u t H i m s e l f p a r t i c i p a t i n g in b a t t l e b y t a k i n g u p a r m s ,
a n d
' to p l a c e H i s p o w e r f u l a r m y a t t h e d i s p o s a l o f D u r y o d h a n a . T h e s a g e
V e d a - V y s a o f f e r e d D h r t a r s l r a , t h e f a t h e r o f D u r y o d h a n a , t h e g i f t o f t r a n s
c e n d e n t v i s i o n t o e n a b l e h i m ' t o v i e w t h e b a t t l e ; b u t a s t h e l a t t e r d i d n o t w i s h
d i r e c t l y t o w i t n e s s t h e c a r n a g e a m o n g m e m b e r s o f h i s o w n f a m i l y , a n d w a n t e d
m e r e l y t o h e a r a n a c c o u n t o f w h a t o c c u r r e d , t h e g i f t w a s b e s t o w e d o n S a f i j a y a ,
D h r t a r a s t ' a ' s c o m p a n i o n a n d c o u n s e l l o r . O n t he t e n t h d a y o f t h e w a r , B h j $ m a ,
t h e d o y e n o f t h e K u r u r a c e ( t o w h i c h t h e w a r r i n g p a r t i e s b e l o n g e d ) a n d
C o m m a n d e r - i n - C h i e f o f D u r y o d h a n a ' s f o r c e s , w a s b e a t e n a n d j a y
OH
h is bed
o f a r r o w s , a w a i t i n g t h e a d v e n t o f U t t a r y a n a ( t h e w i n t e r s o l s t i c e ) f o r q u i t t i n g
t h e b o d y . W h e n t h is n e w s w a s c o n v e y e d t o h i m b y S a f ij a y a , D h r t a r s t r a w i s h e d
t o h e a r a d e t a i l e d a c c o u n t o f t h e w a r - s i t u a t i o n f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g . H e r e
c o m m e n c e s t h e f i r s t c h a p t e r o f t h e
Bhagavad-GU,
f o r m i n g t h e t w e n t y - f i f th
c h a p t e r o f t h e " B h ; s m a P a r v a " o f t h e
Mah-Bhrata.
1. O Sañjaya , hav ing m et o n the ho ly fie ld of K ur u-
ksetra
2
,
eager for batt le , w hat did m y so ns an d th os e
o f P n d u d o ?
mm
11
^ 11
Sañjaya
uvdca—
Drstv
2 And then, seeing the forces of the
P nda v a s
marshal led , K i n g
3
Dur y o dha na , a ppr o a c h i ng t he
teacher
4
J ^ v S ^ T X* fiO^T tWV II ^ II
Payaitm Pndu-putrnm-crya mahalim camm
Drupada-putrena tava kyena dhimat
3 . " B eh old , O Ma ster , this great arm y of the son s of
P n d u ,
arrayed for batt le by your gifted disciple,
the
o f Drupada .
2 . K u r u k s e l r a l i e s b e t w e e n i h e m o d e r n t o w n s o f D e l h i a n d A m b a l a . A u s t e r i t i e s
w e r e p e r f o r m e d t h e i e b y t h e g o d s a n d b y K i n g K u r u , t h e f o u n d e r o f t h e r a c e
b e a r in g h i s n a m e ; h e n c e i t i s c o n s id e r e d as a h o ly tr ac t . It i s sa id t h a t K in g
K u r u w a s c o n t i n u o u s l y p l o u g h i n g t h e a r e a w i t h a g o l d e n p l o u g h , a n d w h e n
l n d r a ( t h e l o r d o f g o d s ) e n q u i r e d o f h i m h i s m o t i v e , h e a s k e d f o r t h e b o o n t h a t
t h e s e e d o f D h a r m a s o w n t h e r e s h o u l d g r o w f o r e v e r .
3 .
D u r y o d h a n a w a s a c t u a ll y e x e r c i s in g r e g a l p o w e r , h i s f a th e r D h r t a r s t r a
b e in g on ly a t i t u lar sove r e ign .
4 . D r o n c r y a , w h o t a u g h t a r c h e r y b o t h t o t h e K a u r a v a s a n d t o t h e
P a n d a v a s ' a n d a l s o t o B h r s t a d y u m n a ( i nf ra . 5 ) . A f t e r t h e t al l o f B h j j m a , l ie
w a " c o m m a n d e r - i n - c h i e f o f t h e K a u r a v a a r m y f r o m t h e e l e v e n t h t o t h e fifteen th
d a y s o f t h e w a r . S e e a l s o X I - 3 4 C o m .
5 D h r s t a d y u m n a ( s o n o f D r u p a d a ) , b o m i n t h e s a cr if ic ia l a l ta r , w a s t h e
p r e d e s t i n l d s l a y er o f D r o n a . H e w a s o n e o f t h e c o m m a n d e r - m - e h , e f s o f t h e
P n d a v a a r m y . S e c 4 1 i n fr a .
Yuyudhno Virtaca Drupadaca moh-rathah
4 . " In th is (army) are heroes— m ighty bo w m en , equ al
in com bat to Bhim a and Arjuna— (viz .) Y uyudh na"
and Virata,
Dhrstaketu-cekitnah KirjSca viryavn
1 0
1 2
o f K i ,
6 . S t y a k i . so n o f i n i ( a Y d a v a c h i e f t a i n ) a nd a d i s c i p l e o f A r j u na . U>
w a s c o u n t e d a s a n ali-ratha—i.e ., an un riv al le d w arr ior , f ighting fro m hi s ch ar io t
a n d c a p a b l e o f e n g a g i n g s i n g l e - h a n d e d a n y n u m b e r o f f o e s (amitn yodhayet
yastusa piokto - atirothah).
7 . F a t h e r o f I J t t a r . w h o w a s m a r r i e d t o A r j u n a ' s s o n A b h i m a n y u , a n d o f
v e l a t h e f i r s t c o m m a n d e r - i n - c h i e f o f t h e P p d a v a a r m y .
8 . K i n g o f t he
P a ñ c
l a s a nd f a t he r o f
DraupadI,
w i f e o f th e P n d a v a s .
9
Mah-rathah
: a wa r r i o r f i g h t i ng f ro m h i s c h a r i o t , w h o c a n e n g a g e in
b a t t l e t e n t h o u s a n d a r c h e r s a n d i s w e l l - v e r s e d i n t h e s c i e n c e o f a r m s ,
(eko
daki-sahasrni yodhayet ymtu dham iiuim, astra-istra-pravipaca).
10. S o n o f i u p l a , k i n g o f C e d i .
11. A Y d a v a h e r o b e l o n g i n g t o t h e V r s n i c l a n ( t o w h i c h fc K r s n a a l s o
b e l o n g e d ) a n d c o m m a n d e r o f o n e o f t h e s e v e n akfiuMpis o f t h e P n d a v a h o s t .
( A n
akmhini
is a d i v i s i o n o f a r m y c o n s i s t i n g o f 2 1 8 7 0 c h a r i o t s , a s m a n y
e l e p h a n t s , 6 5 6 1 0 h o r s e s a n d 1 0 9 3 5 0 f o o t - s o l d i e r s ) .
12 . H i s n a m e is m e n t i o n e d in t h e M B. a s A b h i b h Q .
v a l o u r ; P u ru jit "
and
3
Saubhadro Draupadeyca sarva eva mahrathh
6 .
the
; and
Uttamauja,"
the
of
D r a u p a d — a l l
of
Nyak mama sainyasya
2 0
wh o
13
& 14 :
B o t h w e r e b r o t h e r s
of
the
of the
15. F a t h e r
of
D e v i k , w i f e
of
the
of the
H e
w a s n o t e d for Ir is heroism in b a t t l e as we l l as for hi s v i r t u o u s c h a r a c t e r .
16
& 17 :
w e r e b r o t h e r s
and
of
PaftCla terr i tory . T he y fou gh t
w i t h v a l o u r t h r o u g h
the
e i g h t e e n d a y s
of th e war an d
we r e s l a i n
in the
n i g h t ,
w h i l e a s l e e p ,
by
A v a t t h m ,
son of
an d
D u r y o d h a n a .
IX . A b h i m a n y u , A r j u n a ' s
son by
the
L o r d ' s s i s te r .
He was
by
of the
K a u r a v a a r m y a g a in s t
all
o f
r i g h t e o u s w a r f a r e and k i l l ed on the t h i r t e e nt h da y o f the w ar .
19.
P r a t i v i n d h y a , S r u t a s o m a , S r u t a k a r m a , a t n l k a ,
an d
r m a s e n a . r es
p e c t i v e l y
the
of the
f iv e P n d a v a s .
All of
t h e m w e r e b u t c h e r e d
in th e
by
A v a t l h a m ,
after the e n d of the war.
2 0 .
of the
t h r ee c a s t e s . B r a h m a n * , K s a l r i y a
and
are
c a l l e d
t h e t w i c e - b o r n , b e c a u s e t h e y a r e c o n s i d e r e d
to be
b o r n a g a i n w h e n t h e y u n d e r g o
t h e i n v e s t i t u r e c e r e m o n y for th e s t u d y of the V e d a s .
11
are eminent on our s ide , the commanders o f my army;
I
*fto«r ^OFS? sfafassnr: I
Bhavn
1
M
(ever)
v ictorious in batt le; as a lso A v at th m
2 4
2 5
and the
THIWJTOTtJ W (
Nn-astra-pra/iaranh
sarve yuddha-visradh
2 1 . S e c n o t e 1 a n t e . H e w a s e n d o w e d with great w i s d o m a n d prowess,
S o n of a n t a n u b y G a
n
g , t h e r i v e r - g o d d e s s , a n d o r i g in a l ly n a m e d D e v a v r a t a ,
he ea r ned t he a p pe l la t io n B hi s m a ( t he Terr ib l e ) fo r t he drea df u l v o w o f l i f e lo ng
c e l i b a c y h e t o o k i n o r d e r t o m a k e p o s s i b l e h i s f a t h e r ' s s e c o n d m a r r i a g e w i t h
S a t y a v a t i , a n d w a s b l e s s e d b y h i m t o b e p r o o f a g a i n s t d e a t h u n l e s s h e c h o s e t o
d i e v o l u n t a r i l y . S e c a l s o X l - 3 4 C o m .
2 2 . H o rn o f K u n t i i n h e r g i r l h o o d . F o r s a k e n b y t h e m o t h e r a s u c h i l d , h e
l a t e r b e c a m e t h e l i f e l o n g a n d i n t i m a t e f r i e n d o f D u r y o d h a n a , b y w h o m h e .
w a s c r o w n e d k i n g o f A n g a . H e w a s c o m m a n d e r - i n - c h i e f of t h e
Kauraya
a r m y
o n t h e s i x t e e n t h a n d s e v e n t e e n t h d a y s o f t h e w a r a n d w a s k i l l e d b y A r j u n a .
S e e a l s o
XI-34
C o m .
2 3 . B r o t h e r o f D r o n a ' s w i f e K r p r H e t a u g h t a r c h e r y t o t h e K a u i a v a a n d
t h e P n d a v a p r i n c es b e f o r e D r o n a b e c a m e t h e ir m a s t e r . H e is c o u n t e d a m o n g
t h e cirajlvins, t h e d e a t h l e s s h u m a n b e i n g s .
2 4 . S o n o f D r o
n
a ; a l s o c o u n t e d a cirajMn. Se e no t e 16 & 17 a n d 19 a n t e .
2 5 . T h i r d s o n o f D h r t a r s
t
r a ; a n e x c e p t i o n a m o n g th e K a u r a v a s . n o t e d f or
h i s s e n s e o f j u s t i c e a n d r i g h t e o u s n e s s .
2 6 . B h
a
r i r a v , g r a n d s o n o f K i n g S a n t a n u ' s e l d e r b r o t h e r B f l h l i k a .
12
9. " A n d ma ny other heroes , w ho have pled ged to
lay down their l ives for me and are equipped with
var ious w ea po ns and m issi les— all proficient in
warfare—
Paryptam tvidam -etesm balam Bh% mbh \rak i\am
10.
" Th at army of ou rs, com pletely protected by
Bhisma, is unlimited (in fighting-power); but this
army of theirs, protected by Bhima on all sides, is
limited (in fighting-power).
Bhum ain-evdbhirakmnlu bhavantah sarva eva bi
11 .
, staying in your respective
posit ions on al l fronts , do you al l , surely, guard
Bhrsma, in particular, on all sides."
27. '1'ho
translation
f o l l o w s A n a n d a g i r i . T h e v e r s e i s a l s o d i f fe r e n t ly i n t e r
p r e t e d t o c o n v e y t h e o p p o s i t e m e a n i n g : ' t h e K a u r a v a a r m y i s i n a d e q u a t e
(aparyapiam)
a n d th e P S n r i a v a a r m y i s a d e q u a te
{paiyptam.)'
2 8 . D i i i y o d h a n a a l w a y s c o n s i d e r e d t h a t t h e a r m y h e h a d c o l l e c t e d , w h i c h
w a s m u c h b i g g e r a n d c o n t a i n e d a l a r g e r n u m b e r o f v a l i a n t g e n e r a l s l e d b y
t h e g r e a t B h ; § m a ( w h o c o u l d n o t b e s l a i n ) , w a s i n v i n c i b l e a n d c o u l d w i n t h e
w a r . B u t a s B h i s m a w o u l d c e a s e t o f ig h t i f o p p o s e d b y i k h a n d i n ( w h o w a s
o r i g in a l ly a w o m a n a n d w a s t h e r ef o r e c o n s i d e r e d u n w o r t h y o f c o m b a t b y B h i s m a ) .
h e e x h o r t e d h i s g e n e r a l s t o g u a r d B h i s m a o n a l l s i d e s f r o m S i k h a
n
d i ' s a p p r o a c h .
sañjanayan -harsam kuruvrddhah
pralpavn
12.
Gl adde n i ng his (Dur yodhana ' s ) he ar t , the grand
old
2 9
,
loudly roared l ike a lion and blew his c onc h .
3 # * T S ^ * T ? c T
^ ^ S U
Sahasaivbhyahanyanta
sa
Thereafter , conches and kett le -drum s, tabo rs ,
dr ums and horns , were sounded all at o n c e ; and that
noise was tum ul tuous .
Tatah ivetair-hayair-yukte mahati syandane sthitau
M dhavah P ndavacaiva divyau añikhau pradadh-
inatuh
14.
in an
8 0
2 9 . B h i $ m a .
3 0 . A r j u n a ' s c h a r i o t w h i c h was l a r g e and e x c e l l e n t in e v e r y way and was
c o v e r e d
all o v e r w i t h a p l a t e of g o l d was p r e s e n t e d to him by the God of F ire
( A g n i ) for a s s i s t a n c e g i v e n w h i l e d e v o u r i n g the K h n d a v a f o re st . It c o u l d g o
a n y w h e r e on e a r t h and in the h e a v e n s w i t h o u t o b s t r u c t i o n .
3 3
named Paundra ;
3 1 .
hundred celestial horses presented to Arjuna
by the Ga nd harv a kin g Cilraratha . Th e total nu mb er of the horses would
always remain hundred, even though any number might be killed in action.
32 . A na me of ri Kr sn a. It mean s—(1) Husba nd of Laksm i, the Go dde ss
of Pros peri ty, (2) T-Te w h o can be unde rs to od thr ou gh the discipl ine of Madhu-
vidy (sp ok en of in Bf. II. v), (3) H e w h o is realisable thro ugh silence, medita tion
and uni on. (
Vidy
(Knowledge)
{V.S.I
(V.S.
3 3 .
Arjuna, the cele brate d son of P nd u (cp. Pn axn m Dhanañjayah-X-ll).
3 4 .
A nam e of ri Krsna, meaning : (1) Lord of the senses (the Kfetmjaa),
(2) He who has the senses under control (the Paramtman), (3) He w ho in
the form of the Sun and the Moon pleases the world by his rays (V.S. 47. Com).
3 5 . A de mo n name d Paflcajana w ho had as su me d the form of the con ch- she ll
was killed by Krsna and the conch was taken for His use.
3 6 . N a m e of Arju na, becaus e he bro ugh t a vast store of riches, huma n and
d i v i n e ,
for the
Kjasya
sacrifice performed by Yu dhi st hi ra after vanq uishi ng
ma ny kings during his jou rne y of conqu es t in all direct ions. (XV III -29 Co m. )
3 7 . N a m e of the co nc h given by In di a, wh en Arjuna wen t to heav en to fight
against the Nivtakavacas. (A/.fl.
3 8 .
Me an s the wolf-bellied, a na me of Bh im a, the second of the Pn da vas ,
significant of his voraciousness.
M akulah Sahadevaca Suglw sa-M anipuspakau
16 . K ing Y udhis th ira , the (first) son of Kunt , (blew)
the Anantav i jaya; Nakula and Sahdeva
3
respect ive ly the ir conches named) Sughosa and
M a n i p u s p a k a .
$ T O T
fats
prthak
1 7 — 1 8 .
And the grea t bowm an, the K i n g of K i ,
a n d the great warrior-chief i k h a n d ,
4 0
D h r s t a d y u m n a
4 1
3 9 .
two of the
P n d a v a s , t h e s e w e r e
the
the
w i f e
P n d u .
4 0 See n o t e 28 a n t e . H e was the e l d e r so n of D r u p a d a B o r n a g i rl , c h a n g e d
s e x l a t e r as a r e s u l t of a u s t e r e p e n a n c e and the s y m p a t h y of a Y a k s a n a m e d
S t h n n a k a r n a . A r j u n a p l a c e d him in f r o n t , b e t w e e n h i m s e l f and the. o p p o s i n g
B h i s m a ,
and,
the
l a t te r d e s i s t e d f r o m l i g h t i n g b e c a u s e
of the
f c m a l c -
l u r n e d - m a l e , b r o u g h t
him
son of
See
a n t e .
H e was the
c o m m a n d e r - i n -c h i e f of the P n d a v a a r m y fr o m the s e c o n d day of the war to the en d and was
k i l l ed by A v a t t r i m a w h i l e a l s e e p on the n i g h t of the e i g h t e e n t h day.
1 6
the sons of Draupadi , the son of Subhadr, of power
ful arm s, O K in g , several ly blew their co nc he s from
all sides.
Sa ghoso Dhrtarstranm hrdayni vyadrayat
Nabhaca prthivim caiva tumulo vyanundayan
19. That tumultuous sound, reverberat ing through
heaven and earth, rent the hearts of Dhrtarastra's
sons (and of others on their s ide) .
w&mfo II ^ ° II
H rskeam tad vkyam-idam-ha mahpate
2 0. Thereafter, O K ing , seeing you r son s arrayed
against him and the f l ight of missiles about to begin,
the Monkey-bannered" son o f Pndu ra i sed h i s bow,
and then spoke these words to Hrs kea—
4 2 .
T h e m o n k e y - h e r o H a n u m n g r a c e d A r j u n a ' s flag w i t h h i s l i v in g p r e s e n c e ,
i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h h i s p r o m i s e t o B h i m a , s t r i k i n g t e r r o r i n t h e e n e m y f o r c e s
f r e q u e n t l y b y h i s l o u d r o a r s . H e i s a l s o c o u n t e d a s a chajivin.
Sañjaya uvca—
Uvca Prtha payait& n-samavetn-Kurm-iti
4 4
Th u s ad d ressed b y G u d k e a
4 8
Hrpkea placed that splendid war-chariot between
the two armies, opposite to Bhsma, Drona, and al l the
kings ,
4 8
4
4 4 .
D e s c e n d a n t o f B h a r a t a , s o n o f D u s y a n i a a n d S a k u n t a l i , w h o b e c a m e
a Cakrvartin, u n i v e r s a l m o n a r c h .
4 5 . N a m e o f A r j u n a , m e a n i n g " c o n s e q u e r o r o f s l e e p a n d s l o t h " ( X - 2 0 C o m . )
4 6 . S o n o f P r d i ( K u n t t ) ; f r o m t h i s n a m e o f A r j u n a , t h e L o r d g o t t h e n a m e
P r t h a s r a t h i ( t h e C h a r i o t e e r o f P r l h a ) .
4 7 .
D e s c e n d a n t s o f K u r u : r e fe r s b o t h t o t h e P n d a v a s ( s o n s o f P n d u ) a n d
t h e D h r t a r s t r a s ( s o n s o f D h r t a r j t r a ) .
Krpay paray()vhto visdann-idam -abravt
26 -28 . T hen Prtha saw fathers (paternal un cles ) ,
grand-fathers , teachers, maternal uncles , brothers ,
s o n s ,
grandsons , as a l so companions , fa thers - in- law,
and friends as well , s tat ioned there, in both armies .
Perceiving al l these kinsfolk
4 8
rCunt became dispirited, overpowered as he was by
excess ive compass ion , and spoke thus—
—
Sidanti mam a gtrni mukham ca parUu syati
Vepathuca arre me roma-harsaca jyate
Arjuna sa id—
2 8 - 2 9 O K r s n a
4 8
, on seeing these kinsfolk co m e
tog eth er ea ger "to fight, m y lim bs giv e wa y a nd m y
mouth goes dry; and a sh iver passes through my body
and my hair s tands on end.
4 8 .
T h e r e l a ti v e s m e n t i o n e d h e r e a l s o i n c l u d e t h o s e a t o n e o r m o r e r e m o v e .
4 9 .
H e w h o s e e s s e n t ia l n a t u r e i s S a t - C i t - A n a n d a . (VS. 5 7 C o m . ) . S e e a l s o
V I . 3 4 C o m .
2 0
d e f t e r
% tth:
Na ca aknomyavasthtum bhramatva ca me manali
30. The
6 0
fafaTUfa ^ q i r m f a
fsprdrrrfa fare I
« W t s g c n R f t
f^T \ \ \ \ II
5 1
, 1 see adverse om en s; I do not
also see any virtue in killing my k insmen in battle.
?r few* * *r Trar ^ i
f%
Trrre^
f%
b ow
w h i c h was kept s u c c e s s i v e l y
by
B r a h m a , P r a j p a t i , I n d i a ,
C a n d r a
and
At the
of
w h o wa s
p l e a s e d w i t h A r j u n a
( s e e n o t e
30),
it to
5 1 .
of the
L o r d , m e a n i n g
: (I ) H e w h o has
b e au t i fu l l oc k s
of
hair
and
a r c s u b j e c t ,
(3) H e w h o
s l e w
(V.S,
23
o f
th e
of
by
Him
o t h e r luminaries,
( 5 )
the
P o w e r s , B r a h m , V i s n u and R u d r a ,
(6) He
w h o s e
p a r t - m a n i f e s t a t i o n s
are
and
nor comforts . 0 G ov in d a,
5 2
kingdom to us? Or of worldly enjoyments? Or
even of life?
rT ^ S c T f ^
f t J n o r t^ F I T SRTH ^ II ^ II

bhagavad gita - comm sankara, tr. aiyar

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