Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (12 page)

devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛnāṁ pitṝṇāṁ
na kiṅkaro nāyamṛṇī ca rājan
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam

"Anyone who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, the giver of liberation, giving up all kinds of obligation, and has taken to the path in all seriousness, owes neither duties nor obligations to the demigods, sages, general living entities, family members, humankind or forefathers." (
Bhāg
. 11.5.41) Such obligations are automatically fulfilled by performance of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bg 1.42

TEXT 42

TEXT

doṣair etaiḥ kula-ghnānāṁ

varṇa-saṅkara-kārakaiḥ

utsādyante jāti-dharmāḥ

kula-dharmāś ca śāśvatāḥ

SYNONYMS

doṣaiḥ-
by such faults;
etaiḥ-
all these;
kula-ghnānām-
of the destroyer of a family;
varṇa-saṅkara-
unwanted children;
kārakaiḥ-
by the doers;
utsādyante-
causes devastation;
jāti-dharmāḥ-
community project;
kula-dharmāḥ-
family tradition;
ca-
also;
śāśvatāḥ-
eternal.

TRANSLATION

Due to the evil deeds of the destroyers of family tradition, all kinds of community projects and family welfare activities are devastated.

PURPORT

The four orders of human society, combined with family welfare activities as they are set forth by the institution of the
sanātana-dharma
or
varṇāśrama-dharma,
are designed to enable the human being to attain his ultimate salvation. Therefore, the breaking of the
sanātana-dharma
tradition by irresponsible leaders of society brings about chaos in that society, and consequently people forget the aim of life-Viṣṇu. Such leaders are called blind, and persons who follow such leaders are sure to be led into chaos.

Bg 1.43

TEXT 43

TEXT

utsanna-kula-dharmāṇāṁ

manuṣyāṇāṁ janārdana

narake niyataṁ vāso

bhavatīty anuśuśruma

SYNONYMS

utsanna-
spoiled;
kula-dharmāṇām-
of those who have the family traditions;
manuṣyāṇām-
of such men;
janārdana
-O Kṛṣṇa;
narake-
in hell;
niyatam-
always;
vāsaḥ-
residence;
bhavati-
it so becomes;
iti-
thus;
anuśuśruma-
I have heard by disciplic succession.

TRANSLATION

O Kṛṣṇa, maintainer of the people, I have heard by disciplic succession that those who destroy family traditions dwell always in hell.

PURPORT

Arjuna bases his argument not on his own personal experience, but on what he has heard from the authorities. That is the way of receiving real knowledge. One cannot reach the real point of factual knowledge without being helped by the right person who is already established in that knowledge. There is a system in the
varṇāśrama
institution by which one has to undergo the process of ablution before death for his sinful activities. One who is always engaged in sinful activities must utilize the process of ablution called the
prāyaścitta.
Without doing so, one surely will be transferred to hellish planets to undergo miserable lives as the result of sinful activities.

Bg 1.44

TEXT 44

TEXT

aho bata mahat pāpaṁ

kartuṁ vyavasitā vayam

yad rājya-sukha-lobhena

hantuṁ sva-janam udyatāḥ

SYNONYMS

ahaḥ-
alas;
bata-
how strange it is;
mahat-
great;
pāpam-
sins;
kartum-
to perform;
vyavasitāḥ-
decided;
vayam-
we;
yat-
so that;
rājya-
kingdom;
sukha-lobhena-
driven by greed for royal happiness;
hantum-
to kill;
svajanam-
kinsmen;
udyatāḥ-
trying for.

TRANSLATION

Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit greatly sinful acts, driven by the desire to enjoy royal happiness.

PURPORT

Driven by selfish motives, one may be inclined to such sinful acts as the killing of one's own brother, father, or mother. There are many such instances in the history of the world. But Arjuna, being a saintly devotee of the Lord, is always conscious of moral principles and therefore takes care to avoid such activities.

Bg 1.45

TEXT 45

TEXT

yadi mām apratīkāram

aśastraṁ śastra-pāṇayaḥ

dhārtarāṣṭrā raṇe hanyus

tan me kṣemataraṁ bhavet

SYNONYMS

yadi-
even if;
mām-
unto me;
apratīkāram-
without being resistant;
aśastram-
without being fully equipped;
śastra-pāṇayaḥ-
those with weapons in hand;
dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ-
the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra;
raṇe-
in the battlefield;
hanyuḥ-
may kill;
tat-
that;
me-
mine;
kṣemataram-
better;
bhavet-
become.

TRANSLATION

I would consider it better for the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra to kill me unarmed and unresisting, rather than fight with them.

PURPORT

It is the custom-according to
kṣatriya
fighting principles-that an unarmed and unwilling foe should not be attacked. Arjuna, however, in such an enigmatic position, decided he would not fight if he were attacked by the enemy. He did not consider how much the other party was bent upon fighting. All these symptoms are due to softheartedness resulting from his being a great devotee of the Lord.

Bg 1.46

TEXT 46

TEXT

sañjaya uvāca

evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye

rathopastha upāviśat

visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ

śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ

SYNONYMS

sañjayaḥ-
Sañjaya;
uvāca-
said;
evam-
thus;
uktvā-
saying;
arjunaḥ-
Arjuna;
saṅkhye-
in the battlefield;
ratha-
chariot;
upasthaḥ-
situated on;
upāviśat-
sat down again;
visṛjya-
keeping aside;
sa-śaram-
along with arrows;
cāpam-
the bow;
śoka-
lamentation;
saṁvigna-
distressed;
mānasaḥ-
within the mind.

TRANSLATION

Sañjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.

PURPORT

While observing the situation of his enemy, Arjuna stood up on the chariot, but he was so afflicted with lamentation that he sat down again, setting aside his bow and arrows. Such a kind and softhearted person, in the devotional service of the Lord, is fit to receive self-knowledge.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the First Chapter of the
Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā
in the matter of Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra.

Bg 2: Contents of the Gītā Summarized

2. Contents of the Gītā Summarized

Bg 2.1

TEXT 1

TEXT

sañjaya uvāca

taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam

aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam

viṣīdantam idaṁ vākyam

uvāca madhusūdanaḥ

SYNONYMS

sañjayaḥ uvāca-
Sañjaya said;
tam-
unto Arjuna;
tathā-
thus;
kṛpayā-
by compassion;
āviṣṭam-
overwhelmed;
aśru-pūrṇa-
full of tears;
ākula-
depressed;
īkṣaṇam-
eyes;
viṣīdantam-
lamenting;
idam-
this;
vākyam-
words;
uvāca-
said;
madhusūdanaḥ-
the killer of Madhu.

TRANSLATION

Sañjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion and very sorrowful, his eyes brimming with tears, Madhusūdana, Kṛṣṇa, spoke the following words.

PURPORT

Material compassion, lamentation and tears are all signs of ignorance of the real self. Compassion for the eternal soul is self-realization. The word "Madhusūdana" is significant in this verse. Lord Kṛṣṇa killed the demon Madhu, and now Arjuna wanted Kṛṣṇa to kill the demon of misunderstanding that had overtaken him in the discharge of his duty. No one knows where compassion should be applied. Compassion for the dress of a drowning man is senseless. A man fallen in the ocean of nescience cannot be saved simply by rescuing his outward dress-the gross material body. One who does not know this and laments for the outward dress is called a
śūdra,
or one who laments unnecessarily. Arjuna was a
kṣatriya,
and this conduct was not expected from him. Lord Kṛṣṇa, however, can dissipate the lamentation of the ignorant man, and for this purpose the
Bhagavad-gītā
was sung by Him. This chapter instructs us in self-realization by an analytical study of the material body and the spirit soul, as explained by the supreme authority, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This realization is made possible by working with the fruitive being situated in the fixed conception of the real self.

Bg 2.2

TEXT 2

TEXT

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ

viṣame samupasthitam

anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam

akīrti-karam arjuna

SYNONYMS

śrī bhagavān uvāca-
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said;
kutaḥ-
wherefrom;
tvā-
unto you;
kaśmalam-
dirtiness;
idam-
this lamentation;
viṣame-
this hour of crisis;
samupasthitam-
arrived;
anārya-
persons who do not know the value of life;
juṣṭam-
practiced by;
asvargyam-
that which does not lead to higher planets;
akīrti-
infamy;
karam-
the cause of;
arjuna-
O Arjuna.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Person [Bhagavān] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are identical. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is referred to as "Bhagavān" throughout the
Gītā
. Bhagavān is the ultimate in the Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding, namely Brahman or the impersonal all-pervasive spirit; Paramātmā, or the localized aspect of the Supreme within the heart of all living entities; and Bhagavān, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. In the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
this conception of the Absolute Truth is explained thus:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.

"The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding by the knower of the Absolute Truth, and all of them are identical. Such phases of the Absolute Truth are expressed as Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān." (
Bhāg.
1.2.11) These three divine aspects can be explained by the example of the sun, which also has three different aspects, namely the sunshine, the sun's surface and the sun planet itself. One who studies the sunshine only is the preliminary student. One who understands the sun's surface is further advanced. And one who can enter into the sun planet is the highest. Ordinary students who are satisfied by simply understanding the sunshine-its universal pervasiveness and the glaring effulgence of its impersonal nature-may be compared to those who can realize only the Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth. The student who has advanced still further can know the sun disc, which is compared to knowledge of the Paramātmā feature of the Absolute Truth. And the student who can enter into the heart of the sun planet is compared to those who realize the personal features of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Therefore, the
bhaktas,
or the transcendentalists who have realized the Bhagavān feature of the Absolute Truth, are the topmost transcendentalists, although all students who are engaged in the study of the Absolute Truth are engaged in the same subject matter. The sunshine, the sun disc and the inner affairs of the sun planet cannot be separated from one another, and yet the students of the three different phases are not in the same category.

The Sanskrit word
Bhagavān
is explained by the great authority, Parāśara Muni, the father of Vyāsadeva. The Supreme Personality who possesses all riches, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation is called Bhagavān. There are many persons who are very rich, very powerful, very beautiful, very famous, very learned, and very much detached, but no one can claim that he possesses all riches, all strength, etc., entirely. Only Kṛṣṇa can claim this because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No living entity, including Brahmā, Lord Śiva, or Nārāyaṇa, can possess opulences as fully as Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is concluded in the
Brahma-saṁhitā
by Lord Brahmā himself that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one is equal to or above Him. He is the primeval Lord, or Bhagavān, known as Govinda, and He is the supreme cause of all causes.