dronam cha bheeshmam cha jayadratham cha karnam tathaanyaanapi yodhaveeraan |
mayaa hataanstvam jahi maa vyathishthaa yudhyasva jetosi rane sapatnaan || 34 ||
Drona, Bheeshma and Jayadratha, Karna and other brave warriors have also been slain by me. So you kill them, do not be disturbed. Fight, and you will conquer your enemies in battle.
dronam : Drona
cha : and
bheeshmam : Bheeshma
jayadratham : Jayadratha
karnam : Karna
tathaa : also
anyaan : other
api : as well
yodhaveeraan : brave warriors
mayaa : by me
hataan : slain
tvam : you
jahi : kill
maa : do not
vyathishthaa : disturbed
yudhyasva : fight
jetosi : you will conquer
rane : in battle
sapatnaan : enemies
By this time, Arjuna’s mind had lost all sense of composure. Never in his life had he gane through so many unimaginable visions in such a short span of time. First he saw Ishvara’s pleasant cosmic form, then the fearful cosmic form, then he came to know the real nature of Ishvara’s destructive power, and finally he came to know that every action in the universe was determined by Ishvara. Shri Krishna recognized this state of mind and gave clear, simple and precise instructions to Arjuna : do not worry, just fight.
What was the source of Arjuna’s worry? Even since the war began, Arjuna was fearful of facing the most prominent warriors in the Kaurava army. Shri Krishna pointed them out here, maintaining the hierarchy of seniority: their guru Drona, the grandsire Bheeshma, Jayadratha who was protected by a divine boon, and Karna who was equal to Arjuna in prowess. He mentioned each of their names, implying that their fate was already sealed. There was no point in Arjuna worrying any more.
So then, what could Arjuna do? Shri Krishna said : just fight. Since all these mighty warriors have already killed by me, you kill them, not out of a sense of enmity or superiority, but out of a sense of performing your duty as a karma yogi. You be just be an instrument of Ishvara, that is the idea. Put the teaching of the Geeta into practice. If you perform actions in this manner, you will vanquish your enemies.
Sanjaya stepped in to describe Arjuna’s reaction in the next shloka.
Showing posts with label jahi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jahi. Show all posts
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Bhagavad Gita Verse 43, Chapter 3
evam buddheh param buddhvaa sanstabhyaatmaanamaatmanaa |
jahi shatrum mahaabaaho kaamaroopam duraasadam || 43 ||
In this way, having known the eternal essence to be superior than the intellect, and having strengthened oneself by oneself, O mighty-armed, slay the insurmountable enemy in the form of desire.
evam : in this way
buddheh : with intellect
param : superior (the eternal essence)
buddhvaa : having known
sanstabhyaha : strengthened
aatmaanam : oneself
aatmanaa : by oneself
jahi : slay
shatrum : enemy
mahaabaaho : O mighty-armed
kaamaroopam : in the form of desire
duraasadam : insurmountable
The prior shloka and this shloka comprise the concluding shlokas of the third chapter. In these 2 shlokas, Shri Krishna gives Arjuna the seed of an entire lifetime's worth of spiritual practice. But this technique needs further elaboration, which will be provided in the forthcoming chapters of the Gita. Karmayoga is just the preparatory stage. The real journey of spiritual practice or saadhanaa commences only when we learn to control and channel our vaasanaas through karmayoga, which culminates in the practice of meditation.
One of the major points made in this shloka is that we need to tackle our problems from the standpoint of the eternal essence, not from the standpoint of our prakriti, which is not our real identity. We have been conditioned to identify with our prakriti since our birth, which is what makes it difficult. Therefore, to the extent possible, we should always try to identify with the eternal essence.
For instance, we come across a thought that says "I can smoke one cigarette today, it will cause me no harm", we have to be alert and ask ourselves, who is this I that has generated this thought? If we are truly identified with the eternal essence, we will recognize that our prakriti - our inbuilt tendency - is saying it. This is not easy to do. Typically, when such a thought arises, it "short-circuits" our intellect and turns into action immediately. That is why Shri Krishna urges us to start on the path of karmayoga so that we slowly lose attachment with material objects first, then with our body/mind/intellect.
This inner conflict between our lower nature and our higher nature is the central theme of the Gita. Therefore, Shri Krishna concludes the chapter on karmayoga with a profound message: strengthen oneself by oneself. It means that by practicing karmayoga, we strengthen our higher nature, and that enables us to control our lower nature.
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade karmayogo naama tritiyodhyaayaha || 3 ||
jahi shatrum mahaabaaho kaamaroopam duraasadam || 43 ||
In this way, having known the eternal essence to be superior than the intellect, and having strengthened oneself by oneself, O mighty-armed, slay the insurmountable enemy in the form of desire.
evam : in this way
buddheh : with intellect
param : superior (the eternal essence)
buddhvaa : having known
sanstabhyaha : strengthened
aatmaanam : oneself
aatmanaa : by oneself
jahi : slay
shatrum : enemy
mahaabaaho : O mighty-armed
kaamaroopam : in the form of desire
duraasadam : insurmountable
The prior shloka and this shloka comprise the concluding shlokas of the third chapter. In these 2 shlokas, Shri Krishna gives Arjuna the seed of an entire lifetime's worth of spiritual practice. But this technique needs further elaboration, which will be provided in the forthcoming chapters of the Gita. Karmayoga is just the preparatory stage. The real journey of spiritual practice or saadhanaa commences only when we learn to control and channel our vaasanaas through karmayoga, which culminates in the practice of meditation.
One of the major points made in this shloka is that we need to tackle our problems from the standpoint of the eternal essence, not from the standpoint of our prakriti, which is not our real identity. We have been conditioned to identify with our prakriti since our birth, which is what makes it difficult. Therefore, to the extent possible, we should always try to identify with the eternal essence.
For instance, we come across a thought that says "I can smoke one cigarette today, it will cause me no harm", we have to be alert and ask ourselves, who is this I that has generated this thought? If we are truly identified with the eternal essence, we will recognize that our prakriti - our inbuilt tendency - is saying it. This is not easy to do. Typically, when such a thought arises, it "short-circuits" our intellect and turns into action immediately. That is why Shri Krishna urges us to start on the path of karmayoga so that we slowly lose attachment with material objects first, then with our body/mind/intellect.
This inner conflict between our lower nature and our higher nature is the central theme of the Gita. Therefore, Shri Krishna concludes the chapter on karmayoga with a profound message: strengthen oneself by oneself. It means that by practicing karmayoga, we strengthen our higher nature, and that enables us to control our lower nature.
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade karmayogo naama tritiyodhyaayaha || 3 ||
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