Bhagavad Gita Verse 51, Chapter 11

Arjuna uvaacha:
drishtvedam maanusham roopam tava saumyam janaardana |
idaaneemasmi samvrittaha sachetaahaa prakritim gataha || 51 ||
 
Arjuna said:
Seeing this, your pleasant human form, O Janaardana, I have now regained my composure, and attained my true nature.
 
drishtvaa : seeing
idam : this
maanusham : human
roopam : form
tava : your
saumyam : pleasant
janaardana : O Janaardana
idaaneem : at this moment
asmi : I have
samvrittaha : become
sachetaahaa : composed
prakritim : my true nature
gataha : attained
 
The pleasing form of Shri Krishna is glorified in the Srimad Bhaagavatam repeatedly. The cowherdesses of Vrindaavan known as the gopis, elaborately praise this form in the tenth canto of the Bhaagavatam. They say: “Your beauty makes all three worlds auspicious. Even the cows, birds, trees and deer are enthralled when they see your beautiful form.” Arjuna, seeing the human form of Shri Krishna, regained his natural state, free from the fear and bewilderment resulting from the cosmic form.
 
We have come across the meaning of the term “Janaardana” earlier. “Arda” means one who moves, or makes others move. Jana means people, and therefore Janaardana means one who moves people to heaven or hell, in other words, dispenses justice to evildoers. Another meaning of Janaardana is one whom people ask for prosperity and well being. By addressing Shri Krishna as Janaardana, a term he used to address Shri Krishna prior to knowing that he was Ishvara, Arjuna recalled the glory of his human form.
 
So far, we saw Arjuna request Shri Krishna for the cosmic form, Arjuna’s description of the cosmic form and his subsequent reaction to it, followed by a request to revert back to the human form. Now, Shri Krishna summarizes the teaching of this chapter in the the four shlokas that follow.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 10

vistarenaatmano yogam vibhootim cha janaardana |
bhooyaha kathaya truptirhi shrunavato naasti memritam || 18 ||
 
Elaborately describe your yoga and expressions again, O Janaardana. I am not satisfied by listening to your nectar-like (words).
 
vistarena : elaborately
aatmanaha : your
yogam : yoga
vibhootim : expressions
cha : and
janaardana : O Janaardana
bhooyaha : again
kathaya : describe
truptihi : satisfied
shrunavataha : listening
na : not
asti : is
me : my
amritam : nectar-like
 
So far, Shri Krishna just gave a taste of Ishvara’s expressions. Arjuna clearly was relishing and enjoying hearing these expressions because he compared them to the sweetness of nectar. He wanted to hear them all over again. But this time, he would not be content with hearing so little. He requested Shri Krishna to give a detailed and elaborate description of Ishvara’s expressions as well as yoga, the power of maaya that creates many expressions of the one Ishvara.
 
Arjuna addressed Shri Krishna as “Janaardana” which has two meanings. “Arda” means one who moves, or makes others move. Jana means people, and therefore Janaardana means one who moves people to heaven or hell, in other words, dispenses justice to evildoers. Another meaning of Janaardana is one whom people ask for prosperity and well being. Arjuna understood that the true nature of Shri Krishna was Ishvara.
 
With this shloka, Shri Krishna concluded his statements and requests. Starting with the next shloka, Shri Krishna will provide a total of 72 vibhootis or expressions of Ishvara. Most of these are drawn from the Indian Vedic and Puraanic tradition since Arjuna would be easily able to identify with and connect with those examples. We can try to look for similarities in the present time so that we are also able to connect with those.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 3

jyaayasee chetkarmanaste mataa buddhirjanaardana |
tatkim karmani ghore maam niyojayasi keshava || 1 ||
 
If knowledge is superior to action in your opinion, O Janaardana, why do you want me to perform this horrible action, O Keshava?
 
jyaayasee : superior
chet : if
karmanaha : action
te : you
mataa : opinion
buddhih : knowledge
janaardana : O Janaardana
tat : then
kim : why
karmani : action
ghore : horrible
maam : me
niyojayasi : perform
keshava : O Keshava
 
We begin the third chapter with a question from Arjuna. It is wonderful to see the give-and-take between a student and a disciple come up several times in the Gita, making it more accessible and human. Let us dig deeper into Arjuna's question.
 
In the last chapter, Shri Krishna introduced the topic of karma yoga, where one performs selfless action. But later, he spoke about the knowledge of the eternal essence. Arjuna interpreted this as a statement that knowledge is superior to wisdom, and wanted to clarify whether it was so.
 
As an analogy, I remember the experience of learning music. In most cases, new students of music gave more importance to performing a popular song on stage, than to endure the rigour and discipline of daily finger drills that could get repetitive and boring. Similarly, Arjuna thought that knowledge was superior in action.
 
Arjuna also referred to his fighting in the war as a "horrible" action. This word speaks a lot about his mental state. Shri Krishna had taught him that one should maintain equanimity in pleasant and unpleasant situations. But Arjuna had not internalized and assimilated the teaching.
 
This is not uncommon. Our experience will usually indicate that a one-time hearing or "shravana" of any teaching will not be enough. We also need to reflect on the teaching, which is also known as "manana". And finally, we have to internalize it so that it becomes part of our personality - "nidhidhyaasana".
 
In the next shloka, Arjuna completes his question to Shri Krishna.