Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta Shlok Blog -57
Shlok-10
तमुवाच हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव भारत । सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वचः ॥ 2-10 ||
English Transcription
Tamuvaach Hrishikeshah Prasanniva Bhaarat | Senyorubhayormadhye Visheedantmidam Wachah || 2-10 ||
Hindi Translation
Hey Bharatvanshodbhav Dhritrashtra, dono senaaon ke madhya bhaag me vishaad karte hue us Arjun ke prati hanste hue se bhagwaan Hrishikesh ye aage bole jaane wale vachan bole.
English Translation
With a hint of derision and sarcasm, O Bharat, Dhritrashtra, Hrishikesh spoke these words to him (Arjun), as he sat despairing between the two armies.
Meaning
In the previous Shloka, we saw how Arjun sat down stubbornly that he will not fight even if he was to give up his life defending this decision of his. Then he gave multiple reasons for the same, the best one being that he will not fight his elders even if he has to suffer, his elders will not. Thus, he sat on the chariot and now, in today’s Shlok, we will see how there will be people who will need help and how Shri Krishna was there for Arjun to help him.
In the first chapter, Arjun had asked Shri Krishna to put his chariot in between the two armies so that he can see everything. Now, in that same place, he sat down angry and upset, and he was not at all interested in fighting. In reality, Arjun should have the guts to fulfill the duty he was there to perform on the battlefield, that is leading the battle with his idea, strategy, and wit. But Arjun left everything to grieve over things that don’t matter. Thus, Shri Krishna had to spend time with him and tell him the basics of living and reality.
The term Prahasanniv was used to depict the changing emotions of Arjun from bravery to cowardice and the sarcastic smile that it brought to Shri Krishna’s face. Also, Arjun earlier said that I am your child, I am your student, and I surrender myself to you. You tell me what to do. You tell me if I need to fight or not. You tell me how to fight if I should fight and now, in just a few little sentences later, when Shri Krishna did not even say anything, and Arjun declared that he will not fight, come what may. Thus, Shri Krishna smirked thinking that it will be a tough time to explain and convince Arjun to fight.
The reason was simple. After submitting to Shri Krishna, if you take the decisions yourself, you can't do that because you lose that right. So either you don’t submit or you make sure you abide by it. So Arjun had to do what Shri Krishna said, but he was again throwing tantrums at his will. So, Shri Krishna thought that Arjun surrendered and then moved away also at the same time So he smiled thinking how difficult and indecisive people will be after the Gods have gone from the Earth also.
In general, if Arjun would have said that I don’t want to fight, Shri Krishna could have easily said go and have your will. Now I won’t comment. But here Shri Krishna knew that this was not a choice and thus, he had to intervene. He knew that when people are down and depressed due to tension, stress, and sadness, they sometimes do not understand the best course of action and they might end u making a bad decision, so maybe Arjun was also going through the same.
At the end of the day, Shri Krishna was a God and he will always look beyond words. He will look for intentions and emotions also. So Shri Krishna ignored what Arjun was adamant about and he continued to speak ahead.
Shri Krishna knew that Arjun was under the influence of attraction, attachment, and mortal love for his family members and the pain of losing the kingdom and thus he is deciding a stupid choice, but when he’ll wake up properly, he’ll already understand what foolishness he was up to.
We should understand that for anyone who surrenders to the Gods in their lives like this, the God will not just look at what you are and what you think you are, but also at what is essential for you and they will make sure to make your life better than what it would be otherwise. Shri Krishna had understood that Arjun was not in his proper thinking mindset and he knew that in the future also if there is anything such, simple and safe words are needed to teach the value to the students so that everyone is adequately trained at what they are doing.
In the next few Shlokas, we will first hear things and facts related to the human mind and body, basically, about the physical and psychological attributes of human beings' existence on Earth.
That’s all for Shlok-10, Chapter-2 of Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta. We will See you tomorrow for Shlok-11, Chapter-2. Till then catch up till Shlok-9, Chapter-2
