Chapter 2, Verse 1
सञ्जय उवाच | तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् | विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः ॥१॥
sañjaya uvāca | taṃ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam aśrupūrṇākulekṣaṇam | viṣīdantam idaṃ vākyam uvāca madhusūdanaḥ ||1||
Meaning
Sanjaya said: To him who was thus overcome with pity and grief, whose eyes were filled with tears and who was despondent, Madhusudana (Krishna) spoke the following words.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
This verse sets the scene for Krishna's teachings. Arjuna sits in his chariot, overcome with grief, his eyes clouded with tears, his resolve dissolved. He is the picture of a human being at the breaking point — capable, educated, experienced, yet utterly unable to act because of the emotional conflict between his love for his family and his duty as a warrior.
Krishna's title here is 'Madhusudana' — the slayer of the demon Madhu. This is not incidental. Arjuna's grief is itself a kind of inner demon — not evil, but a force of delusion that paralyzes right action. Krishna, who slew external demons, is now about to slay Arjuna's inner demon of confusion and attachment.
For us, this moment is deeply familiar. How many times have we been paralyzed by the conflict between what we love and what we must do? Between our emotional attachments and our responsibilities? Arjuna's crisis is the universal human crisis, and the wisdom that follows is wisdom for all of us.
💡 Key Takeaway
When we are most overwhelmed by emotion is precisely when we most need the clear wisdom of a true guide.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे | गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥११॥
śrī bhagavān uvāca | aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṃ prajñāvādāṃś ca bhāṣase | gatāsūn agatāsūṃś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ ||11||
The Blessed Lord said: You are grieving for those who should not be grieved for, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि | तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा- न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥२२॥
vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi | tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny anyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī ||22||
Just as a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् । तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥
atha cainaṃ nitya-jātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam | tathāpi tvaṃ mahā-bāho naivaṃ śocitum arhasi ||
But even if you think of the soul as being perpetually born and perpetually dying, O mighty-armed Arjuna, you still have no reason to grieve. Even accepting the materialist view that the soul is not eternal, the conclusion remains the same: grief is unwarranted.