Chapter 2, Verse 8
न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद् यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् । अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् ॥२-८॥
na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām | avāpya bhūmāv asapatnam ṛddhaṃ rājyaṃ surāṇām api cādhipatyam ||2-8||
Meaning
I do not see what will remove this grief which is drying up my senses, even if I were to obtain an unrivaled and prosperous kingdom on earth or even lordship over the gods.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Arjuna reaches a profound and honest admission: no worldly achievement — not even divine sovereignty — can cure the grief he feels. This is not melodrama; it is a genuine recognition of the limits of external attainment to address interior suffering. He has, in effect, stumbled upon one of the most important spiritual truths before Krishna has even begun his formal teaching.
This verse diagnoses the human condition with remarkable precision. The 'ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām' — the drying up of the senses — is what we might today call depression or existential despair. It is a state where the normal motivators of life (power, pleasure, achievement) lose their pull. Arjuna cannot be bribed out of his grief with the promise of greater rewards.
Krishna's entire subsequent teaching is the answer to this very admission. What Arjuna needs is not a better prize but a fundamental restructuring of his understanding of self, action, and reality. Modern self-help culture tends to respond to grief and despair by offering better goals, more achievement, more stimulation. The Gita instead offers self-knowledge. When no external attainment can cure interior suffering, the path inward — toward understanding the nature of the soul — is the only true medicine.
💡 Key Takeaway
When no worldly achievement can cure your suffering, turn inward — external gains cannot resolve questions of the soul.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् । अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन ॥२-२॥
śrī bhagavān uvāca kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṃ viṣame samupasthitam | anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna ||2-2||
The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you at this critical moment? This is not befitting a man who knows what is valuable in life. It does not lead to higher planets but to infamy.
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते । क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ॥२-३॥
klaibyaṃ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate | kṣudraṃ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṃ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa ||2-3||
Do not yield to this unmanliness, O Partha. It does not befit you. Shake off this faint-heartedness and arise, O scorcher of enemies.
अर्जुन उवाच कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन । इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन ॥२-४॥
arjuna uvāca kathaṃ bhīṣmam ahaṃ saṅkhye droṇaṃ ca madhusūdana | iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāv arisūdana ||2-4||
Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, how can I counterattack with arrows in battle against Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship, O destroyer of enemies?