Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

1 – 26 observing the armies 

1 – 13 preparation of war 

14 – 20 signs of victory 

21 – 26 Krishna as Bhakta-Vatsala by obeying Arjuna over there

27 – 46 Arjuna’s lamentation (28 – 46) (some Acharya used the word Arjun Vishad Yoga)

– Arjuna gives the following four reasons why he will not fight.

(My comment: We can see how even mode of goodness can be an obstruction in Bhakti as Krishna says go beyond three modes. How 3 modes affect us. We also give similar reasons for not doing Bhakti)

27 – 30 compassion

31 – 35 enjoyment

36 – 38 fear of sinful reactions

39 – 43 destruction of family tradition.

BG 2.6 Indecision 

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1 – 26 observing the armies 

21 – 26 Krishna as Bhakta-Vatsala by obeying Arjuna over there

Let us see what he spoke

Bg 1.21-22

arjuna uvāca

senayor ubhayor madhye

rathaṁ sthāpaya me ’cyuta

yāvad etān nirīkṣe ’haṁ

yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān

kair mayā saha yoddhavyam

asmin raṇa-samudyame

Word for word: 

arjunaḥ uvāca — Arjuna said; senayoḥ — of the armies; ubhayoḥ — both; madhye — between; ratham — the chariot; sthāpaya — please keep; me — my; acyuta — O infallible one; yāvat — as long as; etān — all these; nirīkṣe — may look upon; aham — I; yoddhu–kāmān — desiring to fight; avasthitān — arrayed on the battlefield; kaiḥ — with whom; mayā — by me; saha — together; yoddhavyam — have to fight; asmin — in this; raṇa — strife; samudyame — in the attempt.

Translation: 

Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see those present here, who desire to fight, and with whom I must contend in this great trial of arms.

In this verse we can see that there are 6 english lines instead of 4 so we will be having e & f also, sometimes the verses are split depending on thought, so sometimes it is different rendering of BG, the verse numbering may be different. So here Srila Prabhupada is putting two verses together in a sense or 1.5 verses in one verse because there is continuity of thought over there, later on we will see 1.5 verse as one verse. So by that overall numbering of verses remain 700, so Srila Prabhupada focuses more on continuity of meaning rather than technicality of division.

senayor ubhayor madhye

rathaṁ sthāpaya me ’cyuta

O’ Acyuta please place the chariot in between the two armies.

And why?

 

yāvad etān nirīkṣe ’haṁ

By which I will be able to see

I will be able to do observation 

 

yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān

that those who are situated here to fight, I will be able to see them

What exactly I wanted to see?

 

kair mayā saha yoddhavyam

asmin raṇa-samudyame

With whom do I have to fight, I wanted to see that.

 

So now this is an interesting question obviously, that Arjuna knew who were the people on the opposite side, before the war the alliances were formed and both the parties have their spies, also both the parties didn’t keep their alliance secret, so it was not that Arjuna was expecting some new warriors will be there or new alliances would have formed, the whole strategies had been planned and it was decided who will fight with whom so if that is the case then what exactly Arjuna wanted to see? 

For the Pandavas it was very mortifying that they have to fight with their brothers, they never wanted such a war. And even Bhima who throughout his forest exile had been breathing fire, finally when war became imminent and Krishna said He will go as a peace messenger to avoid the war, that time Bhima said O Krishna please try to best if the war can be avoided that will be good, then Krishna said jokingly O Bhima it is true that when war approaches even the courageous becomes cowardly that is why even you are talking about peace. Bhima said I am not cowardly I am ready to fight but why there should be unnecessary bloodshed, so Krishna said yes I know I will try my best but I know Duryodhana is obstinate, he is not going to listen to me, and Krishna said I want the world to know that my devotees have not instigated the war, they tried everything possible to avoid the war but still in spite of that the war took place, because they were left with no alternatives, the greatest extent of Sri Krishna’s compassion was when He proposed that Pandavas can live with 5 villages also, but Duryodhana’s obstinate reply was he will not even give enough land which will be equal to tip of a needle, then Sri Krishna said war is evitable. So here the point is, even in the warfield Pandavas didn’t wanted the war, ofcourse when the war started it was a deadly war till death but still they didn’t wanted the war. So Arjuna wanted to see how inimical they are, what is their mentality, that was the idea, he knew who all were there – kair mayā saha yoddhavyam, who all have come to fight with me? What is their disposition? How are they going to fight with me? It was a difficult war to fight, he was trying to understand it. Srila Prabhupada’s focus is largely on the word Achuta. 

Krishna is called Achuta here, Chuta means fall, Achuta means that Lord who never falls and never fails. He never fails in keeping His promise. Sometimes the Lord may be asked something which may not be befitting His position like He is doing now. He is Supreme Lord and He is meant to be worshiped but He has become Chariot Driver of His devotee and not one that He has become fight of none contingent in the battlefield. A Kshatriya to become Charioteer is in many ways denigrating, later on when karna asked Salya to become his chariot driver Duryodhana was shocked that how can Salya become a chariot driver. When Salya was requested by Duryodhana for the same position for Karna he initially became furious and felt insulted, he said I am a king, if you think that I have not fought my battles properly tell me who is the enemy I will go and kill them, it is such a dis-honor for you to ask me to become chariot driver of anyone and worst that you are asking me to become a chariot driver of a suta-putra, it is such an insult I will leave right now and go away. So the point is, to take the position of a chariot driver is quite humiliating in so many ways, like a billionaire who has so many cars and so many drivers is told to become a car driver of someone. So here is why Sri Krishna has done that because of love for His dear devotee. So here again Duryodhana was very diplomatic and he said my no-no my intention was not to denigrate you but to appreciate you, here among all fighters the greatest of all fighters is Keshava and Keshava has taken position of a chariot driver and although there are many chariot drivers but there is no chariot driver who is equal to Keshava and the only person who can be equal to Keshava is you and in this way he turned whole thing around and then Karna got Salya as chariot driver. So the point is Krishna has accepted such a position which is very low because Arjuna requested it and He has accepted it out of love for His dear devotee, and the Lord never fails to keep His promise. And now there is a bigger request from Arjuna, the war is going to start and Arjuna is requesting Krishna to take him in between, the chariot driver can have hundreds of questions, what is the matter? Are you going to surrender? Are you going to have a peace agreement? They will start shooting and you will get slaughtered, after the conch shells are blown it is alright for the enemies to start shooting and you will be butchered also because you will be defenseless between the two armies. So He could have asked hundreds of questions, but when Sri Krishna got this request He followed that request which we will see so, He never fails in giving protection to His devotees.

End of transcription.