Gita 01.46 The Significance Of Our Actions Depends Not Just On The Actions But Also On The Situations In Which We Do Those Actions
sañjaya uvāca
evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye
rathopastha upāviśat
visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ
śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ
Word-for-word:
sañjayaḥ uvāca — Sañjaya said; evam — thus; uktvā — saying; arjunaḥ — Arjuna; saṅkhye — in the battlefield; ratha — of the chariot; upasthe — on the seat; upāviśat — sat down again; visṛjya — putting aside; sa-śaram — along with arrows; cāpam — the bow; śoka — by lamentation; saṁvigna — distressed; mānasaḥ — within the mind.
Translation:
Sañjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.
Explanation:
In this concluding verse of Chapter 1, Sañjaya says:
evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye : Having spoken thus on the battle field,
rathopastha upāviśat : Arjuna sat down.
visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ : Along with his bow, he put aside his arrow,
śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ : his mind filled with grief.
Arjuna realizes there is no point in continuing. He has lost the will to fight, his heart is no longer in it, and he decides he will not fight anymore.
In the previous verse, Arjuna firmly declares that it would be better for him to die at the hands of his opponents than to fight against them. He feels it would be preferable to die unarmed (aśastraṁ) and without resistance (apratīkāram) rather than engage in combat. In this mood, he continues here, expressing that he cannot fight, and he sits down—upāviśat.
Normally, a battlefield is no place to sit down; it is a place to stand up and fight. Our actions often hold significance beyond the actions themselves. Sitting down or standing up are simple acts we perform countless times each day, yet certain actions, in specific contexts, can carry meanings far beyond the actions themselves.
This is what is conveyed here. By sitting down and setting aside his bow and arrow, Arjuna’s actions emphatically express his reluctance and refusal to fight. For example, if a head of state or a king enters a room where everyone is expected to stand, someone choosing to remain seated could be seen as an act of defiance, disrespect, or at the very least, dissidence.
Sitting down is an ordinary act—we may stay seated when a guest arrives. However, if someone remains seated even when an important guest enters, it can signify a breach of proper etiquette. This may happen either because they deliberately intend to show disrespect or simply because they are unaware of the expected etiquette. Yet, regardless of intent, such an action may carry unintended significance, and the guest might take offense.
Similarly, on a battlefield, for Arjuna to sit down—and not only that, but to set aside his bow and arrow—is an unambiguous declaration. Everyone on the battlefield can see what has happened and understand exactly what it means.
What has happened is that Arjuna is unwilling to fight. To understand this, we might think of a sports analogy—if a batter in a cricket or baseball match, just as they are poised to receive the ball, suddenly puts down their bat and sits down, it would be a clear signal that they have no intention of playing. Such an action would, at the very least, seem extremely unusual.
If it’s the team’s top player, this action would be not just strange but alarming. What has happened? Why is this key player suddenly unwilling to continue? What has gone wrong, and how are we to deal with this situation?
Arjuna was the foremost archer on the battlefield, the key player on the Pāṇḍava side. He was the one who had even bested the gods—at the war at Khandava, he had defeated even divine beings. Moreover, in overcoming the Nivatakavachas, he had triumphed over those whom even the gods could not defeat.
In this way, Arjuna had a phenomenal track record, and much was expected of him. Hence, when he sat down, refusing to fight, we can infer that it must have sent shockwaves through everyone assembled there. “How could a warrior of his caliber refuse to fight? He was meant to fight, and he should be fighting. If he doesn’t, what will happen to our plans? How will we survive?” What to speak of victory—for an army to be suddenly and unexpectedly stripped of its best warrior is a shocking, alarming reversal. “How will we cope with this?” This must have been the obvious question echoing in the minds of all who witnessed Arjuna’s actions on the battlefield—sitting down and casting aside his bow and arrow.
Leave A Comment