Gita 01.46 – When The Eye Disheartens Let The Ear Hearten

 

Audio Link 2: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-01-46-when-the-eye-disheartens-let-the-ear-hearten/

 

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:

Here, Sañjaya, who began narrating this chapter from the second verse onwards, is now speaking. Throughout, it is Sañjaya who speaks; however, when he repeats someone else’s words, the speech is attributed to that person. When Sañjaya is reporting events, with no one else speaking, those reports are attributed to him in the Bhagavad-gītā.

 

In the previous verse, Arjuna falls silent after declaring, “It is better that I die unarmed and unresisting than fight against the Kauravas.” At that point, he stops speaking. This moment is now being reported by Sañjaya to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Sañjaya says:

evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye — Having spoken thus on the battlefield, Arjuna,

rathopastha upāviśat — who had been standing on his chariot, ready to fight, sat down.

Arjuna’s resolve to fight weakened, and this inner reluctance manifested outwardly as he moved from his ready stance to a seated, unwilling position.

visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ — He set aside his bow and arrows,

śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ — his mind overwhelmed and distressed with sorrow and anxiety.

 

Here, we see the intense emotions Arjuna was experiencing, which were weighing heavily on his heart and creating inner turbulence. This emotional turmoil led him to sit down in distress and set aside his bow and arrows.

 

It is said that actions speak louder than words. Until now, Arjuna had been voicing his reasons for not fighting, explaining his decision without, in a sense, waiting for Kṛṣṇa’s approval. Then, he sat down, conveying his resolve through action.

 

Of course, Arjuna has not asked Kṛṣṇa to turn the chariot around and leave the battlefield. In that sense, it’s not a complete abandonment of the battle plan; rather, it is a significant checking. Abandoning would mean giving up entirely, while checking simply means holding back—this is thus a substantial interruption of the battle plan. This marks the end of the ‘Arjuna-viṣāda-yoga’ section.

 

As mentioned earlier, this chapter can be referred to by two different names—’Sainya-nirīkṣa-yoga’, which Śrīla Prabhupāda translates as ‘observing the armies,’ covering verses 1 to 26, with verse 27 serving as a transitional verse; and ‘Arjuna-viṣāda-yoga’, which spans verses 27 to 46. Viṣāda means grief and lamentation, an emotion expressed in the final verse with the phrase ‘śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ’.

 

There is a saying about a great Western conqueror—he came, he saw, he conquered. In Arjuna’s case, at least in the first chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, he came, he saw, and he was conquered—not by an external enemy, but by his inner foes—confusion, depression, and misconception.

 

Arjuna arrived on the battlefield, positioning himself in its very center. His purpose was to ‘see’—yotsyamānān avekṣe ’haṁ—“I want to see,” as he stated in verses 1.21–23. We also noted how frequently the word ‘see’ appears, as in ‘tatrāpaśyat’, underscoring his intent to closely examine those assembled for battle.

 

Thus, Arjuna saw—and after seeing, he was conquered. His own mind’s confusion overpowered him, leading him to abandon his resolve to fight. Though the enemy had not defeated him, he set aside his bow—visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ. For a warrior, the most essential quality is the fighting spirit. When this spirit is lost, even if the fighter has not yet been defeated, it is only a matter of time before defeat becomes inevitable. Sometimes, losing the fighting spirit means the battle is lost before it even begins.

 

Sometimes, players enter a match with a defeatist body language, lacking any hope of winning. They begin the match merely hoping to avoid a severe battering. This defeatist attitude, if rooted in a sense of hopelessness—believing they have no chance and would rather not compete than face inevitable defeat—inevitably leads to their loss. Similarly, Arjuna’s fighting spirit was drained by the sight before him on the battlefield—seeing his family members, relatives, and well-wishers. This sight extinguished his resolve to fight, and as a result, he set aside his bow.

 

Here, Arjuna’s Gāṇḍīva bow can represent our determination. While the Bhagavad-gītā is historical, it also carries deeper significance. Madhvācārya explains that scriptures can be understood literally, ethically, and metaphorically. The metaphorical interpretation is not wrong, as long as it does not supersede or contradict the literal meaning. In this context, just as Arjuna arrived ready to fight the battle, we too must face the battle of life. At times, we encounter such discouraging and disheartening circumstances that we question, “What is the point of going on? What is the point of it all?” In such moments, we may feel tempted to give up, setting aside our metaphorical Gāṇḍīva bows, just as Arjuna did.

 

However, hearing the message of the Gītā inspired Arjuna to eventually pick up his bow again. At the end of the Gītā (verse 18.78), Sañjaya says, yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣhño yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ, meaning “wherever Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of yoga, is, and wherever Arjuna, the carrier of the Gāṇḍīva bow, is.” By that time, Arjuna had once again picked up the Gāṇḍīva bow, symbolizing his renewed determination to fight.

 

What Arjuna had done in putting aside his bow here came to an end, and he once again picked it up, raising it, ready to fight. Similarly, in this world, we will face discouragements—sometimes heartbreaking disappointments and devastations. But if we understand the message of the Gītā, meditate on it, and reflect on Kṛṣṇa’s enduring, unfailing, and unflinching love for us, it will provide the motivation, inspiration, and conviction to see beyond our current struggles. We will begin to see Kṛṣṇa, as He beckons and invites us onward to Him. This realization will inspire us to rise again, knowing that no matter what goes wrong in our lives, Kṛṣṇa is there, waiting for us, and His presence will always guide us in the right direction. We will then be able to march forward with resolve. Just as perception can cause discouragement—seeing can often lead to despair—hearing, on the other hand, can counteract that discouragement, infusing us with divine determination to persevere, no matter the odds.