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Category Archives: uktvaa

Bhagavad Gita Verse 50, Chapter 11

03 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in 11.50, aashvaasayaamaasa, arjunam, bheetam, bhootvaa, bhooyaha, chapter 11 verse 50, darshayaamaasa, iti, mahaatmaa, punaha, roopam, saumyavapuhu, svakam, tathaa, uktvaa, vaasudevaaha

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Sanjaya uvaacha:
ityarjunam vaasudevastathoktvaa svakam roopam darshayaamaasa bhooyaha |
aashvaasayaamaasa cha bheetamenam bhootvaa punaha saumyavapoormahaatmaa || 50 ||
 
Sanjaya said:
Then, having said this to Arjuna, Vaasudeva showed his form, and again assuming his pleasant form, reassured the scared one.
 
iti : this
arjunam : to Arjuna
vaasudevaaha : Vaasudeva
tathaa : in that manner
uktvaa : saying
svakam : his
roopam : form
darshayaamaasa : showed
bhooyaha : then
aashvaasayaamaasa : reassured
cha : and
bheetam : scared one
enam : this
bhootvaa : becoming
punaha : again
saumyavapuhu : pleasant form
mahaatmaa : great one
 
The eighth chapter in the tenth canto (book) of the Srimad Bhaagavatam describes the ceremony where the sage Garga, in the village of Gokula, gave Shri Krishna the name “Vaasudeva” to indicate that he was the son of Vasudeva. This ceremony was conducted in a low-key manner so as not to arouse the suspicion of the king Kamsa, who had vowed to finish the progeny of Vasudeva. Vaasudeva also means “one who pervades the universe”.
 
The eight chapter further describes a story of Shri Krishna’s pranks. Several children approached Yashoda to complain that her son, the baby Shri Krishna, was eating dirt. Angrily, she asked Shri Krishna to open his mouth so that she can know whether he was eating dirt. When he opened his mouth, Yashoda saw a glimpse of the cosmic form inside, with all the planets, galaxies, all of time and space in that tiny mouth. She did not see the fearful version of the cosmic form shown to Arjuna. Immediately afterwards, Shri Krishna erased her memory of this incident.
 
In this shloka, Sanjaya introduced himself in the commentary to indicate that Shri Krishna ended the fearful cosmic form, then assumed his four armed form, and then the pleasant two armed form that Arjuna knew and loved. Shri Krishna held a whip in one hand and the reins of the chariot in another. Just like a father scolds his children and immediately pacifies them, he pacified Arjuna and ensured that his state of mind returned to normal. This is reflected in the next shloka where the chanting meter also reverts back to the “anushtubh chandha”, the default meter for chanting the Gita.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 11

04 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.21, amee, bheetaahaa, chapter 11 verse 21, grinanti, kechit, maharshi, praanjalayaha, pushkalaabhihi, sanghaahaa, siddha, stutibhihi, stuvanti, surasanghaa, svasti, uktvaa, vishanti

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amee hi tvaam surasanghaa vishanti kechidbheetaahaa praanjalayo grinanti |
svasteetyuktvaa maharshisiddhasanghaahaa stuvanti stvaam stutibhihi pushkalaabhihi || 21 ||
 
Certainly, this host of deities enters into you. Many are scared, singing praises with folded hands, “may all be well”, saying this. Hosts of great rishis and siddhas are praising you, through sublime hymns.
 
amee : they
hi : certainly
tvaam : in you
surasanghaa : host of deities
vishanti : enter
kechit : many
bheetaahaa : scared
praanjalayaha : folded hands
grinanti : singing praises
svasti : “may all be well”
iti : this
uktvaa : saying
maharshi : great rishis
siddha : siddhas
sanghaahaa : hosts of
stuvanti : praise
tvaam : you
stutibhihi : through hymns
pushkalaabhihi : sublime
 
Arjuna’s was beginning to see the cosmic form in more detail. Previously, he had mentioned that all the three worlds were quite afraid of Ishvara’s fearful form. In one of those worlds, the heavenly world which was populated by the deities, he saw something quite amazing. The deities were arising out of Ishvara’s cosmic form and dissolving back into it, just like waves in the ocean. He indicates this by using the word “vishanti”, entering into.
 
This shloka brings out the different kinds of people with regards to their spiritual awareness. First, there are those who are completely engrossed in the material world of names and forms. They have very little to no awareness of the unity of things, of the presence of Ishvara in everything, due to extreme entanglement with their senses. Next, there are those seekers who have recognized the presence Ishvara, and are working hard to turn themselves towards the higher. Finally, there are those rare few who have transcended all names and forms, who have realized the absolute.
 
Arjuna saw all three types of people, the ignorant, the seekers, and the realized masters in this scene. The ignorant individuals and the seekers were dissolving into Ishvara, but only the seekers were singing praises of Ishvara since they knew that he was their ultimate goal. The realized masters, the sages and siddhas, stood apart from this process of creation and dissolution, singing hymns to glorify Ishvara.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 11

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in 11.9, aishvaram, chapter 11 verse 9, darshayaamaasa, evam, mahaayogeshvaraha, paarthaaya, paramam, raajan, roopam, tataha, uktvaa, Yogeshwara harihi

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Sanjaya uvaacha:
evamuktvaa tato raajanmahaayogeshvaro harihi |
darshayaamaasa paarthaaya paramam roopamaishvaram || 9 ||
 
Sanjaya said:
O King, then having spoken this, Hari, the great Yogeshwara, showed the supreme form of Ishvara to Paartha.
 
evam : this
uktvaa : having spoken
tataha : then
raajan : O King
mahaayogeshvaraha : great Yogeshwara
harihi : Hari
darshayaamaasa : showed
paarthaaya : to Paartha
paramam : supreme
roopam : form
aishvaram : of Ishvara
 
At this point in the Gita, neither Shri Krishna nor Arjuna could continue narrating since Shri Krishna was showing the cosmic form, and Arjuna was taking it all in. The great sage Veda Vyaasa, the compiler of the Mahaabhaarata, chose to switch the narration over to Sanjaya, who was relaying the events to Dhritraashtra, the “King” that is mentioned in this shloka.
 
We notice a subtle shift in the language used by Sanjaya. His praise of Shri Krishna is one degree higher than that used by Arjuna. For instance, he refers to Shri Krishna as “Mahaa Yogeshwara” whereas Arjuna uses “Yogeshwara”. It is because Sanjaya knew Shri Krishna more thoroughly and deeply than Arjuna did. Moreover, he was already blessed with divine vision through Vyaasa, which enabled him to see exactly what Arjuna saw.
 
Sant Jnyaneshwara’s commentary of this shloka emphasizes Arjuna’s good fortune of being able to view this cosmic form. He lists Lakshmi, Shesha and Garuda as tireless servants of Lord Vishnu who have yet to see the cosmic form that Arjuna sees, underscoring the love Shri Krishna for his devotee Arjuna. He also enumerates others who were able to see a tiny glimpse of this cosmic form including Yashoda and Dhruva.
 
So what did this form look like? The description begins in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 2

04 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.9, babhoova, chapter 2 verse 9, tushneem, uktvaa, yotsya

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Sanjaya uvaacha:
evamuktvaa hrisheekesham gudakeshaha parantapa |
na yotsya iti govindamuktvaa tushneem babhoova ha || 9 ||

Sanjaya said:

Having spoken this to Hrisheekesha, Gudaakesha, the scorcher of foes, said to Govinda : “I will not fight”, and became silent.

evam : this
uktvaa : having spoken
hrisheekesham : Hrisheekesha (Shri Krishna)
gudaakesha : Gudaakesha (Arjuna)
parantapa : scorcher of foes
na yotsya : I will not fight
iti : this
govindam : to Govinda (Shri Krishna)
uktvaa : said
tushneem : silent
babhoova  ha: and became

In the last verse, Arjuna had surrendered his decision-making to Shri Krishna, and had asked him for guidance. Arjuna knew that he was in no shape to make that decision himself, let alone fight. So he eventually proclaimed that he would not fight, and became silent.

We should note that it was not just Arjuna’s voice that became silent. His mind, though not totally silent, became calmer than what it was in the last verse. Otherwise, it could not have assimilated the teaching that was about to follow.

Also note that the narration has shifted back to Sanjaya in this verse, and the meter has changed back to normal. He refers to Arjuna as Gudaakesha or “conqueror of sleep”, and Shri Krishna as Hrisheekesha or “conqueror of the senses”.