Gita study Mumbai 2012- 01.1-1.25 Introducing Mahabharat character

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna So we will start with a verse that offers obeisances to Lord Krishna and the speaker above him.
And we will everyday start our Omita class with this verse. With this verse. If you want, you can move this down also.
So I will tell the meaning first. Then we will recite it. Sarvam Arjuna Syadam Purvan Geetam Vrindavanam Sarvam We begin with Sarvam.
Arjuna is the seer of Arjuna. Adav in the beginning. So this is from the Gita Marga in the Sri Yamuna Tantra.
Sri Vaishnu Tantra. So Adav in the beginning. I offer obeisances to this.
To that Lord who became the chariot of Arjuna. What do I do? Purvan Geetam Vrindavanam By becoming the chariot here. Geetam Vrindavanam The nectar of the Gita.
And what happened by doing the Gita? Lokatayo Pataraya That he actually did good to all the three worlds. That’s my end. Because he did good to all the three worlds.
Krishnatmanena Maha And to that Supreme Soul that Lord Krishna I offer my obeisances. Sarvam Arjuna Syadau Purvan Geetam Vrindavanam Purvan Geetam Vrindavanam Lokatayo Pataraya Lokatayo Pataraya Tasmai Krishnatmanena Maha Krishnatmanena Maha Tasmai Krishnatmanena Maha Tasmai Krishnatmanena Maha So Mela Arjuna In general we do not have much time for question answers. We will be focussing more on the flow of the Bhagavad Gita.
And I have taken this course three times till now. Of course several times I have taken but three times I have taken as a structured course where we complete the full Bhagavad Gita in 50 hours. So after every class we have two verse score board.
So we start the class how many verses we have covered in how many hours. So we will cover 700 verses in 50 hours. That means we have to cover 14 verses per hour.
Which is not too difficult. And we will not be able to go too much into the purpose. And depending on how your Gita course evolves and how my Gita course evolves.
As of now the plan is we will be able to complete it by the most. But maybe after a week or two we will take a form and you can whether you feel the pace is too fast we might slow things down. It’s very good that we have studied the Shukrashik before.
I went through all your feedback and stuff. Thank you very much for kind words and a couple of people have said that things wandered a lot. And apart from the purport we discussed a lot of other things.
So the reason for that is today I thought we should get an introduction or an introductory overview of the entire basic philosophy of Krishna consciousness. So once the completion is done, now when we study the Bhagavad Gita, we will not be going so much into the basic philosophy of Krishna consciousness. We will be focussing more on the internal flow of the Bhagavad Gita and the properties of the Gita’s message.
And that’s why we will just highlight certain coffee points of Shri Aurobindo but even if we are not able to cover all of them systematically, we will be able to cover the whole Bhagavad Gita. And of course it is by the blessing of Shri Aurobindo that we have access to the Bhagavad Gita at all. So we will surely be looking at his way of presentation also overall.
Now before we start with the Bhagavad Gita let’s look at some aspects of its significance. Now the Bhagavad Gita’s significance is talked about in the Gita Mahatmya. Now interestingly there are many books in the Gita Mahatmya.
There is one Gita Mahatmya which Ropal quotes in the introduction of the Gita. We have a short compilation of around 10 verses by Shankaracharya. And in that we have Eko, Devo, Devata, Putra Ego and Sarva, Vishuddha, all those verses are there.
There is another Gita Mahatmya which is a conversation between the Uma, Maheshwar, Samma. Conversation between Shiva and Parvati. And there it gives the chapter wise glory of the Bhagavad Gita.
So there is one story of some simple person. He recited one particular chapter of the Gita or he heard that chapter of the Gita being recited and that’s how he got delivered to ghastly sins. So that is also one glory of the Bhagavad Gita.
That is also called a Gita Mahatmya. So Srila Prabhupada when he refers to he refers primarily to Shankaracharya’s Gita Mahatmya. So the Bhagavad Gita has a unique position in the Vedic literature.
This is a work such as this Obeisances is offered by by the Vedic Jyabusis of the Bhagavad Gita at the start of the Gita which includes beside this work and this is a nice verse which explains the programmational perspective of the Bhagavad Gita. very nice. Ujjayi, high quality.
And then not only that, how does it nourish the bhakti? By revealing the absolute. Tattvam param, the supreme truth. Spurati, spurati means to reveal, to manifest.
The word spurati comes in Atasya, Krishnamahamana, Bhagavad Gita, M.D. Seva, Nitya, Jaya, Vada, Swayamvara. Spurati means, it is a self-manifestation, self-revelation. Tattvam param spurati durgama upyajasram.
That param tattva is durgama, very difficult to approach that. I just, even if one tries to approach it for a very very long time, still it is difficult. But by the mercy of the Bhagavad Gita, that absolute truth gets revealed to us.
And then he says, not only is Krishna filled with his opulences, Shadgunya Gita itself has its opulences. And Swarachitam, wow, because this is a Swarachitam, let’s say an absolute truth is opulent himself, so it’s his own vachana and that’s why he is not different from me. And to that Bhagavad Gita pranamami, I offer obeisances.
So the previous verse we discussed was offering obeisances to Krishna, the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita. In this verse we are offering obeisances to the Bhagavad Gita itself. So we will recite everything in the Bhagavad Gita.
He gives us three points which he says mainly. First is that it will help us cross the omnipotence. Second is that it will help us to, it is Nanishadvaiti.
And third is that it will reveal the absolute truth to us. And what is that absolute truth? Very difficult to understand, but it is Shadgunya Gita. It’s filled with its opulences.
That means it will reveal the personal absolute truth. So the Mayavadis also agree that Agyan is a way of writing. The Bhagavad Gita will take us beyond Agyan.
But according to them if you go beyond Agyan, you will attain Mukti. But Vande Vidya Bhushan Brightness commentary makes us feel that actually it’s not just removal of ignorance, but after that there is Parabhakti. And there is Param Tattva, the supreme truth.
So the words Parabhakti and Param Tattva both are indicated. There is nothing higher than this. This is supreme.
So now what is the significance of the Bhagavad Gita? There are many things. One is it is Shruti in Smriti. You know these two categories of literature we discussed, Shruti and Smriti.
So Bhagavad Gita, from a technical point of view, it will fall in Smriti because it is a part of the Puranas. It is in the Vishnu Parva, chapters 25 to 42 in the Vishnu Parva. Vishnu Parva is the longest parva practically speaking of the Mahabharata and in that we need to go with that only.
And because it is Krishna himself speaking and Krishna is the absolute truth, so in that sense it is like a Shruti. The Shruti within the Smriti. Let’s look at some other statistics which is in the Bhagavad Gita.
There are how many verses in the Bhagavad Gita? Out of them, majority, the 575 are spoken by Krishna. 83 are spoken by Arjuna and Arjuna speaks primarily in the first and the 11th chapter. And apart from that, there are few verses where he is asking some questions in the remaining chapters.
And then Sanjay has 41 verses and his verses come mostly in the 11th chapter. Some in the first chapter, one in the 13th chapter, some in the 18th chapter, but mostly it is Sanjay speaking 41 verses. Now, when they are saying like this, actually speaking, if you put it that way, Sanjay is speaking everything.
Because when Sanjay will watch it, then he is telling when Krishna said. But it is like a nested dialogue happening. So, who is the final speaker within the nested dialogue? At the outermost level, the whole Mahabharata conversation between Sanjay and Vaishnava.
So, that is the outermost level. Then the second level is what is happening over here is between Uttarashtra and Sanjay. Sanjay is speaking to Uttarashtra.
And then another nesting is Krishna is speaking to Arjuna. So, Uttarashtra speaks the first verse. And then there is a speech of Duryodhana, but there is no Duryodhana watching the whole thing.
The letter, the word Raja which comes over here, come to that verse and it will cover each chapter. Then, now there are epithets. Epithets mean alternative names that are used.
And this itself is a very beautiful thing that happens. What are the different names and what are their significances? So, there are 20 other names used for Arjuna and 33 other names used for Krishna. So, Krishna himself is used actually, but along with that other names are also used.
So, epithet actually means a name which is like a title, a name which indicates a special plot. So, now if you have this solophone, solophone means that what is recited at the end of every chapter. You may have heard in the Vedas.
They have Atar, Siddhi, Adhyaya. They start like that. And then what does it come at the end? Om Tatsaviddhi.
Anyone wants to pull it? Yeah. Okay. Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Sukhi Shetsu and then Vichar Alka is there.
And then Yoga Shastra comes. So, why is it called Yoga Shastra? Because the word Yoga is very prominent. So, the word Yoga comes 78 times in the Bhagavad Gita and it comes in 15 of the 18 chapters.
And apart from that if we include variants like Yogi and Yukta, which are variants of Yoga only, then this word appears 155 times. That means 20% of the Yogas are related with it. So, many Yogis think that Patanjali Yoga Chitra is the primary book.
This is an important book, but Bhagavad Gita is also a significant book. And Bhagavad Gita rather than focussing on one type of Yoga, Shraan Yoga or Shraan Gita, when Patanjali Yoga was born, the Bhagavad Gita focused on the word Yoga and its broadest connotations. It includes various kinds of Yoga and ultimately it reveals Yoginavati Sarvesha.
647 would say that Bhakti is the highest Yoga. So, now this is the overview of the first chapter. Now, I have included whatever structure of overview I have made.
I have included several sources. So, if you have some other study guides, they may give it slightly different with analysis of varying. I have tried to do it in such a way that the logical flow seems to be very clearly and readily for us.
So, basically the first chapter has been called by two names, by different names. Prabhupada calls it Observing Yajna Yoga. So, because it has two sections, some will call it Saiya Niriksha Yoga, that is a Sanskrit Yoga.
And others call it, they should refer to themselves as Arjun Vishada Yoga. Arjun Vishada Yoga. Vishada means lamentation.
So, Arjuna is lamentation. So, both these are the values of the Purva Yajna has these two sections. Now, within this Arjun Vishada Yoga or whatever you want to call it, Niriksha Yoga, between these two major sections, there are further sub-sections.
The first is the preparations for war, that is Purva Yajna evaluates both sides and then as he is going on and is about to get complete, Bhishma blows his conch shell. When he blows his conch shell at that time, as he is going around, Bhishma blows his conch shell and then the war is about to start. At that time, both sides blow their conches in response to Bhishma’s and Hridayana and Vidhara, hearts of the Kauravas get shattered.
So, that will be, there are certain signs of victory of Andhra. And then, after the victory, at least in a way or another, we stake our army, our chariot in between. So, there Prabhupada introduces Krishna.
Although Krishna enters in the 20th verse, in the 14th verse itself, but there the emphasis is not so much on Krishna. But here, how the lord becomes the servant of his devotee, that is in Krishna’s verse. Then, in the second section, which talks about Arjuna’s vishas, there are five reasons for Arjuna’s not fighting.
So, four come in this chapter and one will come in the next chapter. So, the four reasons that are there is, if you see that way, they are different reasons. First is compassion.
Oh, there are so many people, why should I kill them at all? And they are my relatives also. So, then that, the first reason generally, why is it? My relatives are there, how can I kill them? And then why, what is that, what will happen? Oh, how can I enjoy without my relatives? So, that’s how Arjuna goes like this. And then, it’s not just that I can’t enjoy, if I kill my relatives, it’s a sin in the body, it’s a sinful act.
And somebody is sinful act in the next life. In this life, there will be trouble. Because when the men are killed, and the women become unprotected, the women become exploited, and then that leads to unwanted progeny, and then that leads to donation to the perditions.
So, he gives these reasons. And next chapter, Arjuna in 2.6 will give one reason, that is indecision. He says, I can’t, I don’t know what to do.
He says, it’s a Vrindavan katharana, no very good. And because I don’t know what to do, therefore, he says, at least now I’ll not do it. Because he has so many reasons for not fighting, and he doesn’t have any reason for fighting.
We will try to complete the first section. There’s not so much philosophy, so we can go quite fast. Do all of you have Gita with you? So, we’ll recite the verse.
Will you recite it together, or we’ll follow you? Okay, at least the first chapter we can do together. So, I have a particular way in singing it, and the reason I sing it is the only way I can sing. It’s like first line.
So, now the word Rudrashtra has both a negative and positive connotation. The negative connotation is that Dhritarashtra unfolds on to the kingdom. Unfold on Dhritarashtra.
So, it indicates a very attached kingdom. And there are many names in the Quranic literature as well as the history literature which seem to correlate with the characteristics of those personalities. And this makes some sceptical scholars call the thing that these are not historical events, they are mythological creations.
Because when a novelist is writing a novel, then he will ascribe the names according to their characters. But this reasoning, though it may seem sensible, it neglects the fact that these are not mundane historical events. They are divine historical events.
And because of that, actually speaking, the Lord arranges that when these characters are to be given names, through the astrologers involved, through the super soul involved, through the Brahmin involved, he arranges that those characters get the names which are according to their characteristics. And Dhritarashtra does not necessarily mean negative. Dhritarashtra, one who sustains the kingdom, one who strongly holds on to the kingdom.
Similarly, if we have Duryodhana or we have Dushshasana. Now Dushshasana can mean one who has very bad, one who has very bad administration. But it can also mean, Dushshasana can mean, that one who’s shasana is very difficult to overcome.
So, it can also have positive connotations. Duryodhana, Prabhupada explains, is also called as Suyodhana. But even if the name is Suyodhana, it can also mean one who fights, one who is very tough.
Duryodhana, these names, they certainly of the characters indicate their characteristics. But that only indicates that there is a deeper underpinning of the name. Now, the whole theme of the Bhagavad Gita is action.
What should be the right action? Now in one sense, the Srimad Bhagavatam is also asking the same question. But it’s in a different context. The Srimad Bhagavatam is a book which is being spoken to a person who is out to die.
So, the Srimad Bhagavatam’s focus is more on remuneration. Whereas the Bhagavad Gita is spoken to a person who actually wants to renounce the world, but the Lord doesn’t want him to renounce the world. So, you see, the contexts in one sense are opposite.
So, it depends on what is the service that is expected by the Lord of a particular devotee that certain things are spoken. So, now every scripture has a contextual side and a hitter roof. What do you mean by contextual side? That means the conversation between two personalities.
So, the context has to be there. For example, in the fourth chapter when we will come, 4.1 Krishna says that I spoke this knowledge to Sun God. Now when Krishna spoke to the Bhagavad Gita to Sun God, will he speak the verse? Obviously not, he wouldn’t.
This is a contextual part of the Bhagavad Gita. So, according to the context, that will change. Similarly, the Bhagavad Gita has a context and the context is the context of war.
And Shri Prabhupada does say that the war is historical. The war is historical and we don’t deny its historicity. In fact, Shri Prabhupada strongly opposed those who denied its historicity.
At the same time, Shri Prabhupada was not a person who talked about violence itself as the essential nature of the Bhagavad Gita. So, the context of the Bhagavad Gita is historical, but the context is not its essential message. That means there is one Hindu nationalist who says, all the cause of India’s problem is India has not followed the Bhagavad Gita.
That’s correct. But what is the idea of following the Bhagavad Gita? If India had fully followed the Bhagavad Gita, the day Pakistan was created, we would have wiped it out of the map of the world. We should fight and wipe off.
So now, that is not the message of the Bhagavad Gita. Sometimes Kshatriyas may require assertive action, but assertive action of the Kshatriyas is not the message of the Bhagavad Gita. So, the battlefield context is important, but it is not the essence of the Bhagavad Gita.
And you see, very interestingly, that Arjuna will be told in the second chapter repeatedly, fight, fight, third chapter, fourth chapter, fifth chapter, several times fight, fight will come. But as we move forward, practically speaking, in the twelfth chapter, from twelfth chapter onwards, there is no reference to fighting. In the twelfth chapter, till the end of the Bhagavad Gita, there is only one reference in the eighteenth chapter, where Krishna tells Arjuna indirectly that if one who fights is a consciousness, even if he kills, he will not be killed.
But fight, there is no instruction like that from twelfth chapter to eighteenth chapter. And even when Krishna completes the instruction, he doesn’t say Arjuna fight. What is this? And then Arjuna also doesn’t say I will fight.
He will say, I will do what you tell me. So, the essential message of the Bhagavad Gita is not to fight. The essential message of the Bhagavad Gita is to harmonise with God, to harmonise with God through devotion.
And in Arjuna’s case, that harmonisation with devotion involved fighting a war. So, there are two extreme approaches. One approach is that the whole Bhagavad Gita’s battlefield setting is entirely metaphorical and it is unimportant.
And the other is the Bhagavad Gita’s battlefield setting is its essential message. One should fight. That is not the message.
The essential message is that we should surrender to the will of the Lord. And action, how one should act, that is the essential conflict before Arjuna. And that is what is signalled even through the starting verse, dharmakshetre kurukshetre.
Now, dharmakshetra indicates that there are blessings to be had in that place, in the holy place. Now, in the Vedas, it says, Sattva Brahma talks about how? Kurukshetra yajanamsthana. That is the place for yajna.
And even in Mahabharata, it is talked about as a holy place. So, Kurukshetra is known to be a very holy place. And Parashurama himself performed the atonement at Kurukshetra in the seventh panchakra after killing the Kshatriyas for 21 generations.
So, dharmakshetra kurukshetra. So, now what is happening? In one sense, the blessings of the sacred place. But at the same time, there is a challenge, there is a struggle.
What is going to happen? So, now Arjuna, Rudraksha’s question is somewhat indicative of his mindset in two ways. First is what Srila Prabhupada explains in the Parpur, that, So, he says, my sons and Pandavas. All the Pandavas are also his own family members, but he is separating them.
But more important is the thrust of the question. What did they do? So, it’s as, as I was saying yesterday in Chandrapi’s class, isn’t it that if somebody comes down for prasadam, sits down and the plate is kept in front of him, chants Mahaprasade, and then what did he do? Then is there a question to ask? If everybody is hungry, the food is there in front, and then what will it be? That’s natural. But Kimakurvata, why? Because Rudraksha is a very, very ambivalent character in the past, in the Mahabharata.
Ambivalent means one who has conflicting emotions at different times. So, ambivalent means valence, valency like velocity movement. Ambivalent means he is moving in every way.
In this way, sometimes he goes towards virtue, sometimes he goes towards vice. Of course, most of the time he goes towards vice. It is action.
Sometimes he is contemplating things, maybe I should go towards virtue. So, on one side, he feels that it is a holy place that will affect the Pandavas favourably. And if it affects them favourably, then they will win, although their army is smaller.
On the other hand, it’s a holy place that may affect my son. My son is unholy. So, if the holy place influences it, then he may give up his unholy intention and he says, I will not fight.
Therefore, Kimakurvata, what did they do in the last? So, here Sanjaya, you know the word Sanjaya. Now, Sanjaya response, right? What is that? As we know, Sanjaya had been given a mystical vision by the Lord, by Vyasadeva. This is the vision once when he showed the Vishwaroop in the palace at Hastinam.
But now when Vyasadeva came, Vyasadeva said, I can give you also a vision. Yudhishthira said, I could not see my son throughout my life. Why should I see their death? He actually knows the reason, the cause of the Sangha, the cause of their religion, they are going to die.
But then he says, okay, I will give the vision to Sanjaya. And Sanjaya sees to that. So, let us recite.
Yudham duryodhana sthala, acharyam upasangamya, raja vacinam apravit. Hrishtva to Pandava, he comes. Hrishtva on scene.
Pandava, he comes. Military formation is on. So, what happened? Yudham, military arrangements.
Acharyam upasangamya, he went to the Acharyam. Raja vacinam apravit. Now, interestingly, Duryodhana is never referred to as Raja in the whole Mahabharata.
Because he is atmosphere Raj. He is the Rudraksha phenomenal king. Then why is he being used to refer to as Raja? Actually, Valdivtya Ujjain explains that what is going to be shown in the future verses is his expertise at Raja neti.
And one who is expert at Raja neti is a Raja. So, he is used in that sense. And if you look at Shri Prabhupada’s translation, Shri Prabhupada uses this word for both people.
O king. And he says, that means Sanjaya is referring to Dhritarashtra as O king. And he refers to even Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana’s sentence as king Duryodhana.
Right to his teacher, he spoke the following words. So, then why did he go there upasangamya? Because the situation was so serious. And he realises that, now Duryodhana’s diplomacy in these two verses, he knows that his commander, his teacher, they are all similar to him.
And he also knows that their hearts are not in the battle. Their hearts are not in the battle because they love the Pandavas. That’s why he wants to win their side, win them to his side.
So, let’s go for it. So, Tavasishena is sort of sarcastically taunting Dronacharya. What is he saying? That Vashi, just see Vashi.
Actually speaking, Dronacharya has eyes, he can see. What is that Vashi? He wants to emphasise. Just see how extraordinary is their army formation.
And he is taunting Drupada Puttareya. Drupada as we know had a long standing enemy with Dronacharya. And he says Drupada Puttareya, and although he was their enemy, he accepted him as his disciple.
So, Prabhupada talks about Dronacharya’s impartiality. That he accepted the person who was going to kill him as his own disciple. Now, sometimes people say that Eklavya was so much unjustly treated by Dronacharya and Arjuna together.
That is because Dronacharya had promised Arjuna that he will become the greatest archer. So, when Eklavya threatened to become the greatest archer, Dronacharya very selfishly asked him to give his thumb. Now, if you look at this whole story, it is the subsequent incident itself.
Dronacharya, Eklavya belonged to Anishadha community. And Anishadha community was known to be filled with anti-social elements who would always disrupt the Kuru kingdom. And they would not pay taxes and they would be their travellers.
And they were anti-social elements. So, naturally, Dronacharya, because he was the priest of the Kauravas and because he was a virtuous Brahmana, he did not want to empower anti-social elements with his archery skills. So, he told him that I will not teach anyone who is not a Kshatriya.
That was just an external reason. You don’t tell a person directly his bad qualities. You are anti-spiritual, so I will not teach you.
It is like a policy. There may be some further reasons involved also in it. Then, Eklavya makes his own FPG of Dronacharya and he sometimes hides behind the trees or on the tree and sees how Dronacharya is training his students.
And both by that observation and by his own practise, he gains extraordinary expertise. Then, when one day his company experts come to see him in the forest, at that time a dog comes and barks. So, he just shoots arrows and hits with the mouth of a dog.
But a dog can’t do anything. At that time, Arjuna has gone out for a walk in the forest and he sees this dog coming along. And Arjuna sees this, firstly, he is impressed.
It’s a remarkable feat of archery. But at the same time, the remarkable feat is done in a pathetic way. A dog is a really harmless creature.
And there is no need to seek out the mouth of a dog like this. Then they go and find out that it is Eklavya. And Eklavya sees Dronacharya, he comes and offers obeisances.
When he offers obeisances, at that time, Eklavya tells Dronacharya, I am your disciple and I have learned this expertise from you by your practise. Dronacharya didn’t give the Eklavya the Eklavya. The same person who had come and gave the Eklavya, he should not get educated.
And he thinks deeply. See, when a person is inimically minded, evil minded, he is empowered to do far greater evil. Just like even now, the world is concerned that some of the Islamic countries should not get nuclear weapons.
Because often these countries are run by religious fanatics. Not that they are run by religious fanatics, but the religious fanatics have a lot of power over there. And if the Eklavya falls in those hands, then it can cause them.
So, power will be in the hands of irresponsible, hot-headed, or anxious people, stupid angels. So therefore, he tells Eklavya, please be with me, that’s my Guru Dakshinadeva. And Eklavya gives his Eklavya.
Because Eklavya is a great disciple. And he gives his Eklavya. Yes, certainly he is a great disciple.
He sacrificed his life. But if he was truly such a great disciple, why didn’t he follow Dronacharya Vaishnavi for the first time? Dronacharya told him, Dude, you are not qualified to be a Kshatriya. Qualification is a two term.
Confidence and that is character. Guna and Karma. So, Karma is the competence, Guru is the character.
So, he has the competence of a Kshatriya. He does not have the character of a Kshatriya. What do you mean by Guna and Karma like that? He is like a person’s ex-cursor.
So, he has the competence of a Kshatriya. But if a person does not have the compassion of a doctor, but he has the greed of a businessman, then what for small problems did they do a Kshatriya? He will charge a lot of money, and sometimes while stitching his stomach, he will steal an organ also. So, for a person to be a good professional, he has to have competence and character.
So, there is no doubt that Eklavya had the competence. And that he was able to perform. To get that competence by his hard work, that is to his credit.
But what did Dronacharya solve that he did not know? Yes or no? Somebody who was deprived of his glory. Actually, he might have got some glory. But he might have got a lot greater bad karma by misusing it.
Therefore, he was told to give it. But if Dronacharya was really so self-centred, and it is my word that has to be fulfilled, so Arjuna has to become the greatest. If he was really so self-centred, then surely he would not have empowered somebody who would kill him.
So, here we see similarity. Actually, the whole story is that after Drupada is defeated by Arjuna, and then Drupada feels very humiliated. And he does the Yajna.
And in the Yajna, the whole purpose of the Yajna is to get a son who will kill Dronacharya. And Dronacharya is not born normally. Actually, he comes out of the fire.
As soon as he comes out of the fire, with a chariot, with Arjuna, and he just starts exhibiting his will-free thoughts. And then the Brahmins say, there is no Rahuti that you can get. Just please give me a daughter.
And it is interesting that although Arjuna has defeated Drupada, Drupada does not have any anger towards Arjuna. Because this is Arjuna’s destiny. Dronacharya sent him.
But Arjuna is so virtuous. Please give me a daughter, who will give me a wife. And he can drop a girl still.
Krishna is born to kill Dronacharya. But still, Dronacharya gives him education. Dronacharya is level-minded.
But here, in this particular context, I am level-minded, which has been emphasised by Dronacharya. I am saying, it is so important that you empower your enemy, your own enemy, by making a decision. Now, please don’t be level-minded.
Now, listen to this. Now, you have to fight seriously. Now, we leave them in this place that Dronacharya says mentally, this army is so small, who is in it? No, their army is 11 akshayas, and their army is only 7 akshayas.
So, in response to that, Dronacharya says, the army is small, but they have played war games. There are practises in the war games. So, here, I am very valorous on it.
They are very powerful warriors, who have very big and powerful bow and arrows. So, actually, when he lists the people, on the opposite side, he doesn’t count Bheem and Arjuna. There are others who are similar to Bheem and Arjuna.
Because they are so brave and so aware, there is no need to show them. There are others who can be Bheem, Arjuna, Samandhi. There are others also who are like him.
So, Nirdhana is Satyaki. Satyaki is also a disciple of Drona, but he is a student of Arjuna. Satyaki is Drona.
When Arjuna would be in Dwaraka, Arjuna would have called Satyaki, who is Arjuna’s teacher. He is also a prominent warrior on the side of Pandavas. As we know, on 13th day, when Arjuna penetrates into the Kaurava ranks, the death of Arjuna, and that time, Satyaki goes behind and persists.
Now, we know that when the Dwaraka forces were divided, Krishna came to the Pandavas’ side. And the whole army went to Duryodhana’s side. So, now, actually speaking, the commander was Krutavarman.
So, Krutavarman was the only Dwaraka hero to go to the Kaurava side. And none of the other Kaurava heroes fought. Balaramji said, I will not fight because both of you are my relatives.
So, I will not fight. And following Balaramji, everybody will fight. Satyaki and Arjuna also said, I will fight on your side.
In fact, Satyaki went with Arjuna as a Shantipura. He had gone before the war. So, from the Dwaraka warriors, they were all very formidable.
But only these two were there apart from Krishna. Who would not fight. So, Varmananda also said, Satyaki on his side.
And Yudhanu, Virata. So, Virata has been known as the Matsyendresh, the place where the Pandavas stayed during the Aghyatmas. And Maharatha, they are all Maharathas.
So, what is the Maharatha? Maharatha is a person who can fight 10,000 warriors. So, there are different Maharatha, Maharathi, Athirathi, Rathi and Ardharathi. So, Maharathi one can fight 10,000 warriors.
Athirathi one can fight 1,000-10,000 warriors. Rathi one can fight one warrior. Ardharathi one cannot fight even one warrior.
So, at the start of the battle, when Duryodhana asks Vishwa to assess the strength of both sides. Vishwa cannot tolerate the arrogance of Karna. And he feels actually it is only because of Karna that Duryodhana has become so arrogant and is ready to challenge the Kauravas.
Challenging the Pandavas. Otherwise, he feels that if Karna had not been there, then Duryodhana would not have been so overconfident. So, just to taunt Karna, he says that actually because he has lost his Kavach, he has lost his Kundal, so now he has become arrogant.
And he becomes so enraged on hearing that. You are always minimising me. And if I fight and I gain victory, you are the commander, you get the credit.
Because you have discredited me, so I won’t want to give you any credit. Therefore, I will not fight as long as you are a player on the battlefield. Samaharatha.
Then first he describes this warrior, then he goes forward and describes other warriors. Good. So, these were the two warriors who guarded Arjuna’s wheels.
When Arjuna entered on the 13th day into the army battlefield. Actually, especially Mahabharata was there. Then, if the enemy can just destroy the wheels of their chariot, then they will be immobilised.
It’s easier to attack. So, for Mahabharata, they would have other warriors who just guard their wheels. So, they have them.
So, these two were guarding the wheels of Arjuna. But Arjuna after some time went so fast that they were guarding the wheels, but the wheels only disappeared. They just went straight away.
But they are powerful warriors. And now Kashi Raj is still in Iman. Kashi Raja will be referred again later also when Kanchis are known.
And if they are all good people, you know. And then there is Pungnava. Pungnava means what? Pungnava actually means bull.
So, in the Vedic tradition, the bull is considered to be the most powerful among the domestic enemies. And the lion or the tiger is termed as the most powerful among the wild animals. Lion, tiger or elephant.
So, somebody is to be compared to somebody very powerful. Then Pungnava, Narapungnava are the bull among men, lion among men. Purushabhyag comes in the 18th chapter.
There is one of the warriors there. You study? They are different. They are all different warriors.
Now, interestingly, the Mayavadis write their commentaries. You just skip the first chapter. Because they say, ultimately, everything is mythological.
Why so many norms are required? But actually, it’s not mythological. It’s solitary. And all these are characters in history.
So, even learning about them is beautiful. So, Prudhamanyu. Prudhamanyu is another powerful warrior.
We will come to him again later. Now, Saubhadra is who? Now, Draupadi is five sons of Draupadi. So, Vishuddha Kirti, Vishuddha Karma, Vishuddha Dara, like that.
And one more is? Five of them are there. Draupadi talks about it in the first chapter. So, they are there.
And now, Pradyumna Chau, refers to Draupadi Yash Chau. So, he is talking about second generation, younger generation. They are all great warriors.
And now, after describing this. So, in one level, why is he describing this? He wants to actually incite Dronacharya to fight. You hear that? It’s not a small army, Dronacharya is already a warrior in India.
But he starts thinking, can I fight more? I am too much. I have to get discouraged. I have to blow their mind.
So, they could also be encouraged. And he also thinks, Dronacharya doesn’t think I am afraid of him. He doesn’t think I am afraid of all of them.
And he shouldn’t think that, if I have come to him, I am dependent on him. Although I am dependent on him, he shouldn’t think like that. I have many other warriors, who also I can attend to.
Therefore, he says, now, for your information, I will tell you who all are nice. Sanyartham means for the information. Sanyartham means now.
Actually, the different warriors had their own symbols. So, I will tell about different warriors. Asma, Vishishta, I will tell only Vishishta.
I am his special warrior. Tani, Jyotama, Vishkottama will be the best among the brahmanas. Actually, later on, when Dhrishtadyumna kills Dronacharya, at that time, Arjuna is angry with him.
Why do you kill him like that? When he was meditating, he was receptive. So, at that time, Dhrishtadyumna says, what kind of brahmana are you? A brahmana is one who has to fight in a war. The very fact that he fought in a war indicates that he has given up his brahmanical duty.
And because he is a Kshatriya, he was high on immorality, so he could be killed any way that he wants. In fact, here, Dhrishtadyumna wants to flatter and incite Dronacharya. So, Dhrishtadyumna says, Jyotama, you are the best of the brahmanas.
For your sake, I’ll inform you. And now, he sees the place. So, now he is thinking, how do I speak first? Because the official commander is Bhishma.
And Bhishma is still with Drona. But, he actually stands right in front of Drona. He thinks, how can I glorify Bhishma before Drona lies right in front of him? And he will feel offended.
But then, if I glorify Drona first, this is no problem because Drona also is a brahmana. So, that’s why I’ll go Bhavan-Bhishma. Now, interestingly, Karna is not there in the battlefield.
But, Karna is there very much in the mind of Dhrishtadyumna. He says, Karna is on my side. So, although he is not there on the battlefield, he says, Karna, sure.
Because he is very much confident about Karna’s commitment. He is not so confident about Bhishma and Drona’s commitment. Therefore, after Bhishma and Drona, he says, Karna, at least, what did I do? Actually, there are other people who are much more similar to Dhrishtadyumna.
One of them is Krupa. Krupa is actually the same generation as Drona. I’ll add an epithet.
Krupa is always victorious. We’ll try to classify him. So, actually, before the war happens, we know that Dhrishtadyumna goes to all the Kuru elders and he tells them, he asks Bhishma, please tell me how I can kill you.
So, Bhishma tells that, as long as I am fighting, Bhishma says that, the time for my death has not come. When the time comes, I’ll ask you. You can come and ask me again, sometime later.
Dronacharya goes and asks, Dronacharya says that, as long as I am with my raised weapons fighting, nobody is going to kill me. But, when, on hearing the disagreeable news from a trustworthy source, I lay down my weapons, then you’ll be able to kill me. And then he goes to Krupacharya.
And Krupacharya says, you cannot kill me, go ahead and win the war. If you cannot kill me, how can you win the war? Actually, Krupacharya cannot be killed, but he doesn’t know celestial weapons. Celestial weapons, he has a special expertise.
One has to go to the Guru and get that knowledge. Because Krupacharya doesn’t have celestial level knowledge, so although he cannot be defeated, he cannot bring victories. So, that’s why Kripa stays on till the end of the war.
And Kripa has never made the command although he is much more senior. In the first 10 days, Bhishma is the commander. Next 5 days, Drona is the commander.
In the next 7 days, Karna is the commander. 18th day, Shalya is the commander. 18th night, Ashwathama is the commander.
That night only, he enthrones him as the commander and he goes with him. That’s the night massage. So, now Krupacharya is the king.
And then, Ashwathama and Drona are five good friends. Now, Karna is not a very formidable warrior. And, why does he still include them among his ranks? Because, he is a little doubtful about the coming of Karna.
Then, Draupadi was made his robe. At that time, Draupadi was beseeching the whole assembly saying that if my husband had already lost himself, how could he have stayed free after that? Then, she asked, nobody could answer. And he asked repeatedly.
And then, Vishnu finally says, actually, your question is very complex. Because, if somebody has lost himself, then he cannot put on stage anything else. But actually, a woman is always considered to be the, a wife is always considered to be the property of the husband.
Therefore, considering both these sides, I am confused. I cannot say. So, then finally, when she is repeating again and again at that time, Vikarna says, you know, oh, warriors, here is a lady in distress asking us for the, what is the rule of law? The verdict.
If we stay silent, we will all be immediately, we will be culpable. Please tell what is the decision. And then, nobody speaks.
And then, he says, if none of you are going to speak, I will speak. And he says that there are four vices. When Kshatriyas come under influence of those vices, they do berserk things.
They do crazy things. And therefore, whatever they do under the control of these vices, should never be taken seriously. And what are those four vices? This is womanization, then hunting, gambling, and intoxication.
So, basically, the four regulatory principles. So, he says, now, Yudhishthira actually stakes everything in the fever of gambling. And therefore, it should not be seen.
And he says, leave alone saying that Draupadi was not the daughter of Gaurav, actually whatever Yudhishthira has lost in the gambling match, it should all be returned to him. So, when he speaks, everybody applauds. And Duryodhana is enraged.
At that time, Karna jumps up. And Karna says, he uses NASA soldiers, silence, silence. And then he speaks that there are many improper things I have seen in this assembly, but Vikarna’s speech is the most improper.
Disrobing of Draupadi is not improper. Dragging a lady in her period in a single cloth is not improper. He says, nobody forced Yudhishthira to gamble.
He voluntarily gambled. And he had a chance to win Draupadi over. He did not stop anything.
So, therefore, she has been one pair. And then, of course, Vikarna doesn’t reply to that. And Karna, because Duryodhana is there and especially because Dhritarashtra sides with Duryodhana, so, Karna’s opposition becomes useless.
Vikarna is one of the brothers of Duryodhana, among our hundred brothers. So, he was the least vicious among them. that’s why Duryodhana is really suspicious, that he is really committed to me.
And that’s why he is flattering him. Yes, you are also one of my main maharathis. Vikarnashtra.
Shatama Vikarnashtra. Now, actually, the Kauri Kshatriya force, before the war starts, defection is allowed. Defection means going from one side to the other side.
That is allowed. So, just before the war starts, Yudhishthira marches forward and he says, all of you Kshatriyas who are assembled here, you know that my cause is righteous. And therefore, if any of you would like to come on the side of righteousness, I will welcome with open arms.
And at that time, one person comes out. And that is Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira is the half brother of the Kauravas.
Gandhari was pregnant for a long time. At that time, Yudhishthira has to cohabit with the maidservant. And who that Kaurasan? Yudhishthira.
And Yudhishthira comes out from Pandavas’ side and Yudhishthira welcomes him. And Yudhishthira says, come, come, O Yudhishthira. At least, there will be one person remaining to do the filial rites of the Kauravas.
That’s what actually happens eventually. Yudhishthira does the filial rites. So, that’s why at Saumala, they do plattering with the Deva Vikarna.
And in Saumala, Yudhishthira is the immature. And Saumala is who? Saumala. Saumala is a very powerful Deva.
And his son, Yudhishthira. So, both of them are killed by Karthikeya eventually. And Saumala is the father of Saumala, the son.
That is Yudhishthira. Then he goes forward. Then he says, there are many other solos.
Angi, Jibah, Varshura, Madarthe, Deptha, Jeevithaha, Naana, Shashtra, Praharana, Sarve Yudhavisharadaha, Anje, there are many other solos. So, he gives three qualifications to the warriors. Shura, they are Yudhavisharadaha, they are very competent in warfare, and Madarthe, Deptha, Jeevithaha.
They are ready to lay down their life for my sake. That’s what he intends to say. But Deptha is actually past tense.
So, he says, for my sake, they have sacrificed their lives. So, for my sake, they have sacrificed their lives. So, actually, Saraswati Devi speaks to him and makes him speak what is going to happen to him.
And in the 11th chapter, the 33rd verse when Lord Krishna has just explained the Vishwaroopad, which he has seen, Kaalaroopad, which is, mayai vaite nihata who do not believe. By my arrangement, all of them are already killed. So, that arrangement which Krishna has made to kill all the Kauravas, that arrangement Krishna speaks through the mouth of Urdhava Deva.
Madarthe, Deptha, Jeevithaha For my sake, they are all going to die. He thinks they are so committed to me. So, indirectly, again, he is sort of talking to me.
Are you committed like them? Yes, I am. And then, finally, he offers a comparative verse. Aparyaptam talasmakam Balambhishmabhirakshitam Paryaptam So, it is a meditation.
Balambhimabhirakshitam So, Aparyaptam, Paryaptam This is one of the confusing verses in the Vedanta. And here you will encounter things which will come repeatedly in the Vedanta. With a different commentary by the different Acharyas.
So, here Aparyaptam Now, in Sanskrit, when the prefix A comes, you know there is a grammar where it is called prefix and suffix. So, fix means to add. Pre means before.
So, prefix means that it is added before. So, sufficient, insufficient. Paryaptam, Aparyaptam.
It is a prefix. Suffixes, we will talk about later. Decide, decision.
Like that. So, the prefix A can be used for cancellation or it can be used for emphasis. So, durlabha sudurlabha So, here, durlabha means rare, sudurlabha means extremely rare.
The prefix can add to the emphasis. hmm There, Aparyaptam So, if Paryaptam means sufficient, Aparyaptam meaning insufficient. If Paryaptam means measurable, Aparyaptam meaning measurable.
So, here, Dallavidyabhuchana, Ramanicharya and Sridhar Swami, they all use the translation that Prabhupada uses. That is, Aparyaptam says, Aparyaptam Aparyaptam Prabhupada explains that actually my senses, my strength is measurable. Why? Because Bhishma is far, far more powerful, far, far more experienced, far, far more skilled.
So, therefore, Bhishma is much, much more likely to bring victory. But Chakravarti path goes into the heart. And he says that, I can be a warrior’s strength depends not just on his skill, but on his will.
So, the warrior’s strength depends not just on his skill, but on his will. So, from the skill point of view, Bhishma is much more skilled. But from the will point of view, Bhishma doesn’t really have the will to fight.
Whereas, Prima has all the will to fight. Imagine waiting for 14 minutes. When will the battle begin? So, from the will point of view, Chakravarti path says that actually Bhishma and Prima’s will is far greater.
And therefore, my strength is insufficient. So, both meanings are valid from different contexts. There is Tatva and there is Prasa.
So, from the logical context point of view, Bhishma is superior. But from the inner motivation point of view, objective strength point of view, objective skill point of view, Bhishma is superior. But from the objective will point of view, Prima is superior.
And therefore, they are not superior. So, in our sampradaya, now let’s talk about the previous commentaries. The first commentary that we have on the Bhagavad Gita as of now exists to be Shankaracharya’s commentary.
7th century. And Sridhar Swami wrote a commentary, Subodhini. That is one of the most prominent commentaries.
Ramanucharya wrote Itabhashyam. Mathacharya wrote a commentary on the Gauravita also. But not exactly a commentary.
He commented on several verses. He did not comment on all the verses. Then, in our sampradaya, the first acharya to comment was LX Vishwanath.
He wrote two books called Sarartha, the same name. Let me fix his starting on there. Sarartha Varshini Tika is his Bhagavad Gita commentary.
Sarartha Varshini Tika is his Bhagavatam commentary. And after him, Lalit Devji wrote a commentary called Bhagavata Varshini. Jiva Goswami did not comment on the Bhagavata directly.
Because Jiva Goswami’s vision was more to specifically establish Gauravita. So he wrote Bhagavata Sandarbha and other books like that. Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote two commentaries on the Bhagavata.
But they are not exactly commentaries. Basically, when he read Vishwanath Chakraborty’s commentary, he translated that, made that available widely, and he commented further on a few points. So that commentary is called as a Sikranjan.
And when he read Baldev Devji’s commentary, he made that available also in translation. That is called as Vidvatranjan. So, a Sikranjan, Vidvatranjan.
Prasikranjan. That is, this is sub-commentary on Vishwanath Chakraborty’s commentary. Vidvatranjan is a sub-commentary on the commentary of Baldev Devji.
Now, when Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s commentary is currently available, it is available in a combined form. So, when we study the Gauravita, we will primarily focus on Ravanchala’s commentary and Chakraborty-Param Baldev Devji’s. Maybe in 9.29, I will talk about Thakura’s commentary.
That is the main place where he talks about, he talks about quite interestingly. So, now how is it that Prabhupada did not comment on the Brahma Samhita because Srimad Spiritual Master has commented on it. Of course, the Brahma Samhita that we have was originally written by Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
And Bhaktisanta Thakura called it, he translated it and further appended some comments to it. But whichever way, Prabhupada said, I will not comment on it. But then how is it that Baldev Devji comments on the same book as Chakraborty Bala’s commentary? Interestingly, Baldev Devji does not even refer most of the time to Chakraborty Bala’s commentary.
That is because the purpose is arbitrary. The purpose is Nishant Raghav is actually relishing the Bhaktivinoda and sharing that relish with others. Whereas Baldev Devji is trying to establish the Gauravya Samhita.
We know historically that Baldev Devji and different Gauravya Samhita are from the Ramayana. All of them have a story. It happened in Jaipur when the Radhagopin meetings were separated.
So at that time the Srimad Bhagavatam was not accepted by the Ramayana as an actual commentary. So Baldev Devji had to write his own commentary on it. Now traditionally in Vedanta itself a Prasthanatraya has to be commented on for a Sampradaya to be considered as organised.
Prasthanatraya has, do you remember? The three principal books. When we comment on them, then our Sampradaya becomes authentic. His Bhagavad Gita, Gita Shastra and Ram Sutra.
So that is So he commented on all three so that our Sampradaya could become established properly. So because his focus was on establishing the Bhaktiva, that’s why he commented differently. So both of them are internally coherent but they have different ways of looking at the Bhagavad Gita.
So Baldev Devji’s way of looking at the Bhagavad Gita is quite distinctive and that would require a separate interpretation. So we will only take a few points from his Bhagavad Gita commentary. But mostly we will be following, as far as the flow of the Bhagavad Gita is concerned, we will be following mostly Krishnaji Babu’s synopsis.
Now let’s move on. Again he says So now he starts thinking, actually I have glorified these people, rather it should not be that I am left alone. All of you are there.
You are also very important. Please, what is your role? Yes, Vishwa is important but you know you should treat people, you should not have to Vishwa gets attacked from the side or from behind and then he gets wounded. So all of you have to put in Vishwa.
So in this way he is recognising they are important and he is also very important to Vishwa. And as he starts thinking, you know this must be the message going on. I have to tolerate this law of my life now.
Let’s start the action. So what does he do? He starts doing this function. Shankhanda Pratapavan Sanjanaya Narasimha Although he is interrupted, he speaks interrupted but still he is happy.
Vishwa is ready to fight now. Sanjanaya Narasimha He loves Shiva. So singhana very loud lines he speaks and he blows his conch shell.
Naturally he blows his conch shell with the command. So when he blows, the others start doing. So these are all different instruments which are moving.
And tumulo, tumultous sound that is there which comes up. And when the Pandavas see this, they also start doing. So now for the first time the focus is shifting on the Pandavas directly.
So interestingly when he is assessing, he forces Duryodhana does not give him Krishna because he thinks that if Krishna is not fighting, how is he going to come? But he doesn’t understand that without fighting Krishna can do everything. So that’s why he doesn’t even give him Krishna. But then when Sanjana is speaking, he goes directly to Krishna.
Just like in So just like in when the hero enters, he is going to come in a car. First they show the wheels coming, car on brakes and then and then maybe the hero puts out his legs so he shows his shoes and then the camera moves and then you see his face. So it’s like that.
Similarly, first you show the chariot. So the wheels of the chariot. Spotless white horse.
Magnificent chariot is there. And that Pandavas chamber is Mahadeva and Pandava is Krishna and Arjuna. And what do they do? Both of them don’t know their transcendental consciousness.
Now Krishna’s concept is that Arjuna is transcendental because he is a devotee. And as we saw here, is the entry of Krishna. Here it’s not specifically described in the verse that Krishna is the chariot here.
That will become evident in the 22nd Pratikartha verse as well. Krishna’s chariot. But we know from the context of Mahabharata.
So Krishna enters the Mahabharata as a chariot here. Sartham Arjunasya. Now, as soon as although Krishna is the abhishek commander of Pandava army, Arjuna is the effective commander.
So Arjuna blocks everyone’s conscience. Panchajanyam shinkeshu Devadatta menanjaya Amdavindatnam Mahashankam Bhimakarmabhupodara So Panchajanyam Vishikeshu Vishikeshu Arjuna Devadatta Mahashankam Bhima is big inside and has a great conscience. So Bhimakarmabhupodara huge appetite he has.
Now when Dhristadyumna is saying by Drupada to see who are these brahmana who have actually taken our who have actually won our daughter Go and see where are they going? Where are they staying? So Dhristadyumna goes sneakily behind him and he finds that he goes into the window of the window to be inside and there Kunti is instructing Drupada how to serve the Pandavas. How to serve whom? Drupada is here already know how to serve whom. I have served so many times but Kunti said no, there is a special way to serve.
So all the food that is there, divide into two parts. One half you have to believe and the other half divide among all of us. I didn’t know that.
So Bhimakarmabhupodara used to eat a lot but not just eat a lot, used to do a lot of work also. Sometimes devotees would tell Prabhupada, you know Prasad is so nice we eat a lot, what to do? He used to eat a lot but work a lot. So he didn’t sleep.
So Bhimakarmabhupoda when they were in the Vanvas first time, Kunti when they left Varanasi at that time Kunti felt very tired. So at that time Bhimakarmabhupoda carried not just Kunti but all the Pandavas on his arms and shoulders and just ran through it. So you know people do Karma, people are very powerful in doing all this.
So then Anantavijayanam Raja Kuntiputroni Bhishtira Nakula Sahadevasya Subhoshyamai Pushpaka Ashischa Parinishvasha Shikhandi Chalaharatha Trishtha Dhruvnamiratasya Satyagischa Parajita Drupada Drupade So here first time Yudhishthira had come into the picture. So Drupada did not think Yudhishthira to be much of a person. She did not have the Yudhishthira in this.
Neither as a warrior nor as a comparer or an enemy. But here it comes. Anantavijayanam Raja Kuntiputroni Bhishtira explains that each of these warriors their conches are also different.
Why? Because each of them had, these warriors had different conches. They had one main conch but they had many conches. So which conch they are using at this particular time, those were the conches they were using.
And Yudhishthira is not a Raja. He is not his cornered enemy. This is the word Raja is used because he has performed the Rajasuya Yajna.
Because of that he is called as a Raja over here. And then Satyagischa Parajita Here there is a play of words. So Chakaparajita over here means undecorated.
Or it could be Chapatrajita. That means decorated with a charm. That is decorated with a bow.
Rajata is decorated in this very form. So this is completely a few verses. So it goes on.
So at that time hearts get shattered. Why? Because that is only a few ships. Chances there for us to win.
And then what happens? Everybody is ready to start fighting. Something unexpected happens over here. Arjuna decides that I want to observe.
Athavivastitan Vishwa So Athavivastitan Vishwa Athavivastitan Kapi Raja. Raja means flag. Kapi means monkey.
So now Arjuna had a Every warrior has his own standard with a flag on top of his chariot which indicates who he is. So Arjuna had a flag of a monkey. With a symbol on his chariot or that of a monkey.
And Hanuman for his cause entered into the kingdom. He entered into the kingdom. That’s why in the Kaurava that monkey appeared alive.
It means alive. So Hanuman was not just only there he was also raw. Hanuman was not an ordinary monkey.
He was a raw horse. He was a terrestrial monkey. Where is this coming from? So Hanuman would strike with terror and hearts of the Kauravas by his weapons.
So this is also another sign of the people of Kauravas. Because Hanuman was on his side and he contributed to the victory of Dwaraka. So now what does Arjuna speak? Arjuna is Arjuna … … … … … … … … So why is he asking like this? Because at one level he is a Yogi.
I want to see who has come to fight with me. Then he starts thinking, why? Because I want to know. Since the government is so big, who actually wants to assist him? Pandavas are hoping till the last moment that the war will not happen.
That somehow the war can be won. He wants to know who are the people who have come to assist this? Evil minded people. Yes.
He did not like Durbuddhi, but no other guy had become Durbuddhi like that closest to him. So I want to see. Yes, take me inside.
And then, now Sanjay comes back. He is going to describe what happened. He put the best charioteer, what was it? Rishi Keshav and Guna Keshav.
Now Guna Keshav, Prabhupada explains in one verse. Conquered sleep. Vishwamitra has given a very beautiful meaning of this.
Since Guna means jaggery. Jaggery is very nutritious. Guna to Isha.
Sukha is Brahma. Isha is Shiva. So Guna to Isha.
Guna is Vishnu. So it is the one who gives the nectar to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. So how does Arjuna give nectar to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva? He says Arjuna has to take great care of him.
And because of his devotion, Krishna has become his charioteer. And by seeing this Bhakta Vatsalya Kalam, these great Devatas, they also feel the flower of nectar in their eyes. This is how he is Guna Keshav.
So then, Don’t you like that you are here? And we take this particular chariot in between. And Krishna is going to find one of Vishnu and one of Vishwamitra. Arjuna says, I want to see Rikshedi.
Oh shit! Oh see, I want to see. What do you want? See, you have come here to find. You have not come here to see.
But you want to see. And we will see what happens. Because of this danger of seeing.
Don’t you just call him Guru Gupta in the previous verse? In the next verse, you call him Sobhan Navan. Arjuna says, they are all foolish. They are all married.
So all perception changes. We will discuss this in tomorrow’s class. Thank you very much.
In the Bhagavad Gita, three verses. Hare Krishna.