Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2 Verses 10,11,12,13
Verses 2.10–2.13 explained
Introduction
Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjun. This dialogue begins just before the war of Mahabharata is about to begin. On seeing his family in opposition, Arjun is gripped with fear and confusion and wants to run away, but Krishna convinces him to fight and tells Arjun why he today raise his weapons to kill his brothers and relatives in this war.
Bhagavad Gits teaches us how to live life!
The core message of the Bhagavad Gita is considered very powerful for it can fundamentally transform the way you live your life. Bhagavad Gita is also called a summary of Vendantic Knowledge or simply ancient Knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita is crystallized form of the Hindu thought.
Bhagavad Gita is 700 verses long, spread across 18 chapters. Here we will understand Verses 10, 11, 12 and 13 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Verse 2.10
तमुवाच हृषीकेश: प्रहसन्निव भारत |
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वच: || 2.10||
tam-uvacha hrishikeshah prahasanniva bharata
senayorubhayor-madhye vishidantam-idam vachah
Translation
Hey Dhritarashtra, the descendant of Bharat, at that time, in between the two standing armies, Krishna said to a grieving Arjun, as if laughing, these words.
Verse 2.11
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे |
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिता: || 2.11||
Shri bhagavan uvacha
ashochyan-anvashochas-tvam prajna-vadansh cha bhashase
gatasun-agatasunsh-cha nanushochanti panditah
Translation
Krishna spoke to Arjun:
You speak of words of wisdom yet you grieve for those who are not worthy of grief. The one who is truly wise doesn’t grieve- neither for the living nor for the dead.
Verse 2.12
न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः |
न चैव न भविष्याम: सर्वे वयमत: परम् || 2.12||
na tvevaham jatu nasam na tvam neme janadhipah
na chaiva na bhavishyamah sarve vayamatah param
Translation
It has never happened, at any point in time, when I was not there, when you were not there, or all these Kings were not there. And definitely in the future, it would never be, that we all are not there.
Verse 2.13
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा |
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति || 2.13||
dehino asmin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati
Translation
The “Dehi” (~soul) which resides within “Deh” (~body) changes with time as the body passes from different stages of childhood, youth, & old age. In a similar manner, after the death of the body, the “Dehi”(~soul) also changes bodies by transferring itself into another body.
The wise ones are thus never attached to the body.
Commentary of Verses 2.10–2.13
Krishna now just starting to reveal the secret of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjun. Ajrun is visibly distressed under the grip of fear, and for him, the situation is very serious, for he has never faced such an event in his life. But Krishna sees the naiveness of Arjun. So he laughingly tells him, while Arjun thinks he is speaking wise words, but in reality, he knows nothing. If he was really wise, then he would see that there is actually no reason for him to grieve.
Krishna then tells him about the nature of Dehi or the Soul.
He tells Arjun that the soul is immortal. He can never be killed. The soul keeps on changing, as the body grows. And when the body dies, the soul moves to another body, like the way we change clothes. It thus never ceases to exist.
Krishna is implying that the soul is pure energy. It just changes its form and its container. The quality of this energy is ever-changing, but the energy itself never fades away.
Therefore he says that He and Arjun, have always been there, and so have been the Kings, and so have been everyone else. It is Krishna’s way of simplifying this deep concept of the immortality of the soul, but putting it into the present context of war, so that Arjun can relate to it.
Krishna means that a soul can never be killed, thus every soul which stands here has always been there and always will be. Thus there is no point in grieving for the departure of someone who has never left!
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