THE SECOND CHAPTER
Sanjay said to Dhritarashtra, "O King! With tears in his eyes and a heart heavy with sorrow, Arjuna was so moved by Lord Krishna that he spoke, ‘O Krishna! This delusion is leading me to hell and disgrace. Where has this weakness come from? It’s not something brave men succumb to; it’s the fear of the faint-hearted. O son of Kunti! Cast aside this sentimentality; it has no place in battle. O Arjuna, vanquisher of foes! Shake off this weakness and rise to fight.’
When Arjuna heard Lord Krishna’s words, he replied, ‘O Madhusudana! How can I aim my arrows at revered figures like my grandfather Bhishma and my teacher Dronacharya in battle? They deserve my worship, not my aggression. Killing such wise mentors for mere wealth would only bring me misery. I’m uncertain about our victory—whether we or the Kauravas will prevail. Life after killing them holds no appeal for me. Yet here they stand, ready to fight or die.’
‘O Divine One! At this moment, I’m lost. I can’t distinguish right from wrong; my warrior spirit is clouded by attachment. My courage has deserted me. So I come to you, seeking guidance like a confused disciple. Tell me what’s right. O Lord! Even if I were to gain dominion over the entire earth or command over the gods themselves, nothing seems capable of dispelling this despair.’
Sanjay continued to Dhritarashtra: 'O King! Arjuna, who had subdued his enemies and mastered his senses, spoke thus to Lord Krishna and then fell silent, lost in thought. Lord Krishna smiled and said, 'Arjuna! You speak of renunciation as if you understand it fully, yet your words betray confusion. Listen well: the soul is eternal; it cannot be destroyed, while the body is transient.
Your concern that our ancestors won’t receive their rites and will fall from heaven is unfounded. Souls ascend to heaven through virtue and descend when it wanes, moving on to other fates. Wise people don’t dwell on such matters.
Arjuna! You, I, and all these kings existed before, exist now, and will continue to exist in the future. The soul is distinct from the divine; it’s trapped in delusion and attachment until enlightened by divine knowledge. Ignorant people mistake the soul for God—a grave error. God is eternal knowledge and bliss; souls are bound by ignorance. That’s why beings are ensnared by illusion.
If the soul were identical to God, there would be no need for gurus or disciples or for liberation through devotion. The soul and God are separate entities.
Just as a person experiences childhood, youth, and old age within one body, so too does the soul experience different bodies over time.’
"O descendant of Kunti! The senses provide experiences like sound, touch, taste, sight, and smell, which bring pleasure and pain, heat and cold. These sensations are fleeting; they don’t last forever. So, endure them. The wise person who views pleasure and pain equally remains undisturbed by these senses and is poised for eternal liberation.
What is transient will never be permanent, and what is eternal never ceases to be. The soul is the everlasting constant, while the body is ephemeral. The enlightened see this truth clearly. So, understand this and stand firm in battle.
The one who knows the soul to be indestructible, unborn, and eternal does not slay nor cause others to be slain. O Arjuna! Just as a person sheds worn-out garments for new ones, the soul similarly leaves an old body for a new one after death.
The soul is unbreakable; it cannot be burned, wetted, or dried. It is everlasting, present in all beings. It is stable, immovable, and eternal. Since the soul is subtle and beyond comprehension, it remains unseen and unnoticed. It is free from decay, so there’s no need to grieve over death. O Arjuna with mighty arms! If you believe that the body is constantly born and dies, then death should not concern you; for what is born will surely die, and what has died will surely be reborn. The five elements—Earth, Water, Fire, Air, And Ether—were invisible before creation and will vanish at the world’s end. Therefore, there’s no need for sorrow.
O son of Pandu! This world views the soul with amazement; it hears of it with astonishment and speaks of it with wonder. Yet many fail to grasp its essence even after much contemplation.
This soul within any being cannot be destroyed; it is eternal. So do not despair.
O son of Kunti! When faced with your duty as a warrior, do not waver; fighting in a righteous war is fortunate for a Kshatriya.
This war presents an open gateway to heaven—a chance rarely afforded to warriors. If you shun this righteous battle, you’ll forsake your duty and honor and incur sin.
Your peers will speak ill of you forevermore. For a respected warrior like you, dishonor is worse than death.
Your enemies will mock your valor if you refuse to fight. Can there be a greater sorrow than being belittled by foes?
If slain in battle by enemies, you’ll attain heaven; if victorious, you’ll enjoy earthly sovereignty. Therefore, engage in combat.
Equanimous in joy and sorrow, gain and loss, victory and defeat—prepare for battle without sinning.
So far, I’ve imparted knowledge of the imperishable soul and the transient world. Now listen to the wisdom of selfless action (Nishkam Karma Yoga). When actions are performed solely for divine sake without attachment to results, they remain pure—even if left incomplete—and bear no sin.
Even a small practice of such righteous selfless action can protect one from the greatest fear—the cycle of birth and death."
"O descendant of Kuru! Those who meditate solely on Me, view this world as a place of misery, follow only the path of salvation, possess a singular focus, and yearn only for My blissful form are unlike those whose desires are many. Some seek wealth, others yearn for a partner or offspring, chant mantras, desire heavenly realms, and perform sacrifices involving various beings. They observe fasts on Ekadashi and Purnamasi, believing it leads to Vaikuntha (the abode of Vishnu). Such individuals, lacking devotion to Me, ensnare themselves and others in sorrow with their sweet words. O Arjuna! These people are selfish. My devotees do not fall for such deceptive sweetness.
Many find immense joy in sensual pleasures and believe there is nothing beyond them in this world. Bound by the chains of hope, they consider heaven the ultimate goal and engage in hypocrisy and endless debates. Ignorant of the supreme knowledge of Brahmavidya (knowledge of the Absolute), they neglect devotion to Me.
O Arjuna! The Vedas are characterized by three qualities (gunas). Forsake these gunas and embrace My eternal qualities. Endure pleasure and pain, heat and cold alike. Meditate on Me and adhere to My teachings, for I am the benefactor and protector of all.
O Partha! Just as one draws only as much water as needed from a well or an ocean, a knower of Brahma-Gyan (knowledge of the Absolute) derives only what is necessary from the Vedas.
O Arjuna! Perform your duties; relinquish attachment to their outcomes. As a Kshatriya, it is your duty to act without concern for success or failure.
O beloved! Be free from joy and sorrow; regard victory and defeat with equanimity. Abandon pride and act selflessly; then you shall become a yogi.
O Arjuna! The noblest action is that offered to God. Actions performed with desire for reward are inferior and lead to the cycle of birth and death. Engage in actions imbued with knowledge and selflessness; those who act with selfish motives are truly miserly.
A wise person performing selfless actions renounces both good and bad deeds that bring worldly joy or sorrow. So engage in selfless acts, for they lead to virtuous outcomes.
O descendant of Kunti! The wise abandon attachment to the fruits of their actions; thus, they attain freedom from the cycle of birth and death.
O beloved! When your intellect transcends the entanglements of affection, you will recognize My teachings as truth, adopt dispassion towards all that is seen as illusory, and realize that only God is real.
O Arjuna! Your intellect may be bewildered by hearing about the diverse fruits offered by the Vedas. When you follow My commands with unwavering resolve, you will attain My knowledge-yoga.
Arjuna said: ‘O Keshav! What are the signs of one who is steadfast in devotion to You? How does such a yogi speak? How does he sit? How does he walk? Please describe this person to me.’
The Blessed Lord replied: 'O Arjuna! The person who has relinquished all desires and finds satisfaction in devotion to Me alone is steadfast. He who is unafraid of suffering, indifferent to pleasure, free from attachment, fear, anger, and devoid of enmity towards anyone is determined.
O beloved! The one who remains unaffected by good or bad fortune without Me, who neither rejoices upon gaining something pleasant nor laments upon encountering something unpleasant—know him as My devoted disciple.'"
"O Partha, just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs into its shell, so does a wise person retract their senses from worldly attractions, and such a person is deemed resolute. O Arjuna, even a sick person may abstain from sensory objects by not indulging in them, yet the mind may still wander towards these attractions. It is only when one perceives the Supreme Personality through the lens of knowledge that the mind becomes still.
O Partha, the wise strive to master their senses, but these rebellious senses can distract and lead one astray. The individual who, through knowledge and a sincere mind, devotes themselves exclusively to Me, disregarding other deities, and places their trust in Me, can indeed conquer these senses.
One who fixates on sensory objects develops attachment to them. From attachment springs desire; from thwarted desire comes anger. Anger breeds delusion; delusion causes one to forget the teachings of the true Guru. Forgetting these sacred teachings leads to the loss of intellect, and with the loss of intellect, one’s soul is ruined.
Therefore, my dear devotee should not become attached to worldly things or engage in idle talk but should always find joy in solitude.
O Arjuna, the person who experiences life—seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, eating—without attachment or aversion and keeps their senses under control attains peace. Such a serene individual’s sorrows are destroyed by Me, for their intellect is steadfast in Me.
A sinful soul swayed by the senses never acquires My knowledge; without My knowledge, their mind is as hard as stone, devoid of faith and devotion. A faithless person knows no peace; how can happiness come to one without peace?
The mind that follows the senses also leads one’s intellect astray. Just as a strong wind veers a boat off course on the water, so too does an uncontrolled mind deviate one’s intellect.
O Arjuna, those who do not understand My devotion sleep through it as though it were night; but My devotee stays awake in My devotion. Those controlled by desires awaken to worldly pleasures but sleep through the sorrowful night of sensory objects.
O Parth! Just as the ocean remains calm even when rivers flow into it from all sides, so does My devotee remain composed amidst desires from every direction without overstepping the bounds of dharma. Such a person attains complete peace. The fool who seeks pleasure in desires never finds peace. But one who relinquishes all desires and burns egoism in the fire of knowledge wanders selflessly and carefree in this world attains peace.
O Arjuna! The path I have revealed to you leads to My eternal abode. The wise who follow this path are never ensnared by the Trigun Maya (the three qualities of material nature), which even the greatest deities are subject to but are under My dominion."
“O Partha, even at the end of time, the person who meditates upon this path attains liberation (Mukti). Therefore, the devotee who dedicates their entire life to my devotional path is exceedingly dear to me.”
ITI SHRIMADBHAGWADGEETA SUPANISHATSHU BRAHMAVIDYAYAM YOGSHASTRE SHRIKRISHNAARJUN SAMVADE SANKHYA- YOGONAM DVITIYOADHYAYAH ॥2॥
|| SHRIKRISHAN ARPAN MASTU ||
