Arjuna Addressing Krsna
TEXT 23
योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः।
धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुध्देर्युध्दे प्रियचिकीर्षवः॥२३॥
TRANSLATION
"Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhrtarastra."
PURPORT
It was an open secret that Shryodhana wanted to unsurp the kingdom of the Pandavas by evil plans, in collaboration with his father, Dhrtarastra. Therefore, all persons who had joined the side of Duryodhana must have been birds of the same feather.
Arjuna wanted to see them on the battelfield before the fight was begun, just to learn who they were, but he had no intention of proposing peace negotitations with them. It was also a fact that he wanted to see them to make an estimate of the strength which he had to face, although he was quite confident of victory because Krsna was sitting by his side.
TEXT 24
सञ्जय उवाच
एवमुत्को हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारत।
सेनयोरूभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम्॥२४॥
TRANSLATION
"Sanjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Krsna drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties."
PURPORT
In this verse Arjuna is referred to as Gudakesa. Gudaka means sleep, and one who conquers sleep is called gudakesa. Sleep also means ignorance. So Arjuna coquered both sleep and ignorance because of his friendship with Krsna. As a great devotee of Krsna, he could not forget Krsna even for a moment, because that is the nature of a devotee.
Either in waking or in sleep, a devotee of the Lord can never be free from thinking of Krsna's name, form, qualities and pastimes. Thus a devotee of Krsna can conquer both sleep and ignorance simply by thinking of Krsna constantly. This is called Krsna consciousness, or samadhi. As Hrsikesa, or the director of the senses and mind of every living entity, Krsna could understand Arjuna's purpose in placing the chariot in the midst of the armies. Thus He did so, and spoke as follows.
TEXT 25
भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम्।
उवाच पार्थ फश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरूनिति॥२५॥
TRANSLATION
"In the presence of Bhisma, Drona and all the other chieftains of the world, the Lord said, Just behold, Partha, all the Kurus assembled here."
PURPORT
As the Supersoul of all living entities, Lord Krsna could understand what was going on in the mind of Arjuna. The use of the word Hrsikesa in this connection indicates that He knew everything. And the word Partha, or the son of Kunti, or Prtha, is also similarly significant in reference to Arjuna.
As a friend, He wanted to inform Arjuna that because Arjuna was the son of Prtha, the sister of His own father Vasudeva, He had agreed to be the charioteer of Arjuna.
Now what did Krsna mean when He told Arjuna to "behold the Kurus?" Did Arjuna want to stop there and not fight? Krsna never expected such things from the son of His aunt Prtha. The mind of Arjuna was thus predicted by the Lord in friendly joking.
TEXT 26
तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान्।आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा।
श्र्वश्रुरान्सुहृदश्र्चैव सेनयोरूभयोरपि॥२६॥
TRANSLATION
"There Arjuna could see, within the midst of the armies of both parties, his fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, and also his father-in-law and well-wishers."
PURPORT
On the battlefield Arjuna could see all kinds of relatives. He could see persons like Bhurisrava, who were his father's contemporaries, grandfathers Bhisma and Somadatta, teachers like Dronacarya and Krpacarya, maternal uncles like Salya and Sakuni, brothers like Duryodhana, sons like Laksmana, friends like Asvatthama, well-wishers like Krtavarma, etc. He could see also the armies which contained many of his friends.
TEXT 27
तान्समीक्ष्य स कौन्तेयः सर्वान्बन्धूनवस्थितान्।
कृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्रिदमब्रवीत्॥२७॥
TRANSLATION
"When the son of Kunti, Arjuna, saw all these different grades of friends and relatives, he became overwhelmed with compassion and spoke thus."
TEXT 28
अर्जुन उवाच
दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम्।
सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिश्रुष्यति॥२८॥
TRANSLATION
"Arjuna said: My dear Krsna, seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up."
PURPORT
Any man who has genuine devotion to the Lord has all the good qualitites which are found in godly persons or in the demigods, whereas the nondevotee, however advanced he may be in material qualifications by education and culture, lacks in godly qualities.
As such, Arjuna, just after seeing his kinsmen, friends and relatives on the battlefield, was at once overhwelmed by compassion for them who had so decided to fight amongst themselves. As far as his soldiers were concerned, he was sympathetic from the beginning, but he felt compassion even for the soldiers of the opposite party, forseeing their imminent death.
And while he was so thinking, the limbs of his body began to quiver, and his mouth became dry. He was more or less astonished to see their fighting spirit. Practically the whole community, all blood relatives of Arjuna, had come to fight with him. This overwhelmed a kind devotee like Arjuna. Although it is not mentioned here, still one can easily imagine that not only were Arjuna's bodily limbs quivering and his mouth drying up, but he was also crying out of compassion. Such symptoms in Arjuna were due to weakness but to his softheartedness, a characteristic of a pure devotee of the Lord.
It is said therefore:
yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana
sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah
harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna
mano-rathenasati dhavato bahih
"One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only material qualifications that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy."
TEXT 29
वेपथुश्र्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्र्च जायते |
गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्चैव परिद्यते॥२९॥
TRANSLATION
"My whole body is trembling, my hair is standing on end, and bow Gandiva is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning."
PURPORT
There are two kinds of trembling of the body, and two kinds of standings of the hair on end. Such phenomena occur either in great spiritual ecstasy or out of great fear under material conditions. There is no fear in transcendental realization. Arjuna's symptoms in this situation are out of material fear-namely, loss of life. This is evident from other symptoms also; he became so impatient that his famous bow Gandiva was slipping from his hands, and, because his heart was burning within him, he was feeling a buring sensation of the skin. All these are due to a material conception of life.
TEXT 30
न च शक्रोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मनः।
निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव॥३०॥
TRANSLATION
"I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I see only causes of misfortune, O Krsna, killer of the Kesi demon."
PURPORT
Due to his impatience, Arjuna was unable to stay on the battlefield, and he was forgetting himself on account of this weakness of his mind. Excessive attachment for material things puts a man in such a bewildering condition of existence. Bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syat (Bhag. 11.2.37): such fearfullness and loss of mental equilibrium take place in persons who are too affected by material conditions. Arjuna envisioned only painful reverses in the battlefield- he would not be happy even by gaining victory over the foe.
The word nimittani viparitani are significant. When a man sees only frustration in his expectations, he thinks, "Why am I here?" Everyone is interested in himself and his own welfare. No one is interested in the Supreme Self. Arjuna is showing ignorance of his real self-interest by Krsna's will. One's real self-interest lies in Visnu, or Krsna. The conditioned soul forgets this, and therefore suffers material pains. Arjuna thought that his voctory in the battle would only be a cause of lamentation for him.
TEXT 31
न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे।
न काङ्से विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च ॥३१॥
TRANSLATION
"I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, nor can I, my dear Krsna, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom, or happiness."
PURPORT
Without knowing that one's self-interest is in Visnu (or Krsna), conditioned souls are attached by bodily relationships, hoping to be happy in such situations. In such a blind conception of life, they forget even the causes of material happiness. Arjuna appears to have even forgotten the moral codes for a ksatriya.
It is said that two kinds of men, namely the ksatriya who dies directly in front of the battlefield under Krsna's personal orders and the person in the renounced order of life who is absolutely devoted to spiritual culture, are eligible to enter into the sun globe, which is so powerful and dazzling.
Arjuna is reluctant even to kill his enemies, let alone his relatives. He thinks that by killing his kinsmen, there would be no happiness in his life, and therefore he is not willing to fight, just as a person who does not feel hunger is not inclined to cook. He has now decided to go into the forest and live a secluded life in frustration.
But as a ksatriya, he requires a kingdom for his subsistence, because the ksatriyas cannot engage themselves in any other occupation. But Arjuna has no kingdom. Arjuna's sole opportunity for gaining a kingdom lies in fighting with his cousins and brothers and reclaiming the kingdom inherited from his father, which he does not like to do. Therefore he considers himself fit to go to the forest to live a secluded life of frustration.
TEXT 32-35
किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा।
येषामर्थे काङक्षितं नो राज्यं भोगाः सुखानि च ॥३२॥
त इमेऽवस्थिता युध्दे प्राणांस्त्यत्त्का धनानि च ।
आचार्याः पितरः पुत्रास्तथैव च पितामहाः॥३३॥
मातुलाः श्र्वश्रुराः पौत्राः श्यालाः सम्बन्धिनस्तथा।
एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्रतोऽपि मधुसूदन ॥३४॥
अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते।
निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याञ्ञनार्दन॥३५॥
TRANSLATION
"O Govinda, of what avail to us are a kingdom, happiness or even life itself when all those for whom we may desire them are now arrayed on this battlefield?
O Madhusudana, when teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, father-in-law, grandsons, brother-in-law and other relatives are ready to give up their lives and properties and are standing before me, why should I wish to kill them, even though they might otherwise kill me?
O maintainer of all living entities, I am not prepared to fight with them even in exchange for the three worlds, let alone this earth. What pleasure will we derive from killing the sons of Dhrtarastra?"
PURPORT
Arjuna has addressed Lord Krsna as Govinda because Krsna is the object of all pleasures for cows and the sense. By using this significant word, Arjuna indicates that Krsna should understand what will satisfy Arjuna's senses. But Govinda is not meant for satisfying our senses. If we try to satisfy the sense of the living entities as much as they deserve, but not to the extent that they may covet.
But when one takes the oppisite way-namely, when one tries to satisfy the senses of Govinda all desires of the living entity are satisfied. Arjuna's deep affection for community and family members is exhibited here partly due to his natural compassion for them. He is therefore not prepared to fight. Everyone wants to show his opulence to friends and relatives, but Arjuna fears that all his relatives and friends will be killed on the battlefield and he will be unable to share his opulence after victory.
This is a typical calculation of material life. The transcendental life, however, is different. Since a devotee wants to satisfy the desires of the Lord, he can, Lord willing, accept all kinds of opulence for the service of the Lord, and if the Lord is not willing, he should not accept a farthing.
Arjuna did not want to kill his relatives, and if there were any need to kill them, he desired that Krsna kill them personally. At this point he did not know that Krsna had already killed them before their coming into the battelfield and that he was only to become an instrument for Krsna.
This fact is disclosed in following chapters. As a natural devotee of the Lord, Arjuna did not like to retaliate against the wrongdoer, but the Lord does not tolerate any mischief done to the devotee by the miscreants. The Lord can excuse a person on His own account, but He excuses no one who has done harm to His devotees. Therefore the Lord was determined to kill the miscreants, although Arjuna wanted to excuse them.
TEXT 36
पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः।
तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान्सबान्धवान्।
स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव॥३६॥
TRANSLATION
"Sin will overcome us if we slay such aggressors. Therefore it is not proper for us to kill the sons of Dhrtarastra and our friends. What should we gain, O Krsna, husband of the goddess of fortune, and how could we be happy by killing our own kinsmen?"
PURPORT
According to Vedic injuctions there are six kinds of aggressors:
(1) a posion giver,
(2) one who sets fire to the house,
(3) one who attacks with deadly weapons,
(4) one who plunders riches,
(5) one who occupies another's land, and
(6) one who kidnaps a wife.
Such aggressors are at once to be killed, and no sin is incurred by killing such aggressors. Such killing of aggressors is quite befitting any ordinary man, but Arjuna was not an ordinary person. He was saintly by character, and therefore he wanted to deal with them in saintliness. This kind of saintliness, however, is not for a ksatriya. Although a responsible man in the administration of a state is required to be saintly, he should not be cowardly.
For example, Lord Rama was so saintly that people even now are anxious to live in the kingdom of Lord Rama (rama-rajya), but Lord Rama never showed any cowardice. Ravana was an aggressor against Rama because Ravana kidnapped Rama's wife, Sita, but Lord Rama gave him sufficient lessons, unparalleled in the history of the world.
In Arjuna's case, however, one should consider the special type of aggressors, namely his own grandfather, own teacher, friends, sons, grandsons, etc. Because of them, Arjuna thought that he should not take the severe steps necessary against ordinary aggressors. Besides that, saintly persons are advised to forgive. Such injunctions for saintly persons are more important than any political emergency.
Arjuna considered that rather than kill his own kinsmen for political reasons, it would be better to forgive them on grounds of religion and saintly behavior. He did not, therefore, consider such killing profitable simply for the matter of temporary bodily happiness.
After all, kingdoms and pleasures derived therefrom are not permanent, so why should he rish his life and eternal salvation by killing his own kinsmen?
Arjuna's addressing of Krsna as "Madhava," or the husband of the goddess of fortune, is also significant in this connection. He wanted to point out to Krsna that, as husband of the goddess of fortune, He should not induce Arjuna to take up a matter which would ultimately bring about misfortune. Krsna, however, never brings misfortune to anyone, to say anything of His devotees.