BHAGAVAD GEETA: Chapter 1-17. Swami Advayanandaji.

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Arjuna Vishadha yogam  (“Yoga of Arjuna’s Despondency”)

Sri Veda Vyasaji

Discourse – 1 (47 Slogas)

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Wednesday, 26 Jul 2023. 06:20.

Post - 17.

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Slogas - 28 B/29: Failing Limbs

Arjuna Uvaacha: Arjuna said:

1 Drishtvaa imam swajanam  =  Krishna Seeing these my kinsmen, O Krishna,

2 yuyutsum sam-upasthitam;  =  arrayed and eager to fight,…

3 Seedanti mama gaatraani  =  i) my limbs fail, and

4 mukham cha pari-shushyati;  =  ii) my mouth is parched;

5 vepathuh cha shareere me  =  iii) my body quivers, and

6 roma-harshah cha jaayate.  =  iv) my hair stands on end.

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Slogam - 30: Slipping Bow

7 Gaandeevam samsrate hastaat  =  v) the Gandiva bow slips from my hand, and

8 tvak cha eva pari-dahyate;  =  vi) my skin burns all over;

9 na cha shaknomi avasthaatum  =  vii) I am also unable to stand, and

10 bhramati iva cha me manah.  =  viii) my mind is whirling around, as it were.

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Slogam - 31A: Adverse Omens

11 Nimittaani cha pashyaami  =  ix) and I see omens, 

12 vipareetaani keshava.  =  that are adverse, O Keshava.

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1-12 The actual symptoms need not snatch our attention; it is enough that we 

understand that these symptoms cannot be suppressed. One may suppress a yawn but not 

the horripilation on the arms. These symptoms show how much power there is in emotions. 

One can easily be overcome by them, even physically. It shows that even the best of 

warriors can be overcome by emotions – it all depends on his sensitivity to the circumstances. Psychology textbooks would describe these as “anxiety state neurosis”.

The above symptoms show that Arjuna was not emotionally prepared for this war. 

He is all shaken up by the sudden feeling of misplaced compassion for his kinsmen.

The most embarrassing symptom is the ninth one, in verse 31A. Arjuna begins to get 

superstitious. It is a sign of a weak person to consult an astrologer or turn to superstition. It 

indicates that the person has lost all control over his situation and desperately accepts

external causes to internal problems. This is how we can interpet the ‘adverse omens’.

These symptoms need not be taken as an individual weakness. Some may see them 

as the effect of the emotions of all the assembled warriors on the person of Arjuna. Arjuna 

was bearing the collective emotion of the vast concourse of people around him. This 

exonerates him to an extent, but does not explain how he has to deal with them.

An emotionally crushed person is no longer an effective soldier, let alone an effective 

Commander-in-Chief – that is certain. Something has to be done to arrest Arjuna’s 

emotional catastrophe. First Aid of the heart is called for!

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Next

1.5 ARJUNA’S MOHA OR DELUSION

(Slogas - 31B-37, 6 No.

To be continued

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