Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God - 20 : Swami Mukundananda.

 

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Tuesday, 25 Jul 2023. 06:30.

Chapter -1. Arjuna Vishada Yogam: 20.

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Slogam-20

"Atha vyavasthitan drishtva dhartarashtran kapi-dhwajah

pravritte shastra-sampate dhanurudyamya pandavah

hrishikesham tada vakyam idam aha mahi-pate."

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atha  =  thereupon; 

vyavasthitan  =  arrayed; 

drishtva  =  seeing; 

dhartarashtran  =  Dhritarashtra’s sons; 

kapi-dwajah  =  the monkey bannered; 

pravritt  =   about to commence; 

shastra-sampate  =  to use the weapons; 

dhanur  =  bow; 

udyamya  =  taking up; 

pandavah  =  Arjun, the son of Pandu; 

hrishikesham  =  to Shree Krishna; 

tada  =  at that time; 

vakyam  =  words; 

idam  =  these; 

aha  =  said; 

mahi-pate  =  king.

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Translation

BG 1.20: 

"At that time, the son of Pandu, Arjun, who had the insignia of Hanuman on the flag of his chariot, took up his bow. Seeing your sons arrayed against him, O King, Arjun then spoke the following words to Shree Krishna."

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Commentary

Here Sanjay addresses Arjun by another name, “Kapi Dhwaj,” which means “Monkey Bannered.” This denotes the presence of the mighty Monkey God; Hanuman on Arjun’s chariot. It so happened that, once Arjun became very boastful of his archery skills and quipped at Shree Krishna. He said, “I do not understand why during Lord Rama’s time, the monkeys worked so hard to make a bridge from India to Lanka with heavy stones? If I was there, I would have made a bridge of arrows.” The Omniscient Lord asked him, “Alright, go ahead show me your bridge.”  

Very skillfully Arjun showered thousands of arrows and made a huge bridge. Now, it was time to test it. Shree Krishna called upon great Hanuman for the job. As soon as Hanuman started walking on the bridge, it started crumbling under his feet. Arjun realized his folly; his bridge of arrows could not have upheld the weight of Lord Rama’s huge army. He asked for their forgiveness. Subsequently, Hanuman gave Arjun lessons on being humble and never be proud of his skills. He also granted Arjun a boon that, during the great war, he would seat himself on Arjun’s chariot. Therefore, Arjun’s chariot flag carried the insignia of the great Hanuman.

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To be continued

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