Monday, April 5, 2021

Sankhya Yoga 2.10


 Verse 2.10

तमुवाच हृषीकेश: प्रहसन्निव भारत |

सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वच: || 10||

tam-uvācha hṛiṣhīkeśhaḥ prahasanniva bhārata

senayorubhayor-madhye viṣhīdantam-idaṁ vachaḥ

tam—to him; uvācha—said; hṛiṣhīkeśhaḥ—Shree Krishna, the master of mind and senses; prahasan—smilingly; iva—as if; bhārata—Dhritarashtra, descendant of Bharat; senayoḥ—of the armies; ubhayoḥ—of both; madhye—in the midst of; viṣhīdantam—to the grief-stricken; idam—this; vachaḥ—words

O Dhritarashtra, thereafter, in the midst of both the armies, Shree Krishna smilingly spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna.

Sanjaya says Krishna started his teaching as though smiling. Krishna’s smile can be interpreted in various ways. He is delighted that at last Arjuna has attained the mental maturity to surrender and to listen to his teaching. Or he smiled realizing that the knowledge he is going to impart in Arjuna will relieve him of his mental struggle and suffering without much difficulty. Or the knowledge he is going to impart in Arjuna has the ability to bring about ultimate pleasure in him; He smiled knowing that finally Arjuna has become a suitable reservoir for this knowledge. Another interpretation could be that Krishna smiled because Arjuna has paved a way for the knowledge to be imparted to the world and this is an opportunity for the lord to present his teaching to the world. 

We must notice that Krishna starts his teaching in the battlefield itself. This shows that if a student, with the right qualifications, surrenders to a teacher, the place, time or situation don’t matter for the teaching to happen.


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