VERSE NUMBER 6 OF THE SECOND CHAPTER, SAMKHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE

HOLY GITA        

CHAPTER 2 OF SAMKHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE

VERSE NUMBER 6:

Text in Transliteration:

na chai ‘tad vidmah kataran no gareeyo

   yad vaa yayema yadi vaa no jayeyh

yaan eva hatvaa na jijeevishaamas

   te ‘vasthitaah pramukhe dhaartaraashtraah

Text in English:

Whether we should conquer them, or they conquer us- I do not know which would be better. These very sons of dhrtarashtra stand before us, after slaying whom we should not care to live.

Sentimental pity is so powerful it holds such a sway over Arjuna, a great warrior, who once gave combat to the Lord Shiva Himself and earned His encomium and an astra to boot. Dhrtarashtras have proved “aattataayins” ones who indulge eight kind of crime against a person and body of persons. They tried to kill them wholesale by setting fire to the palace specially created by them. They stole their wife, Panjali, and ran towards them with swords drawn, and these kinds of eight crimes were committed by them against the Pandavas. Through the intrigue and scheme and game of the dice they sent the Pandavas for fourteen years to live in the forest with a stipulation that the last year must be spent by them incognito: otherwise the stipulation would stand violated. Just by throwing the dice the Dhrtarashtras did all these things, and deprived the Pandavas their rightful kingdom. After all these things, Arjuna, a proven warrior of incomparable merit and mettle, whose charioteer is God, Sri Krishna Himself, becomes a victim for the unwanted and unwarranted sentiments; he shows compassion who do not deserve. He is worried about the acharya or teacher, Drona and pitamaha, Bhishma and Kripa who are great souls and knew full well the dharma requires the annihilation of the Dhrtarashtras. So the pity and compassion, for the time being, transitorily deprives the great warrior of his manliness and proven prowess at the battlefield!

But then, we are all subject to Maya or illusion, one of the three ingredients of samsaaraa, the other two being kama or desire and karma or action that ensues maya and kama. None of us can escape its onslaught. Arjuna’s case is that of the Angel fear to trickle in where the Dhratarashtra fools rush in, to borrow from the celebrated poet Alexander Pope.

Sri Krishna Himself says at another context that it is very difficult to win over the pulls of maya or illusion. He says at this context “mama maayaa” that is, MY MAYA OR MY ILLUSION.

There is also a story involving the pulls of Maya being exerted even on the greatest of persons. Once in sri vaikunta the great singer saint, Narata asked about the pulls of the maya or illusion. At once, God asked him that he was thirsty and please fetch a pail of water form the nearby brook. The saint went with the pitcher to the brook and when he went there, an incomparably beautiful maiden came out of the brook. Narata fell in love with her. They married she begot him eight children. While they were living happily, there came a flood and in the flood Narata lost all his children and the wife. Unable to withstand the sorrow, Narata began to wail like anything; and there came the Lord Sri Krishna, and asked a sorrowful Narata,” O great saint, I sent you just to fetch a pail of water to quench my thirst. But what are you doing here crying out like this for? And at that instance, Narata’s maya was revealed itself to him. And he fell at the feet of the Lord, saying the pulls of thy maya is great indeed!

This is how, now at a critical time, when it is the time to deliver and annihilate the Dhrtarashtras, Arjuna is consumed with sentimental pity and yields to weakness. He knew very well in order to uphold the dharma the dhrtarashtras must go! Even so...!