VERSES 29 AND 30 OF ARJUNA VISHADA YOGA

VERSE NUMBER 29:

Text in Transliteration:

Vepathus cha sareere me romahar sas cha jaayate

Gaandeevam sramsate hastaat tvak chai ‘va paridahyate

Text in English:

My body quivers and my hair stand on end. The bow Gandiva slips from my hand and my skin burns all over.   

VERSE NUMBER 30:

Text in Tranliteration:

Na cha saknomy avasthaatum bhramatee ‘va cha me manah

Nimittaani cha pasyaami vipareetaani kesava

Text in English:

I am unable to stand; my mind whirls as it were; and Kesava, I see adverse omens.

 Comments:

Arjuna is in a tumultuous confusion. An incomparable warrior shows hesitation and despondency when it is time to deliver which can be done only by utter annihilation of the enemies. But his hair stand of end, mouth parched, mind goes in whirls and he also addresses Krishna in verse number 30 as Kesava. Kesava , according to Swamy Chidbhavananda, has three meanings and one of them means he who destroyed the demon Kesin. Another meaning is he who has beautiful hair on the head. And the third meaning stand for the Vedic Trinity: the Creator, Brahma, the Sustainer, Vishnu and the Destroyer, Rudra.

By calling Sri Krishna as Kesava Arjuna puts forth his pitiable case in a piteous manner:

When he means the Lord as the destroyer of the demon, Kesini, he means, you had to kill, too, but whom? A demon! Not your pitamaha, not your acharya, who are fit to be worshipped; and, not your own kinsmen. But you only killed a demon, who was fit to be killed!

By meaning by the name Kesava, as one who has beautiful hair on his head, Arjuna calls His attention to the state of his own hair, which stand on end. O, Bhagavan, you could kill a demon without any remorse, but how can I my own people and the worshipful men?

By calling  the Lord as the Vedic Trinity, the creator, sustainer and also the destroyer, Arjuna points out, since He created and sustained these beings, couldn’t He also destroy them, instead of his having to indulging in the terrible deed?

Kesini, the demon came to kill the Lord Krishna and He killed the demon! For what purpose Duriyodhana and his men have come to the Kurutchetra? To sit and partake of a conversation or eat a sumptuous meal with Arjuna?

Lord Krishna has beautiful hair on His head, because, when killing the demon, His heart did not harbour any hatred. What had to be done under the circumstances was carried out by Him. Now Arjuna has to fight a war that was thrust upon him, and if his hair stand on end whose fault it would be?

And thirdly, if Arjuna means, by calling the Lord as Kesava, and say, since you are the Vedic Trinity and please destroy the bad ones, that is exactly going to take place. Every action in the world is done by the Lord through the instrumentality of human beings fit for various acts. Arjuna could not act as the Delhi rapists who raped Nirbhaya, nor could he be raped like Nirbhaya was. But it is the duty of Arjuna to act as the agent of the Almighty to engage the enemies in battle, which has come to him, a chatriya, quite unsought. So, even our swadharma bear the mark of Lord’s insignia and we are puppets in His hands, in that sense. Here all He asks of Arjuna is to act as His instrument and agent, for the enemies had already been doomed by their actions!

And so far as seeing bad omens, Swamy Chidbhavanada says only the slothful and vegetating see omens, and other men of action do not care for them. The weak-minded will see bad omens, and the strong-willed will ignore omens. When you ignore them, they would cease to have any effect on you. When you give credence to them, then it would affect you. It is a psychological thing indeed.

Here, Arjuna’s weakness is only temporary. For he is a great warrior without many peers!