द्रोणं च भीष्मं च जयद्रथं च
कर्णं तथान्यानपि योधवीरान् |
मया हतांस्त्वं जहि मा व्यथिष्ठा
युध्यस्व जेतासि रणे सपत्नान् || 34||
droṇaṁ cha bhīṣhmaṁ cha jayadrathaṁ cha
karṇaṁ tathānyān api yodha-vīrān
mayā hatāṁs tvaṁ jahi mā vyathiṣhṭhā
yudhyasva jetāsi raṇe sapatnān
droṇam—Dronacharya; cha—and; bhīṣhmam—Bheeshma; cha—and; jayadratham—Jayadratha; cha—and; karṇam—Karn; tathā—also; anyān—others; api—also; yodha-vīrān—brave warriors; mayā—by me; hatān—already killed; tvam—you; jahi—slay; mā—not; vyathiṣhṭhāḥ—be disturbed; yudhyasva—fight; jetā asi—you shall be victorious; raṇe—in battle; sapatnān—enemies
Translation:
Kill Drona and Bhishma and Jayadratha and Karna, and the other great warriors as well, who have already been killed by Me. Be not distressed by fear. Fight, and you shall conquer your foes in the battle.
Commentary:
Ma vyadhisthah: “Do not fear”. This again is the Mahamantra of the Gita, – a single word into which the essence of the Gita is distilled. Fearlessness, courage, spirit of action, these are taught in the Gita as the main doctrines of life. Having surrendered everything to the Lord, having understood that He is the real actor in this wonderful drama of life, why should man fear, when he is working as a mere instrument in the hands of God? Self-surrender and righteous action cannot have the seeds of fear in them. Therefore the Lord exhorts Arjuna to carry out his duty without any fear. In daily life, man is caught in fearful circumstances, and confronted with formidable obstacles. Everyone knows this. In such moments, if the Lord’s exhortation is remembered, man is inspired with a higher power which will enable him to overcome all the obstacles in the way. No one should give up his duty out of fear. “Yudhyasva” (fight) that is what the Lord wants everyone to do, according to his status in life. The duties of life are prescribed for all, and each man has to perform them without fear or cowardice. The word ‘jetasi‘ (you shall conquer) declares victory as the fruit of action. Thus, if a man surrenders himself to the Lord, and fights the battle of life righteously, he is sure to obtain victory. Where Sri Krishna is, there is victory.
Though Bhishma and others are still alive, the Lord declares them to be ‘already dead’ (hatah). What does this mean? In the 26th and 27th verses, the secret has been revealed. The Lord is Time, not time as we see it divided into past, present and future, but Eternity in which there cannot be any of these divisions manufactured by the limited mind of man. The past, present and future are one in Eternal Time. So the future of man is easily foreseeable by the divine vision. So the enemy warriors are dead already, killed by the Lord, in the Cosmic aspect of Time. Man should learn a great lesson from this. He will find that what he is considering worthy and pleasant, all the relations and friends, all the treasures and loves and hatreds, are already dead and gone, though appearing to live. Death then loses its power over the wise man who regards everything as entering the blazing mouths of the Cosmic Form. The worlds are also dead and gone. Why then this clinging to a little bit of flesh? Why then weep and wail for the loss of this or that? Time takes away all. Nay, it is all taken away already. Thus knowing, the wise man is not deluded. Renunciation (Vairagya) comes to him spontaneously. Lord Buddha thought of this inevitable sequence of human life, and was inspired to find out that, which does not die in the midst of death? That question comes to all at one time or other. The answer also comes in due course. The Self of man is man beyond death. Realising the Self-Atma, man is freed from the shadow of death. He acquires immortality in the world.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 11 🔻 (55 Verses)
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 |
| 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 |
