Verse-4
Chapter 2 — Sānkhya Yog
Verse 4
🕉 Original Sanskrit Shloka
|| Arjuna uvaach ||
kathaṁ bhīṣmamahaṁ saṁkhye droṇaṁ ca madhusūdana
iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāvarisūdana
🕉 English Translation
📜 Translation
English
Arjun spoke–Hey Madhusudan! How will I in the battlefield fight with arrows against Grandsire Bhishma and Dronacharya? Because Hey Arisudan (slayer of foes)! Both of them are worthy of being worshipped.
Arjun spoke, spoke again; but in the same manner. The same language, the same emotions! What a wonder, Arjun! What a way to address! You are the slayer of demon Madhu, destroyer of enemies (Arisudan). 'Vinashaya ch dushkritam' is your declaration but here there are no enemies Krishna! Here, they are worthy of worship–Bhishma Grandsire and Acharya Drona, they are not worthy of being slain from any point of view. How can I fight against them? But with his own logic and in his own way. Grandsire Bhishma and Acharya Drona are still appearing to him as great souls. He is unable to understand that if they are siding with unrighteousness and unjust how can they be high souls? The elders are worthy of worship but are aware of everything. Do they know which side they are standing? On the side of unrighteousness.
Alas! Arjun could understand that this war was being waged not for wealth and enjoyment of desire, but against injustice, unlawfulness, oppression, egoism and unrighteousness which is the demand of the hour. In that case such kind of emotions would not have arisen untimely. But the background of this Gita Sermon is still to be formed; prior to that Arjun is demonstrating his ailing mentality in different forms.