The Bhagavadgîtâ, with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ — SBE Vol. 8 (trans. K. T. Telang, 1882)
The translator’s English as printed (K. T. Telang). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
CHAP PERI. it. 43 Without killing (my) preceptors—(men) of great glory—it is better to live even on alms in this world. But if killing them, though they are avaricious of worldly goods, I should only enjoy bloodtainted enjoyments. Nor do we know which of the two is better for us—whether that we should vanquish them, or that they should vanquish us. Even those, whom having killed, we do not wish to live—even those sons of Dhṛitarâshṭra stand (arrayed) against us. With a heart contaminated by the taint of helplessness1, with a mind confounded about my duty, I ask you. Tell me what is assuredly good for me. I am your disciple; instruct me, who have thrown myself on your (indulgence). For I do not perceive what is to dispel that grief which will dry up my organs2 after I shall have obtained a prosperous kingdom on earth without a foe, or even the sovereignty of the gods *.
Sañgaya said:
Having spoken thus to Hṛishîkesa, O terror of (your) foes! Guḍâkesa said to Govinda, ‘I shall not engage in battle;’ and verily remained silent. To him thus desponding between the two armies, O descendant of Bharata! Hṛishîkesa spoke these words with a slight smile.
The Deity said:
You have grieved for those who deserve no grief, and you speak words of wisdom¹. Learned men grieve not for the living nor the dead. Never did I not exist, nor you, nor these rulers of men; nor will any one of us ever hereafter cease to be. As in this body, infancy and youth and old age (come) to the embodied (self)²., so does the acquisition of another body; a sensible man is not deceived about that. The contacts of the senses³, O son of Kuntî! which produce cold and heat, pleasure and pain, are not permanent, they are for ever coming and going. Bear them, O descendant of Bharata! For, O chief of men! that sensible man whom they‘ afflict not, (pain and pleasure being alike to him), he merits immortality. There is no existence for that which is unreal; there is no non-existence for that which is real. And the (correct) conclusion about both 5 is perceived by those who perceive the truth. Know that to be indestructible which pervades all this: the destruction of that inexhaustible (principle) none can bring about. These bodies appertaining to the embodied (self) which is eternal, indestructible, and indefinable, are declared* to be perishable; therefore do engage in battle, O descendant of Bharata! He who thinks one to be the killer and he who thinks one to be killed, both know nothing. He kills not, is not killed*. He is not born, nor does he ever die, nor, having existed, does he exist no more. Unborn, everlasting, unchangeable, and very ancient, he is not killed when the body is killed*. O son of Pṛithâ! how can that man who knows the self thus to be indestructible, everlasting, unborn, and imperishable, kill any one, or cause any one to be killed? As a man, casting off old clothes, puts on others and new ones, so the embodied (self), casting off old bodies, goes to others and new ones. Weapons do not divide the self (into pieces); fire does not burn it; waters do not moisten it; the wind does not dry it up. It is not divisible ; it is not combustible; it is not to be moistened; it is not to be dried up. It is everlasting, all-pervading, stable, firm, and eternal*. It is said to be unperceived, to be unthinkable, to be unchangeable. Therefore knowing it to be such, you ought not to grieve. But even if you think that the self is constantly born, and constantly dies, still, O you of mighty arms! you ought not to grieve thus. For to one that is born, death is certain; and to one that dies, birth is certain Therefore about (this) unavoidable thing, you ought not to grieve. The source of things, O descendant of Bharata! is unperceived ; their middle state is perceived; and their end again is unperceived. What (occasion is thete for any) lamentation regarding them'? One looks upon it? as a wonder; another similarly speaks of it as a wonder; another too hears of it as a wonder : and even after having heard of it, no one does really know it*. This embodied (self), O descendant of Bharata! within every one’s body is ever indestructible. Therefore you ought not to grieve for any being. Having regard to your own duty also, you ought not to falter, for there is nothing better for a Kshatriya* than a righteous battle. Happy those Kshatriyas, O son of Prithâl who can find such a battle (to fight)—come of itself*— an open door to heaven! But if you will not fight this righteous battle, then you will have abandoned your own duty and your fame, and you will incur sin. All beings, too, will tell of your everlasting infamy ; and to one who has been honoured, infamy is (a) greater (evil) than death. (Warriors who are) masters of great cars will think that you abstained from the battle through fear, and having been highly thought of by them, you will fall down to littleness. Your enemies, too, decrying your power, will speak much about you that should not be spoken. And. what, indeed, more lamentable than that? Killed, you will obtain heaven; victorious, you will enjoy the earth. Therefore arise, O son of Kunti! resolved to (engage in) battle. Looking on pleasure and pain, on gain and loss, on victory and defeat as the same, prepare for battle, and thus you will not incur sin. The knowledge here declared to you is that relating to the Sankhya?, Now hear that relating to the Yoga. Possessed of this knowledge, O son of Pṛithâ! you will cast off the bonds of action. In this (path to final emancipation) nothing that is commenced becomes abortive; no obstacles exist ; and even a little of this (form of) piety protects one from great danger’. There is here ;, O descendant of Kuru! but one state of mind consisting in firm understanding. But the states of mind of those who have no firm understanding are manifold and endless. The state of mind which consists in firm understanding regarding steady contemplation* does not belong to those, O son of Prithâ ! who are strongly attached to (worldly) pleasures and power, and whose minds are drawn away by that flowery talk which is full of (the ordinances of) specific acts for the attainment of (those) pleasures and (that) power, and which promises birth as the fruit of acts °—(that_ flowery talk) which those unwise ones utter, who are enamoured of Vedic words, who say there is nothing else, who are full of desires, and whose goal is heaven! The Vedas (merely) relate to the effects of the three qualities?; do you, O Arguna! rise above those effects of the three qualities, and be free from the pairs of opposites *, always preserve courage *, be free from anxiety for new acquisitions or protection of old acquisitions, and be self-controlled5. To the instructed Brâhmaṇa, there is in all the Vedas as much utility as in a reservoir of water into which waters flow from all sides* Your business is with action alone; not by any means with fruit. Let not the fruit of action be your motive (to action). Let not your attachment be (fixed) on inaction’. Having recourse to devotion, O Dhanañgaya! perform actions, casting off (all) attachment, and being equable in success or illsuccess; (such) equability is called devotion. Action,
1 The commentators say that ‘heart’ here signifies the dispositions which are stated in chapter XVIII infra, p. 126: The feeling of ‘helplessness’ is incompatible with what is there stated as the proper disposition for a Kshatriya.
2 T.e. by the heat of vexation; the meaning is, ‘which will cause constant vexation of spirit.’
3 [i.e. if the means employed are the sinful acts referred to.
43 Rather than kill my preceptors—men of great glory—it is better to live in this world on alms. If I kill them, even though they are avaricious of worldly goods, everything I enjoy will be tainted with their blood. Nor do we know which of the two outcomes is better for us—whether we should vanquish them, or they should vanquish us. Even those whom, having killed, we would not wish to live—even those sons of Dhṛitarâshṭra stand arrayed against us. My heart is contaminated by the taint of helplessness1, my mind is confounded about my duty. I ask you: tell me what is truly good for me. I am your disciple; instruct me, for I have thrown myself on your indulgence. I cannot see what could dispel the grief that will dry up my organs2—not even a prosperous, unopposed kingdom on earth, not even sovereignty over the gods*.
Sañjaya said:
Having said this to Hṛishîkesa, O terror of your foes, Guḍâkesa said to Govinda, "I shall not engage in battle," and fell silent. To him, sunk in despair between the two armies, O descendant of Bharata, Hṛishîkesa spoke these words with a slight smile.
The Deity said:
You have grieved for those who deserve no grief, and you speak words of wisdom¹. Learned men grieve not for the living nor the dead. Never did I not exist, nor you, nor these rulers of men; nor will any one of us ever hereafter cease to be. As infancy and youth and old age come to the embodied (self)² in this body, so does the acquisition of another body; a sensible man is not deceived about that. The contacts of the senses³, O son of Kuntî! which produce cold and heat, pleasure and pain, are not permanent—they are forever coming and going. Bear them, O descendant of Bharata! For, O chief of men! that sensible man whom they afflict not, pain and pleasure being alike to him, he merits immortality. There is no existence for that which is unreal; there is no non-existence for that which is real. And the correct conclusion about both 5 is perceived by those who perceive the truth. Know that to be indestructible which pervades all this: the destruction of that inexhaustible principle none can bring about. These bodies appertaining to the embodied (self) which is eternal, indestructible, and indefinable, are declared* to be perishable; therefore do engage in battle, O descendant of Bharata! He who thinks one to be the killer and he who thinks one to be killed, both know nothing. He kills not, is not killed*. He is not born, nor does he ever die, nor, having existed, does he exist no more. Unborn, everlasting, unchangeable, and very ancient, he is not killed when the body is killed*. O son of Pṛithâ! how can that man who knows the self thus to be indestructible, everlasting, unborn, and imperishable, kill any one, or cause any one to be killed? As a man, casting off old clothes, puts on others and new ones, so the embodied (self), casting off old bodies, goes to others and new ones. Weapons do not divide the self into pieces; fire does not burn it; waters do not moisten it; the wind does not dry it up. It is not divisible; it is not combustible; it is not to be moistened; it is not to be dried up. It is everlasting, all-pervading, stable, firm, and eternal*. It is said to be unperceived, to be unthinkable, to be unchangeable. Therefore, knowing it to be such, you ought not to grieve. But even if you think that the self is constantly born and constantly dies, still, O you of mighty arms! you ought not to grieve thus. For to one that is born, death is certain; and to one that dies, birth is certain. Therefore about this unavoidable thing, you ought not to grieve. The source of things, O descendant of Bharata! is unperceived; their middle state is perceived; and their end again is unperceived. What occasion is there for any lamentation regarding them? One looks upon it as a wonder; another similarly speaks of it as a wonder; another too hears of it as a wonder—and even after having heard of it, no one does really know it*. This embodied (self), O descendant of Bharata! within every one's body is ever indestructible. Therefore you ought not to grieve for any being. Having regard to your own duty also, you ought not to falter, for there is nothing better for a Kshatriya* than a righteous battle. Happy those Kshatriyas, O son of Prithâl who can find such a battle to fight—come of itself*—an open door to heaven! But if you will not fight this righteous battle, then you will have abandoned your own duty and your fame, and you will incur sin. All beings, too, will tell of your everlasting infamy; and to one who has been honoured, infamy is a greater evil than death. Warriors who are masters of great cars will think that you abstained from the battle through fear, and having been highly thought of by them, you will fall down to littleness. Your enemies, too, decrying your power, will speak much about you that should not be spoken. And what, indeed, more lamentable than that? Killed, you will obtain heaven; victorious, you will enjoy the earth. Therefore arise, O son of Kunti! resolved to engage in battle. Looking on pleasure and pain, on gain and loss, on victory and defeat as the same, prepare for battle, and thus you will not incur sin. The knowledge here declared to you is that relating to the Sankhya?. Now hear that relating to the Yoga. Possessed of this knowledge, O son of Pṛithâ! you will cast off the bonds of action. In this path to final emancipation nothing that is commenced becomes abortive; no obstacles exist; and even a little of this form of piety protects one from great danger*. There is here;, O descendant of Kuru! but one state of mind consisting in firm understanding. But the states of mind of those who have no firm understanding are manifold and endless. The state of mind which consists in firm understanding regarding steady contemplation* does not belong to those, O son of Prithâ! who are strongly attached to worldly pleasures and power, and whose minds are drawn away by that flowery talk which is full of the ordinances of specific acts for the attainment of those pleasures and that power, and which promises birth as the fruit of acts°—that flowery talk which those unwise ones utter, who are enamoured of Vedic words, who say there is nothing else, who are full of desires, and whose goal is heaven! The Vedas merely relate to the effects of the three qualities?; do you, O Arjuna! rise above those effects of the three qualities, and be free from the pairs of opposites*, always preserve courage*, be free from anxiety for new acquisitions or protection of old acquisitions, and be self-controlled5. To the instructed Brâhmaṇa, there is in all the Vedas as much utility as in a reservoir of water into which waters flow from all sides*. Your business is with action alone; not by any means with fruit. Let not the fruit of action be your motive to action. Let not your attachment be fixed on inaction'. Having recourse to devotion, O Dhanañjaya! perform actions, casting off all attachment, and being equable in success or ill-success; such equability is called devotion. Action,
1 The commentators say that 'heart' here means the dispositions described in chapter XVIII below, p. 126: the feeling of 'helplessness' is incompatible with what is there laid down as the proper disposition for a Kshatriya.
2 That is, by the heat of vexation; the meaning is, 'which will cause constant vexation of spirit.'
3 [i.e. if the means employed are the sinful acts referred to.