BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:28

04-07-2005, 07:00 AM

BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:28

arjuna uvaca
drstvemam sva-janam krsna
yuyutsum samupasthitam
sidanti mama gatrani
mukham ca parisusyati

WORD FOR WORD

arjunah uvaca--Arjuna said; drstva--after seeing; imam--all these; sva
janam--kinsmen; krsna--O Krsna; yuyutsum--all in a fighting spirit;
samupasthitam--present; sidanti--are quivering; mama--my;
gatrani--limbs of the body; mukham--mouth; ca--also; parisusyati--is
drying up.

TRANSLATION

Arjuna said: My dear Krsna, seeing my friends and relatives present
before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body
quivering and my mouth drying up.

PURPORT

Any man who has genuine devotion to the Lord has all the good
qualities which are found in godly persons or in the demigods, whereas
the nondevotee, however advanced he may be in material qualifications
by education and culture, lacks in godly qualities. As such, Arjuna,
just after seeing his kinsmen, friends and relatives on the
battlefield, was at once overwhelmed by compassion for them who had so
decided to fight amongst themselves. As far as his soldiers were
concerned, he was sympathetic from the beginning, but he felt
compassion even for the soldiers of the opposite party, foreseeing
their imminent death. And while he was so thinking, the limbs of his
body began to quiver, and his mouth became dry. He was more or less
astonished to see their fighting spirit. Practically the whole
community, all blood relatives of Arjuna, had come to fight with him.
This overwhelmed a kind devotee like Arjuna. Although it is not
mentioned here, still one can easily imagine that not only were
Arjuna's bodily limbs quivering and his mouth drying up, but he was
also crying out of compassion. Such symptoms in Arjuna were not due to
weakness but to his softheartedness, a characteristic of a pure
devotee of the Lord. It is said therefore:

yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana
sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah
harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna
mano-rathenasati dhavato bahih

"One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the
good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the
Lord has only material qualifications that are of little value. This
is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be
attracted by the glaring material energy." (SB. 5.18.12)

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with
permission.