Bg 10.12-13
arjuna uvāca
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān
puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum
āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve devarṣir nāradas tathā
asito devalo vyāsaḥ svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me
Bg 10.14
sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yan māṁ vadasi keśava
na hi te bhagavan vyaktiṁ vidur devā na dānavāḥ
Bg 10.15
svayam evātmanātmānaṁ vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama
bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate
Translation
Arjuna said: 12. You are the Supreme BRAHMAN, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier, Eternal, Divine PURUSHA, the God of all gods, Unborn, Omnipresent.
13. All the RISHIS have thus declared You, as also the DEVA-RISHI Narada, so also Asita, Devala and Vyasa; and now the same You Yourself say to me.
14. I believe all this that You say to me as true, O Keshava; verily, O Blessed Lord, neither the DEVAS nor the DANAVAS know Your manifestation (identity) .
15. Verily, You Yourself know Yourself by Yourself, O PURUSHOTTAMA (Supreme PURUSHA) , O Source of beings, O Lord of beings, O God of gods, O Ruler of the world.
Commentary
Arjuna confesses that he had already been taught, through the Vedic passages, that the great seers of old had indicated the INFINITE, the ETERNAL, through suggestive phraseologies, such as "THE SUPREME BRAHMAN, THE SUPREME ABODE, THE SUPREME PURIFIER, THE ETERNAL BRAHMAN, THE SELF-LUMINOUS PURUSHA, THE FIRST DEVA, THE BIRTHLESS AND THE ALL-PERVADING." In all these cases he had heard them only as attributes of the Truth. So when he heard in his own presence, the same phrases used by Krishna, in the first person singular, he, the son of Kunti, feels lost, not knowing how to comprehend that Krishna, his charioteer, is the Source of the Whole Universe!
A practical man-of-the-world as Arjuna was, he needed more data, and we shall discover that in order to satisfy this demand, Krishna supplies enough information in this very same chapter. But, instead of satisfying Arjuna, it only sharpens his curiosity and compels him to demand from Krishna an experimental demonstration, which also is provided by Krishna in the following chapter (Chapter XI).
The ancient seers mentioned here, "Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa," cannot be very familiar to the students of the Upanishads. Vyasa, perhaps, deliberately quotes these Rishis mentioned in his Puranas.
Arjuna acknowledged and recognised these phrases, indicating the attributes of the Lord, only as empty and purposeless words, though they had come from accepted great teachers. His actual surprise was clearly expressed in his words "SO ALSO YOU YOURSELF REPEAT TO ME." Here the occasion for Arjuna's staggering confusion was, how his own contemporary, Lord Krishna --- a living creature standing right in front of him, whom he knew all these years, and was even related to --- could Himself be the Infinite, the Supreme, the Birthless, and the All-pervading.
Arjuna looks at Krishna with his physical eyes and he sees only Krishna's physical structure. Krishna has been declaring Himself as the pure Self throughout the Geeta and not as a living member of the society. "Sri Krishna Paramatman" is the teacher in the Geeta and not the son of Vasudeva, or the lover of the gopis. Arjuna could not comprehend 'Krishna-the-Spirit,' in his pre-occupation with 'Krishna-the-friend,' 'Krishna-the-lover,' 'Krishna-the-dependable man of intellect and diplomacy.' Hence the Pandava prince's wonderment and confusion.
THE FOLLOWING IS GIVEN TO BRING OUT CLEARLY THE ATTITUDE OF THE SEEKER IN ARJUNA WHEN HE ASKS THIS QUESTION:
Here Arjuna exposes himself and expresses his unfaltering faith in his teacher and confesses "I REGARD ALL THAT YOU SAY TO ME AS TRUTH." 'Keshava' is "one who removes all sorrows of those who have surrendered to him." Even though he accepts as truth all that Krishna says, he cannot comprehend the significance of the Lord's declarations. In short, Arjuna admits here that his heart is satisfied and is overflowing with faith and belief but his intellect is starved and thirsty.
The thirst-to-know, under which the famished personality of Arjuna groans, is echoed in the second half of the second line, when he admits that "NEITHER THE DEVAS NOR THE DANAVAS KNOW YOUR PERSONALITY." The 'Danavas' are the sons of Danu, and frequently challenge the heaven, obstruct the sacrifices, and lead generally an undivine life. 'Devas' are highly sensitive denizens of the heaven who are described in the Puranas as persons who have subtler perceptions, stronger emotions and mightier intellectual comprehensions than the mortals have.
Subjectively, 'Devas' stand for the nobler and the higher comprehensions in us, and the 'Danavas' for the hosts of negative urges. Arjuna, the son of Kunti, is expressing his despair that the IDENTITY of the Self can be fixed up neither by the subtlest and the noblest of our perceptions, nor can we apprehend this Self through our 'Danava'-like challenge to possess, to acquire, to investigate and to know. Neither the good in us can embrace the Truth, nor can the bad in us challenge and bring up the Truth as an opposing force right in front of us. There are only two methods of meeting another being or thing; either as a friend or as a foe, either as something that we like or as something that we abhor. In neither way can we come to apprehend the individuality, the total personality (Vyakti) of the Self --- It being the subject, both in Its expression as an individual (Yoga) and in Its expansion as the cosmic (Vibhuti).
IF NONE CAN KNOW THE TRUTH, WHY IS ARJUNA ASKING KRISHNA TO EXPLAIN? WHAT EXACTLY IS THE SPECIAL QUALITY THAT ENABLES HIM TO EXPLAIN THAT WHICH NONE ELSE CAN EVEN KNOW?
This stanza indicates how Krishna is capable of explaining the Supreme which is not known by the denizens of the heaven or the hoards of the other kingdom. The Self is, of course, not known as an 'object' through the intervention of our instruments of knowing, nor can It be apprehended as the 'subject' --- either through the best, or the worst in us. But, at the same time, the Self being Awareness, It in Itself is Knowledge --- and to 'know' Knowledge, no other knowledge is needed. Therefore, it is said by Arjuna "YOU YOURSELF KNOW YOURSELF BY YOURSELF."
Sources: Vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
arjuna uvāca
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān
puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum
āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve devarṣir nāradas tathā
asito devalo vyāsaḥ svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me
Bg 10.14
sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yan māṁ vadasi keśava
na hi te bhagavan vyaktiṁ vidur devā na dānavāḥ
Bg 10.15
svayam evātmanātmānaṁ vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama
bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate
Translation
Arjuna said: 12. You are the Supreme BRAHMAN, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier, Eternal, Divine PURUSHA, the God of all gods, Unborn, Omnipresent.
13. All the RISHIS have thus declared You, as also the DEVA-RISHI Narada, so also Asita, Devala and Vyasa; and now the same You Yourself say to me.
14. I believe all this that You say to me as true, O Keshava; verily, O Blessed Lord, neither the DEVAS nor the DANAVAS know Your manifestation (identity) .
15. Verily, You Yourself know Yourself by Yourself, O PURUSHOTTAMA (Supreme PURUSHA) , O Source of beings, O Lord of beings, O God of gods, O Ruler of the world.
Commentary
Arjuna confesses that he had already been taught, through the Vedic passages, that the great seers of old had indicated the INFINITE, the ETERNAL, through suggestive phraseologies, such as "THE SUPREME BRAHMAN, THE SUPREME ABODE, THE SUPREME PURIFIER, THE ETERNAL BRAHMAN, THE SELF-LUMINOUS PURUSHA, THE FIRST DEVA, THE BIRTHLESS AND THE ALL-PERVADING." In all these cases he had heard them only as attributes of the Truth. So when he heard in his own presence, the same phrases used by Krishna, in the first person singular, he, the son of Kunti, feels lost, not knowing how to comprehend that Krishna, his charioteer, is the Source of the Whole Universe!
A practical man-of-the-world as Arjuna was, he needed more data, and we shall discover that in order to satisfy this demand, Krishna supplies enough information in this very same chapter. But, instead of satisfying Arjuna, it only sharpens his curiosity and compels him to demand from Krishna an experimental demonstration, which also is provided by Krishna in the following chapter (Chapter XI).
The ancient seers mentioned here, "Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa," cannot be very familiar to the students of the Upanishads. Vyasa, perhaps, deliberately quotes these Rishis mentioned in his Puranas.
Arjuna acknowledged and recognised these phrases, indicating the attributes of the Lord, only as empty and purposeless words, though they had come from accepted great teachers. His actual surprise was clearly expressed in his words "SO ALSO YOU YOURSELF REPEAT TO ME." Here the occasion for Arjuna's staggering confusion was, how his own contemporary, Lord Krishna --- a living creature standing right in front of him, whom he knew all these years, and was even related to --- could Himself be the Infinite, the Supreme, the Birthless, and the All-pervading.
Arjuna looks at Krishna with his physical eyes and he sees only Krishna's physical structure. Krishna has been declaring Himself as the pure Self throughout the Geeta and not as a living member of the society. "Sri Krishna Paramatman" is the teacher in the Geeta and not the son of Vasudeva, or the lover of the gopis. Arjuna could not comprehend 'Krishna-the-Spirit,' in his pre-occupation with 'Krishna-the-friend,' 'Krishna-the-lover,' 'Krishna-the-dependable man of intellect and diplomacy.' Hence the Pandava prince's wonderment and confusion.
THE FOLLOWING IS GIVEN TO BRING OUT CLEARLY THE ATTITUDE OF THE SEEKER IN ARJUNA WHEN HE ASKS THIS QUESTION:
Here Arjuna exposes himself and expresses his unfaltering faith in his teacher and confesses "I REGARD ALL THAT YOU SAY TO ME AS TRUTH." 'Keshava' is "one who removes all sorrows of those who have surrendered to him." Even though he accepts as truth all that Krishna says, he cannot comprehend the significance of the Lord's declarations. In short, Arjuna admits here that his heart is satisfied and is overflowing with faith and belief but his intellect is starved and thirsty.
The thirst-to-know, under which the famished personality of Arjuna groans, is echoed in the second half of the second line, when he admits that "NEITHER THE DEVAS NOR THE DANAVAS KNOW YOUR PERSONALITY." The 'Danavas' are the sons of Danu, and frequently challenge the heaven, obstruct the sacrifices, and lead generally an undivine life. 'Devas' are highly sensitive denizens of the heaven who are described in the Puranas as persons who have subtler perceptions, stronger emotions and mightier intellectual comprehensions than the mortals have.
Subjectively, 'Devas' stand for the nobler and the higher comprehensions in us, and the 'Danavas' for the hosts of negative urges. Arjuna, the son of Kunti, is expressing his despair that the IDENTITY of the Self can be fixed up neither by the subtlest and the noblest of our perceptions, nor can we apprehend this Self through our 'Danava'-like challenge to possess, to acquire, to investigate and to know. Neither the good in us can embrace the Truth, nor can the bad in us challenge and bring up the Truth as an opposing force right in front of us. There are only two methods of meeting another being or thing; either as a friend or as a foe, either as something that we like or as something that we abhor. In neither way can we come to apprehend the individuality, the total personality (Vyakti) of the Self --- It being the subject, both in Its expression as an individual (Yoga) and in Its expansion as the cosmic (Vibhuti).
IF NONE CAN KNOW THE TRUTH, WHY IS ARJUNA ASKING KRISHNA TO EXPLAIN? WHAT EXACTLY IS THE SPECIAL QUALITY THAT ENABLES HIM TO EXPLAIN THAT WHICH NONE ELSE CAN EVEN KNOW?
This stanza indicates how Krishna is capable of explaining the Supreme which is not known by the denizens of the heaven or the hoards of the other kingdom. The Self is, of course, not known as an 'object' through the intervention of our instruments of knowing, nor can It be apprehended as the 'subject' --- either through the best, or the worst in us. But, at the same time, the Self being Awareness, It in Itself is Knowledge --- and to 'know' Knowledge, no other knowledge is needed. Therefore, it is said by Arjuna "YOU YOURSELF KNOW YOURSELF BY YOURSELF."
Sources: Vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
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