Bg 11.25
daṁṣṭrā-karālāni ca te mukhāni dṛṣṭvaiva kālānala-sannibhāni
diśo na jāne na labhe ca śarma prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa
Bg 11.26-27
amī ca tvāṁ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ sarve sahaivāvani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ
bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūta-putras tathāsau sahāsmadīyair api yodha-mukhyaiḥ
vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṁṣṭrā-karālāni bhayānakāni
kecid vilagnā daśanāntareṣu sandṛśyante cūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ
Bg 11.28
yathā nadīnāṁ bahavo ’mbu-vegāḥ samudram evābhimukhā dravanti
tathā tavāmī nara-loka-vīrā viśanti vaktrāṇy abhivijvalanti
Translation
25. Having seen your mouths fearsome with tusks (blazing) like PRALAYA fires, I know not the four quarters, nor do I find peace; be gracious, O Lord of the DEVAS, O Abode of the Universe.
26. All the sons of Dhritarashtra with hosts of kings of the earth, Bhishma, Drona and the son of a charioteer, Karna, with the warrior chieftains of ours;
27. Into Your mouths, with terrible teeth, and fearful to behold, they precipitately enter. Some are found sticking in the gaps between the teeth with their heads crushed into pulp.
28. Verily, as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, so these heroes in the world of men enter Your flaming mouths.
Commentary
"SEEING THE UNIVERSAL-MOUTH TERRIBLE WITH TUSKS, THREATENING AS THE FIRE-OF-DELUGE," CONFESSES ARJUNA, "I HAVE LOST MY SENSE OF DIRECTION AND I FEEL NO PEACE." This is the picture of Time --- Time, the leveller of everything, the consumer of all forms. When the intellect comes to comprehend such a vast field, and that too all of a sudden, the very magnitude of it smothers all powers of discrimination and benumbs the individual for a moment. This chaotic condition of confusion is expressed here, "I KNOW NOT THE FOUR QUARTERS." And this is not all. "I FIND NO PEACE" either.
In such a condition of extreme wonderment, the astounded mortal comes to realise that his physical might, his mental capacities and his intellectual subtleties are all, both individually and in their aggregate, unimportant vehicles indeed. The little ego drops down its veil of vanity and its armour of false strength and stands naked meekly surrendering itself to the influence of the Cosmic-Power. Prayer is the only resort of the individual, who has thus fully realised the emptiness of his own hollow vanities, in the presence of the Mighty-Total and the Supreme-Divine.
In concluding the stanza with the humble prayer, "BE GRACIOUS, O LORD, THOU ART THE HOME OF THE UNIVERSE," Vyasa has rightly indicated that true prayers can never rise up from a heart that is swollen with pride and entertains an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Only when man understands his own individual insignificance, in the context of the total Universe, then true prayer can rise up from him almost involuntarily.
THIS PARTICULAR SECTION (Starting from XI-21) IS MAINLY FOR REASSURING ARJUNA OF THE SUCCESS THAT IS YET TO COME IN THE FUTURE FOR HIMSELF AND HIS ARMY. THEREFORE, THE LORD DIRECTLY SHOWS THE FORCES ENTER THE INESCAPABLE "MOUTH OF TIME" AND DISAPPEAR:
A philosophy that comprehends the totality without fear or favour and is even true to its mission of seeking Truth, cannot afford to ignore the DESTRUCTIVE-aspect in nature. No creation is possible without being preceded by the process of destruction of its own existence as the raw material from which the created is produced. On the face of the Universe also, wherever there is "existence" it is nothing but a repetition of constant change, and change can be interpreted either in terms of constant-creation with regard to the MADE-PRODUCTS, or as a process of constant-destruction with regard to the RAW-MATERIAL that changed.
Thus, we see that in Hinduism, the daring Masters of the Aryan fold, while extolling the beauty of the Reality, indulged themselves in viewing It not only as the Omniscient-Creator, or as the Omnipotent-Sustainer, but also as the All-powerful-Devourer of all names and forms. This may look dreadful to those creeds that have not yet come to watch and analyse Life in its totality.
Arjuna's words are significant. He does not see the Universal-Form itself devouring the names and forms. On the other hand, he observed that all names and forms "ENTER IN HASTE INTO THY MOUTH." When we watch an ocean, we do not find the ocean ever rising up to absorb the waves, but the waves which have risen from the ocean, after a momentary play upon the surface, rush back to disappear into the very ocean. The multiplicity that has risen from the Totality, after its play upon the surface of Truth, must necessarily rush back in all hurry into the very Whole from which they had arisen.
Arjuna watches "ALL THE SONS OF DHRITARASHTRA, THE HOSTS OF KINGS, BHISHMA, DRONA, KARNA, THE SON OF A CHARIOTEER, ALONG WITH THE WARRIOR CHIEFTAINS OF OURS" entering precipitately into the yawning mouth of the Principle of Destruction in nature. This not only frightens Arjuna and unnerves him, but also gives him the confidence to look ahead --- in spite of the fact that in numerical strength, in supplies, and in technicians, his own army was much inferior to the mighty forces of the Kurus. The Vision which he saw, was, in fact, a peep into the future. In the Vishwaroopa, when the Lord expresses Himself as the entire world of phenomena, a conception of oneness arises in which not only space shrinks, but even Time becomes an object-of-observation.
It is no wonder, therefore, that Arjuna saw in that picture THE PAST MERGING WITH THE PRESENT AND MOVING FORWARD TO MINGLE WITH THE ENTIRE FUTURE. When I have the entire Geeta-book before me, I can read either the preceding two pages or can skip over them and read the third page ahead or, according to my will and desire, continue reading this very same page. Similarly, when the whole Universe is brought at once within the compass of Arjuna's vision, he could see herein at one gaze "ALL THE HERE AND THE THERE, AND THE EVERYWHERE" --- so too THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. The modern scientists also have now come to realise and accept that Time and Space are one and the same, and they are each expressed in terms of the other.*
The seekers of Truth, themselves truthful, were not at all afraid if their enquiry took them to the aspect of the terrible in the Truth. The world is a combination of the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad, the soft and the hard, the sweet and the bitter. God, the Lord, has Himself become all these, and therefore, no adoration of the Lord, or estimate of the Reality, will be complete, if, according to our taste, we recognise only the beautiful, the good, the soft, and the sweet aspects of Him. An unprejudiced and detached mind will have to recognise Him as the ugly and the bad, the hard and the bitter also. That philosophy alone is complete which points out that the Supreme is, in fact, in Its Absolute Nature, beyond all these qualities.
In a purely scientific approach, therefore, Arjuna is made to express all the details, even if they be blood-curdling and gruesome. No doubt, the Geeta has its own sense of realism. The mouth of death is described here with all faithfulness as "TERRIBLE WITH TUSKS," "FEARFUL TO BEHOLD."
HOW DO THEY ENTER THY MOUTH? ARJUNA SAYS:
In this stanza, the analogy of the torrential rivers, gushing ahead to reach the ocean and become one with it, is used. Each river has, no doubt, its own distinct personality, gathered from the nature and condition of the very terrain through which it has flowed. At no point does any river pause or hesitate to gush forward. An observer of limited powers of understanding may say that each drop of water in its flow in the river is moving towards a known point down on its way; but, to a true observer, all rivers flow towards the ocean and they cannot, and will not, stop until they reach the ocean, having reached which, all distinctions end.
Each drop of water in the river came from the ocean --- in the form of a cloud it reached the mountains, and there in the form of rain it manifested; watering the lands on the banks and supplying life and nourishment to the fields, they gushed down in their torrential haste to the very basin from which they took off on this "MERCY FLIGHT." Similarly, from the Totality, the individuals have come to serve the race, to nourish the culture, to contribute to the beauty of the world...and yet, on their pilgrimage none of them can pause even for a moment en route. All must rush towards the Source from which they arose. The river loses nothing by reaching the ocean. Even though it gathers en route certain special qualities, and therefore, a special name, and has, for itself, a separate tangible form, it is all a temporary phase, a convenience taken up by "the waters of the ocean" to make the dry land smile in plenty.
The more thought is given to it, the more can this stanza yield its secret joys and expose its innate beauty.
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
daṁṣṭrā-karālāni ca te mukhāni dṛṣṭvaiva kālānala-sannibhāni
diśo na jāne na labhe ca śarma prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa
Bg 11.26-27
amī ca tvāṁ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ sarve sahaivāvani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ
bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūta-putras tathāsau sahāsmadīyair api yodha-mukhyaiḥ
vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṁṣṭrā-karālāni bhayānakāni
kecid vilagnā daśanāntareṣu sandṛśyante cūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ
Bg 11.28
yathā nadīnāṁ bahavo ’mbu-vegāḥ samudram evābhimukhā dravanti
tathā tavāmī nara-loka-vīrā viśanti vaktrāṇy abhivijvalanti
Translation
25. Having seen your mouths fearsome with tusks (blazing) like PRALAYA fires, I know not the four quarters, nor do I find peace; be gracious, O Lord of the DEVAS, O Abode of the Universe.
26. All the sons of Dhritarashtra with hosts of kings of the earth, Bhishma, Drona and the son of a charioteer, Karna, with the warrior chieftains of ours;
27. Into Your mouths, with terrible teeth, and fearful to behold, they precipitately enter. Some are found sticking in the gaps between the teeth with their heads crushed into pulp.
28. Verily, as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, so these heroes in the world of men enter Your flaming mouths.
Commentary
"SEEING THE UNIVERSAL-MOUTH TERRIBLE WITH TUSKS, THREATENING AS THE FIRE-OF-DELUGE," CONFESSES ARJUNA, "I HAVE LOST MY SENSE OF DIRECTION AND I FEEL NO PEACE." This is the picture of Time --- Time, the leveller of everything, the consumer of all forms. When the intellect comes to comprehend such a vast field, and that too all of a sudden, the very magnitude of it smothers all powers of discrimination and benumbs the individual for a moment. This chaotic condition of confusion is expressed here, "I KNOW NOT THE FOUR QUARTERS." And this is not all. "I FIND NO PEACE" either.
In such a condition of extreme wonderment, the astounded mortal comes to realise that his physical might, his mental capacities and his intellectual subtleties are all, both individually and in their aggregate, unimportant vehicles indeed. The little ego drops down its veil of vanity and its armour of false strength and stands naked meekly surrendering itself to the influence of the Cosmic-Power. Prayer is the only resort of the individual, who has thus fully realised the emptiness of his own hollow vanities, in the presence of the Mighty-Total and the Supreme-Divine.
In concluding the stanza with the humble prayer, "BE GRACIOUS, O LORD, THOU ART THE HOME OF THE UNIVERSE," Vyasa has rightly indicated that true prayers can never rise up from a heart that is swollen with pride and entertains an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Only when man understands his own individual insignificance, in the context of the total Universe, then true prayer can rise up from him almost involuntarily.
THIS PARTICULAR SECTION (Starting from XI-21) IS MAINLY FOR REASSURING ARJUNA OF THE SUCCESS THAT IS YET TO COME IN THE FUTURE FOR HIMSELF AND HIS ARMY. THEREFORE, THE LORD DIRECTLY SHOWS THE FORCES ENTER THE INESCAPABLE "MOUTH OF TIME" AND DISAPPEAR:
A philosophy that comprehends the totality without fear or favour and is even true to its mission of seeking Truth, cannot afford to ignore the DESTRUCTIVE-aspect in nature. No creation is possible without being preceded by the process of destruction of its own existence as the raw material from which the created is produced. On the face of the Universe also, wherever there is "existence" it is nothing but a repetition of constant change, and change can be interpreted either in terms of constant-creation with regard to the MADE-PRODUCTS, or as a process of constant-destruction with regard to the RAW-MATERIAL that changed.
Thus, we see that in Hinduism, the daring Masters of the Aryan fold, while extolling the beauty of the Reality, indulged themselves in viewing It not only as the Omniscient-Creator, or as the Omnipotent-Sustainer, but also as the All-powerful-Devourer of all names and forms. This may look dreadful to those creeds that have not yet come to watch and analyse Life in its totality.
Arjuna's words are significant. He does not see the Universal-Form itself devouring the names and forms. On the other hand, he observed that all names and forms "ENTER IN HASTE INTO THY MOUTH." When we watch an ocean, we do not find the ocean ever rising up to absorb the waves, but the waves which have risen from the ocean, after a momentary play upon the surface, rush back to disappear into the very ocean. The multiplicity that has risen from the Totality, after its play upon the surface of Truth, must necessarily rush back in all hurry into the very Whole from which they had arisen.
Arjuna watches "ALL THE SONS OF DHRITARASHTRA, THE HOSTS OF KINGS, BHISHMA, DRONA, KARNA, THE SON OF A CHARIOTEER, ALONG WITH THE WARRIOR CHIEFTAINS OF OURS" entering precipitately into the yawning mouth of the Principle of Destruction in nature. This not only frightens Arjuna and unnerves him, but also gives him the confidence to look ahead --- in spite of the fact that in numerical strength, in supplies, and in technicians, his own army was much inferior to the mighty forces of the Kurus. The Vision which he saw, was, in fact, a peep into the future. In the Vishwaroopa, when the Lord expresses Himself as the entire world of phenomena, a conception of oneness arises in which not only space shrinks, but even Time becomes an object-of-observation.
It is no wonder, therefore, that Arjuna saw in that picture THE PAST MERGING WITH THE PRESENT AND MOVING FORWARD TO MINGLE WITH THE ENTIRE FUTURE. When I have the entire Geeta-book before me, I can read either the preceding two pages or can skip over them and read the third page ahead or, according to my will and desire, continue reading this very same page. Similarly, when the whole Universe is brought at once within the compass of Arjuna's vision, he could see herein at one gaze "ALL THE HERE AND THE THERE, AND THE EVERYWHERE" --- so too THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. The modern scientists also have now come to realise and accept that Time and Space are one and the same, and they are each expressed in terms of the other.*
The seekers of Truth, themselves truthful, were not at all afraid if their enquiry took them to the aspect of the terrible in the Truth. The world is a combination of the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad, the soft and the hard, the sweet and the bitter. God, the Lord, has Himself become all these, and therefore, no adoration of the Lord, or estimate of the Reality, will be complete, if, according to our taste, we recognise only the beautiful, the good, the soft, and the sweet aspects of Him. An unprejudiced and detached mind will have to recognise Him as the ugly and the bad, the hard and the bitter also. That philosophy alone is complete which points out that the Supreme is, in fact, in Its Absolute Nature, beyond all these qualities.
In a purely scientific approach, therefore, Arjuna is made to express all the details, even if they be blood-curdling and gruesome. No doubt, the Geeta has its own sense of realism. The mouth of death is described here with all faithfulness as "TERRIBLE WITH TUSKS," "FEARFUL TO BEHOLD."
HOW DO THEY ENTER THY MOUTH? ARJUNA SAYS:
In this stanza, the analogy of the torrential rivers, gushing ahead to reach the ocean and become one with it, is used. Each river has, no doubt, its own distinct personality, gathered from the nature and condition of the very terrain through which it has flowed. At no point does any river pause or hesitate to gush forward. An observer of limited powers of understanding may say that each drop of water in its flow in the river is moving towards a known point down on its way; but, to a true observer, all rivers flow towards the ocean and they cannot, and will not, stop until they reach the ocean, having reached which, all distinctions end.
Each drop of water in the river came from the ocean --- in the form of a cloud it reached the mountains, and there in the form of rain it manifested; watering the lands on the banks and supplying life and nourishment to the fields, they gushed down in their torrential haste to the very basin from which they took off on this "MERCY FLIGHT." Similarly, from the Totality, the individuals have come to serve the race, to nourish the culture, to contribute to the beauty of the world...and yet, on their pilgrimage none of them can pause even for a moment en route. All must rush towards the Source from which they arose. The river loses nothing by reaching the ocean. Even though it gathers en route certain special qualities, and therefore, a special name, and has, for itself, a separate tangible form, it is all a temporary phase, a convenience taken up by "the waters of the ocean" to make the dry land smile in plenty.
The more thought is given to it, the more can this stanza yield its secret joys and expose its innate beauty.
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
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