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All chapters · Kurukshetra Companion, the Bhagavad Gita four verses at a time

Chapter 2: Sāṅkhya Yoga

The Yoga of Knowledge, 72 verses

4 of 72 verses so far. New readings each morning.

Chapter 2 is Sāṅkhya Yoga, “The Yoga of Knowledge”, 72 verses. After a whole chapter of Arjuna's collapse, Krishna finally begins to teach. Ahead lie the idea of a self that is never slain, the call to act on one's duty without clinging to results, and a portrait of the person whose mind stays steady. This first reading is only the doorway: Arjuna in tears, Krishna's first bracing words, and Arjuna's honest objection.

The story so far

  1. 2.1–4Krishna speaks: stand up

    Chapter 2 opens: Krishna speaks at last, telling the tearful Arjuna to cast off weakness of heart and stand up, and Arjuna asks how he can fight Bhīṣma and Droṇa. Lesson: name the stall, then the real obstacle behind it.

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