A wonder, then a duty

Where we are

In the previous reading Krishna argued that even if the self were born and died with the body, grieving the unavoidable makes no sense. Now he closes that line by admitting how hard the self is to grasp, restates that it cannot be killed, and then switches to a new argument: Arjuna's own duty as a warrior.

The verses

1. 2.29

   One person looks at the self and is amazed; another describes it with amazement; another hears about it and is amazed. Yet even after hearing all about it, nobody really comes to know it.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.29

   आश्चर्यवत्पश्यति कश्चिदेन-
   माश्चर्यवद्वदति तथैव चान्यः ।
   आश्चर्यवच्चैनमन्यः शृणोति
   श्रुत्वाप्येनं वेद न चैव कश्चित् ॥ २९ ॥

   Hear it

   āścaryavat paśyati kaś cid enam / āścaryavad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ
   āścaryavac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti / śrutvāpy enaṃ veda na caiva kaś cit

   Say it

   aash-chur-yuh-vut push-yuh-ti kush-chi-day-num
   aash-chur-yuh-vud vuh-duh-ti tuh-thai-vuh chaan-yuh-hu
   aash-chur-yuh-vuch-chai-num un-yuh shri-no-ti
   shroo-tvaap-yay-num vay-duh nuh chai-vuh kush-chit

   Word by word

   āścaryavat

   as a wonder, as something astonishing

   paśyati kaś cit enam

   someone sees this (self)

   āścaryavat vadati

   speaks of it as a wonder

   tathā eva ca anyaḥ

   and likewise another

   āścaryavat ca enam anyaḥ śṛṇoti

   and another hears of it as a wonder

   śrutvā api

   even after hearing

   enam veda na ca eva kaś cit

   no one truly knows it

2. 2.30

   The one who lives in every body can never be killed, Arjuna. So you have no reason to grieve for any living being.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.30

   देही नित्यमवध्योऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत ।
   तस्मात्सर्वाणि भूतानि न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥ ३० ॥

   Hear it

   dehī nityam avadhyo 'yaṃ dehe sarvasya bhārata
   tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni na tvaṃ śocitum arhasi

   Say it

   day-hee ni-tyum uh-vudh-yo 'yum day-hay sur-vuss-yuh bhaa-ruh-tuh
   tus-maat sur-vaa-ni bhoo-taa-ni nuh tvum sho-chi-toom ur-huh-si

   Word by word

   dehī

   the one who dwells in the body, the embodied self

   nityam avadhyaḥ ayam

   this is always beyond killing

   dehe sarvasya

   in the body of everyone

   bhārata

   descendant of Bharata (Arjuna)

   tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni

   so, for any being at all

   na tvam śocitum arhasi

   you should not grieve

3. 2.31

   Look at it, too, from the side of your own duty, and you should not waver. For someone in the warrior's role, nothing is better than a fight for what is right.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.31

   स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि ।
   धर्म्याद्धि युद्धाच्छ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते ॥ ३१ ॥

   Hear it

   svadharmam api cāvekṣya na vikampitum arhasi
   dharmyād dhi yuddhāc chreyo 'nyat kṣatriyasya na vidyate

   Say it

   svuh-dhur-mum uh-pi chaa-vayk-shyuh nuh vi-kum-pi-toom ur-huh-si
   dhur-myaad dhi yood-dhaach chray-yo 'nyut kshut-ri-yuss-yuh nuh vid-yuh-tay

   Word by word

   svadharmam

   your own duty, the dharma of your own role

   api ca avekṣya

   and also, looking at it

   na vikampitum arhasi

   you should not waver or tremble

   dharmyāt hi yuddhāt

   for than a righteous fight

   śreyaḥ anyat

   anything better

   kṣatriyasya na vidyate

   does not exist for a warrior

4. 2.32

   A battle like this has come to you on its own, without your seeking it, like a door to heaven swinging open, Arjuna. Only fortunate warriors are given such a fight.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.32

   यदृच्छया चोपपन्नं स्वर्गद्वारमपावृतम् ।
   सुखिनः क्षत्रियाः पार्थ लभन्ते युद्धमीदृशम् ॥ ३२ ॥

   Hear it

   yadṛcchayā copapannaṃ svargadvāram apāvṛtam
   sukhinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ pārtha labhante yuddham īdṛśam

   Say it

   yuh-dri-chchuh-yaa cho-puh-pun-num svur-guh-dvaa-rum uh-paa-vri-tum
   soo-khi-nuh kshut-ri-yaah paar-thuh luh-bhun-tay yood-dhum ee-dri-shum

   Word by word

   yadṛcchayā ca upapannam

   and arriving by itself, unsought

   svarga-dvāram apāvṛtam

   an open door to heaven

   sukhinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ

   fortunate warriors

   pārtha

   son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)

   labhante yuddham īdṛśam

   get to meet a battle like this

Context and commentary

Verse 2.29 changes to a longer metre and reads like a pause: the self is āścarya, a wonder people see, describe and hear of without truly knowing. The Kaṭha Upaniṣad says much the same. Verse 2.31 introduces svadharma, the duty of one's own role; for a kṣatriya (warrior-ruler) sworn to protect, walking away from a just fight was not neutral. Interpretation: Śaṅkara treats this appeal as a practical argument beside the higher teaching, while Rāmānuja sees rightly done duty as itself a path. Gandhi read the battle as the inner fight between right and wrong. The "door to heaven" in 2.32 speaks the warrior's own language; Krishna moves beyond reward from 2.39.