Under the BanyanOld stories, illustrated and annotated
Krishna, standing small, begins to teach with a gentle almost-smile as Arjuna sits silent beside his bow, while a large vision cloud shows a river of golden light with unextinguished lamps and faint crowned kings standing in it, as if always there (Bhagavad Gita 2.9–12).
Krishna, standing small, begins to teach with a gentle almost-smile as Arjuna sits silent beside his bow, while a large vision cloud shows a river of golden light with unextinguished lamps and faint crowned kings standing in it, as if always there (Bhagavad Gita 2.9–12).

Kurukshetra Companion, the Bhagavad Gita four verses at a time · Chapter 2 so far

“I will not fight”, and Krishna begins to teach

Chapter 2, verses 9–12. About 5 minutes.

Verse 59 of 700 in the full Gita. Chapter 2: 12 of 72.

Listen to this reading

Where we are

Sañjaya is still telling the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra what happens. In the previous reading Arjuna stopped arguing and asked Krishna, as a student, to teach him. Here he makes one last statement, “I will not fight”, and goes quiet. Krishna's first words of teaching follow.

The verses

  1. 2.9

    saṃjaya uvāca

    Having said all this to Krishna, Arjuna, the one who has mastered sleep, declares: “I will not fight.” Then he falls silent.

    Show the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.9

    एवमुक्त्वा हृषीकेशं गुडाकेशः परन्तप ।
    न योत्स्य इति गोविन्दमुक्त्वा तूष्णीं बभूव ह ॥ ९ ॥

    evam uktvā hṛṣīkeśaṃ guḍākeśaḥ paraṃtapa
    na yotsya iti govindam uktvā tūṣṇīṃ babhūva ha

    Say it

    ay-vum ook-tvaa hrish-ee-kay-shum goo-daa-kay-shuh puh-run-tuh-puh
    nuh yo-tsyuh i-ti go-vin-dum ook-tvaa too-shneem buh-bhoo-vuh huh

    Word by word

    evam uktvā
    having spoken thus
    hṛṣīkeśam
    to Hṛṣīkeśa (Krishna, lord of the senses)
    guḍākeśaḥ
    Guḍākeśa (Arjuna, conqueror of sleep)
    paraṃtapa
    O scorcher of foes (addressed to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
    na yotsye iti
    "I will not fight," thus
    govindam uktvā
    having said to Govinda
    tūṣṇīm babhūva ha
    he became silent indeed
  2. 2.10

    There between the two armies, Krishna, almost smiling, turns to the despairing Arjuna and begins to speak.

    Show the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.10

    तमुवाच हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव भारत ।
    सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वचः ॥ १० ॥

    tam uvāca hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasann iva bhārata
    senayor ubhayor madhye viṣīdantam idaṃ vacaḥ

    Say it

    tum oo-vaa-chuh hrish-ee-kay-shuh pruh-huh-sun ni-vuh bhaa-ruh-tuh
    say-nuh-yor oo-bhuh-yor mudh-yay vi-shee-dun-tum i-dum vuh-chuh

    Word by word

    tam uvāca
    to him he spoke
    hṛṣīkeśaḥ
    Hṛṣīkeśa
    prahasann iva
    as if smiling / almost smiling
    bhārata
    O descendant of Bharata
    senayoḥ ubhayoḥ madhye
    in the midst of the two armies
    viṣīdantam
    to the one sinking in despair
    idaṃ vacaḥ
    this speech / these words
  3. 2.11

    śrībhagavān uvāca

    Krishna says: you grieve for those who need no grief, yet you talk as if you were wise. Those who truly see do not mourn the dead, nor the living.

    Show the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.11

    अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे ।
    गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥ ११ ॥

    aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṃ prajñāvādāṃś ca bhāṣase
    gatāsūn agatāsūṃś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ

    Say it

    uh-sho-chyaan un-vuh-sho-chus tvum prug-nyaa-vaa-daamsh chuh bhaa-shuh-say
    guh-taa-soon uh-guh-taa-soomsh chuh naa-noo-sho-chun-ti pun-di-taah

    Word by word

    aśocyān
    those not to be grieved for
    anvaśocaḥ tvam
    you have grieved / you grieve for
    prajñā-vādān ca
    and words that sound wise
    bhāṣase
    you speak
    gata-asūn
    those whose life-breath has gone (the dead)
    agata-asūn ca
    and those whose life-breath has not gone (the living)
    na anuśocanti
    do not grieve over
    paṇḍitāḥ
    the wise / the learned
  4. 2.12

    There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these kings. And none of us will ever stop existing from now on.

    Show the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.12

    न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः ।
    न चैव न भविष्यामः सर्वे वयमतः परम् ॥ १२ ॥

    na tv evāhaṃ jātu nāsaṃ na tvaṃ neme janādhipāḥ
    na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayam ataḥ param

    Say it

    nuh tv ay-vaa-hum jaa-too naa-sum nuh tvum nay-may juh-naa-dhi-paah
    nuh chai-vuh nuh bhuh-vish-yaa-muh sur-vay vuh-yum uh-tuh puh-rum

    Word by word

    na tu eva aham
    but never was I
    jātu na āsam
    at any time not existing
    na tvam
    nor you
    na ime janādhipāḥ
    nor these lords of people / kings
    na ca eva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ
    and nor shall we cease to be
    sarve vayam
    all of us
    ataḥ param
    from this time onward / hereafter

Context and commentary

Arjuna is called Guḍākeśa, “conqueror of sleep”, and Krishna Hṛṣīkeśa, “master of the senses”: the alert one is now stuck, and the one in control speaks. Prahasann iva, “as if smiling”, is usually read as warmth, not mockery. Most commentators treat 2.11 as the real start of the teaching. Prajñā-vāda means wise-sounding talk: Arjuna's arguments sound principled but miss the point. Interpretation: Śaṅkara reads 2.12 as the one unchanging Self appearing as many; Rāmānuja and Madhva read “I, you and these kings” as real, distinct selves that are all eternal.

Today's lesson

Wise-sounding words are not the same as seeing clearly

Arjuna's arguments were thoughtful, and Krishna still says they miss the point. His grief treats people as if they were only their bodies and roles, which come and go. We do this too: a lost job, a friendship that changes or a failed exam can feel like the end of a person, and we build careful-sounding reasons around that fear. The useful move is to notice what is actually ending and what is not.

Try this today

Pick one loss or change you keep worrying about, for example a friend moving away or a project being cancelled. Write two lines. First: “What is ending is…” (the daily coffee, the job title). Second: “What is not ending is…” (the friendship, the skills you built). Read both lines once and notice whether the worry feels any different.

Check the text and listen