Chapter 11 · Class prep
A printable handout for teaching this chapter. For each verse with Personal Guidance, you'll see Prabhupāda's translation, the essence, two or three practical applications, and a discussion prompt. Press ⌘P / Ctrl P to print as a handout.
BG 11.1
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, Vṛtrāsura, the commander in chief of the demons, advised his lieutenants in the principles of religion, but the cowardly demoniac commanders, intent upon fleeing the battlefield, were so disturbed by fear that they could not accept his words.
Essence. Vṛtra tried to teach his lieutenants the principles of religion, but the cowardly commanders, intent on fleeing, were too disturbed to listen. Even a good speech cannot reach minds already committed to escape.
BG 11.2-3
O King Parīkṣit, the demigods, taking advantage of a favorable opportunity presented by time, attacked the army of the demons from the rear and began driving away the demoniac soldiers, scattering them here and there as if their army had no leader. Seeing the pitiable condition of his soldiers, Vṛtrāsura, the best of the asuras, who was called Indraśatru, the enemy of Indra, was very much aggrieved. Unable to tolerate such reverses, he stopped and forcefully rebuked the demigods, speaking the following words in an angry mood.
Essence. The demigods, taking timely advantage, attacked the demons from the rear and scattered them. Time-sensitivity matters: the same act earlier or later might have failed.
BG 11.4
O demigods, these demoniac soldiers have taken birth uselessly. Indeed, they have come from the bodies of their mothers exactly like stool. What is the benefit of killing such enemies from behind while they are running in fear? One who considers himself a hero should not kill an enemy who is afraid of losing his life. Such killing is never glorious, nor can it promote one to the heavenly planets.
Essence. Vṛtra: these demons have come from wombs uselessly, like stool — what good is killing them from behind while they flee? He calls out the demigods' lack of honor in striking the fleeing.
BG 11.5
O insignificant demigods, if you truly have faith in your heroism, if you have patience in the cores of your hearts and if you are not ambitious for sense gratification, please stand before me for a moment.
Essence. If you have real heroism, patience, and freedom from sensory greed, stand before me a moment. A genuine challenge invites the opponent to live up to their stated qualities.
BG 11.6
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Vṛtrāsura, the angry and most powerful hero, terrified the demigods with his stout and strongly built body. When he roared with a resounding voice, nearly all living entities fainted.
Essence. Angry Vṛtra terrified the demigods with his powerful build; his lion-like roar caused nearly all beings to faint. Concentrated power, expressed at the right moment, paralyzes ordinary opposition.
BG 11.7
When all the demigods heard Vṛtrāsura’s tumultuous roar, which resembled that of a lion, they fainted and fell to the ground as if struck by thunderbolts.
Essence. Hearing his tumultuous roar, all the demigods fainted and fell as if struck by thunderbolts. Even celestial beings collapse before raw demonic intensity.
BG 11.8
As the demigods closed their eyes in fear, Vṛtrāsura, taking up his trident and making the earth tremble with his great strength, trampled the demigods beneath his feet on the battlefield the way a mad elephant tramples hollow bamboos in the forest.
Essence. As the demigods closed their eyes in fear, Vṛtra trampled them as a mad elephant tramples hollow bamboo. Closed eyes do not protect; surrendering perception only invites further trampling.
BG 11.9
Seeing Vṛtrāsura’s disposition, Indra, the King of heaven, became intolerant and threw at him one of his great clubs, which are extremely difficult to counteract. However, as the club flew toward him, Vṛtrāsura easily caught it with his left hand.
Essence. Intolerant, Indra hurled a difficult-to-counter club; Vṛtra caught it left-handed. Sometimes our best weapons are caught and turned by stronger hands.
BG 11.10
O King Parīkṣit, the powerful Vṛtrāsura, the enemy of King Indra, angrily struck the head of Indra’s elephant with that club, making a tumultuous sound on the battlefield. For this heroic deed, the soldiers on both sides glorified him.
Essence. Vṛtra struck Indra's elephant's head with the club; soldiers on both sides glorified the deed. Honest valor is recognized even by enemies; quality transcends sides.
BG 11.11
Struck with the club by Vṛtrāsura like a mountain struck by a thunderbolt, the elephant Airāvata, feeling great pain and spitting blood from its broken mouth, was pushed back fourteen yards. In great distress, the elephant fell, with Indra on its back.
Essence. Struck like a mountain by thunderbolt, Airāvata fell, spitting blood — Indra dismounted to nurse it. The carrier suffered; the hero's compassion paused the battle.
BG 11.12
When he saw Indra’s carrier elephant thus fatigued and injured and when he saw Indra morose because his carrier had been harmed in that way, the great soul Vṛtrāsura, following religious principles, refrained from again striking Indra with the club. Taking this opportunity, Indra touched the elephant with his nectar-producing hand, thus relieving the animal’s pain and curing its injuries. Then the elephant and Indra both stood silently.
Essence. Seeing Indra's grief, Vṛtra, following religious principles, refrained from striking him again. Even in mortal combat the great soul honors dharma over advantage.
BG 11.13
O King, when the great hero Vṛtrāsura saw Indra, his enemy, the killer of his brother, standing before him with a thunderbolt in his hand, desiring to fight, Vṛtrāsura remembered how Indra had cruelly killed his brother. Thinking of Indra’s sinful activities, he became mad with lamentation and forgetfulness. Laughing sarcastically, he spoke as follows.
Essence. Seeing Indra — the killer of his brother — before him, Vṛtra remembered the cruelty and felt fury. Old wrongs surface at the worst possible moment.
BG 11.14
Śrī Vṛtrāsura said: He who has killed a brāhmaṇa, he who has killed his spiritual master — indeed, he who has killed my brother — is now, by good fortune, standing before me face to face as my enemy. O most abominable one, when I pierce your stonelike heart with my trident, I shall be freed from my debt to my brother.
Essence. Vṛtra names Indra as killer of a brāhmaṇa, killer of his spiritual master, killer of his brother. Naming the harm in full is part of honest confrontation.
BG 11.15
Only for the sake of living in the heavenly planets, you killed my elder brother — a self-realized, sinless, qualified brāhmaṇa who had been appointed your chief priest. He was your spiritual master, but although you entrusted him with the performance of your sacrifice, you later mercilessly severed his heads from his body the way one butchers an animal.
Essence. You killed Viśvarūpa — sinless, qualified, your appointed priest — for heavenly comfort. Vṛtra exposes the small motive behind a great crime.
BG 11.16
Indra, you are bereft of all shame, mercy, glory and good fortune. Deprived of these good qualities by the reactions of your fruitive activities, you are to be condemned even by the man-eaters [Rākṣasas]. Now I shall pierce your body with my trident, and after you die with great pain, even fire will not touch you; only the vultures will eat your body.
Essence. Bereft of shame, mercy, glory, and good fortune, you are condemned even by Rākṣasas — I shall pierce your body. Stripped of inner qualities, even great rank becomes contemptible.
BG 11.17
You are naturally cruel. If the other demigods, unaware of my prowess, follow you by attacking me with raised weapons, I shall sever their heads with this sharp trident. With those heads I shall perform a sacrifice to Bhairava and the other leaders of the ghosts, along with their hordes.
Essence. If demigods follow you with weapons, I will sever their heads and offer them to Bhairava and her associates. Vṛtra's threat ritualizes destruction with traditional offerings — even violence has forms.
BG 11.18
But if in this battle you cut off my head with your thunderbolt and kill my soldiers, O Indra, O great hero, I shall take great pleasure in offering my body to other living entities [such as jackals and vultures]. I shall thus be relieved of my obligations to the reactions of my karma, and my fortune will be to receive the dust from the lotus feet of great devotees like Nārada Muni.
Essence. But if you sever my head with the thunderbolt, I shall gladly offer my body to jackals and vultures, freed of debt to my karma. Death in battle, viewed as offering, becomes liberation.
BG 11.19
O King of the demigods, since I, your enemy, am standing before you, why don’t you hurl your thunderbolt at me? Although your attack upon me with your club was certainly useless, like a request of money from a miser, the thunderbolt you carry will not be useless. You need have no doubts about this.
Essence. Since I, your enemy, stand before you, why don't you throw the thunderbolt? Your club attack was useless as asking money from a miser, but the thunderbolt is empowered by Viṣṇu.
BG 11.20
O Indra, King of heaven, the thunderbolt you carry to kill me has been empowered by the prowess of Lord Viṣṇu and the strength of Dadhīci’s austerities. Since you have come here to kill me in accordance with Lord Viṣṇu’s order, there is no doubt that I shall be killed by the release of your thunderbolt. Lord Viṣṇu has sided with you. Therefore your victory, opulence and all good qualities are assured.
Essence. Your thunderbolt is empowered by Viṣṇu and by Dadhīci's austerities; since you come by Viṣṇu's order, the demons cannot win. The metaphysical authorship of an action decides its outcome.
BG 11.21
By the force of your thunderbolt, I shall be freed of material bondage and shall give up this body and this world of material desires. Fixing my mind upon the lotus feet of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, I shall attain the destination of such great sages as Nārada Muni, just as Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa has said.
Essence. By the thunderbolt I shall be freed of bondage; fixing my mind on Saṅkarṣaṇa's feet I shall attain the destination of great sages. Vṛtra's death-plan is a devotional act.
BG 11.22
Persons who fully surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and always think of His lotus feet are accepted and recognized by the Lord as His own personal assistants or servants. The Lord never bestows upon such servants the brilliant opulences of the upper, lower and middle planetary systems of this material world. When one possesses material opulence in any of these three divisions of the universe, his possessions naturally increase his enmity, anxiety, mental agitation, pride and belligerence. Thus one goes through much endeavor to increase and maintain his possessions, and he suffers great unhappiness when he loses them.
Essence. Those who surrender at the Lord's feet and always think of Him are accepted as His personal servants; the Lord doesn't bestow opulence on such ones because it would distract. Surrender deflects upgrades from the wrong direction.
BG 11.23
Our Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, forbids His devotees to endeavor uselessly for religion, economic development and sense gratification. O Indra, one can thus infer how kind the Lord is. Such mercy is obtainable only by unalloyed devotees, not by persons who aspire for material gains.
Essence. The Lord forbids His devotees to endeavor uselessly for religion, economy, sense gratification — His mercy is obtainable only by serving with sincere devotion. Some 'religious' efforts He simply forbids us.
BG 11.24
O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, will I again be able to be a servant of Your eternal servants who find shelter only at Your lotus feet? O Lord of my life, may I again become their servant so that my mind may always think of Your transcendental attributes, my words always glorify those attributes, and my body always engage in the loving service of Your Lordship?
Essence. Vṛtra prays: will I again be a servant of Your servants, finding shelter only at Your feet? My Lord, may my mind always think of Your qualities. The demon's deepest desire is to serve the Lord's servants.
BG 11.25
O my Lord, source of all opportunities, I do not desire to enjoy in Dhruvaloka, the heavenly planets or the planet where Lord Brahmā resides, nor do I want to be the supreme ruler of all the earthly planets or the lower planetary systems. I do not desire to be master of the powers of mystic yoga, nor do I want liberation if I have to give up Your lotus feet.
Essence. I do not desire to enjoy Dhruvaloka, heaven, Brahmaloka, the earth or the lower regions — nor even mystic perfections. The complete renunciation of every conceivable upgrade is the spiritual posture.
BG 11.26
O lotus-eyed Lord, as baby birds that have not yet developed their wings always look for their mother to return and feed them, as small calves tied with ropes await anxiously the time of milking, when they will be allowed to drink the milk of their mothers, or as a morose wife whose husband is away from home always longs for him to return and satisfy her in all respects, I always yearn for the opportunity to render direct service unto You.
Essence. As baby birds wait for their mother and calves for milking time, my mind anxiously waits to see Your lotus feet. Affection-as-anxious-waiting is itself a high state.
BG 11.27
O my Lord, my master, I am wandering throughout this material world as a result of my fruitive activities. Therefore I simply seek friendship in the association of Your pious and enlightened devotees. My attachment to my body, wife, children and home is continuing by the spell of Your external energy, but I wish to be attached to them no longer. Let my mind, my consciousness and everything I have be attached only to You.
Essence. Wandering in this world by karma, I seek friendship with Your pious devotees; my attachments to body, wife, children, friends, riches, even my own life — please free me from these. Vṛtra ends by listing what to be detached from.