FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 2.2

శ్రీ భగవానువాచ కుతస్త్వా కశ్మలమిదం విషమే సముపస్థితమ్ । అనార్యజుష్టమస్వర్గ్యకీర్తికరమర్జున ॥ ౨ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
[shree-bhagavaan uvaacha]
kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ
[kutas tvaa kashmalam idam]
viṣame samupasthitam
[vishame samupasthitam]
anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam
[anaarya-jushtam asvargyam]
akīrti-karam arjuna
[akeerti-karam arjuna]
Word-for-word
śrī - bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said kutaḥ — wherefrom tvā — unto you kaśmalam — dirtiness idam — this lamentation viṣame — in this hour of crisis samupasthitam — arrived anārya — persons who do not know the value of life juṣṭam — practiced by asvargyam — which does not lead to higher planets akīrti — infamy karam — the cause of arjuna — O Arjuna .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
śrī - bhagavān uvāca
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said
kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ
kutaḥ
wherefrom
tvā
unto you
kaśmalam
dirtiness
idam
this lamentation
viṣame samupasthitam
viṣame
in this hour of crisis
samupasthitam
arrived
anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam
anārya
persons who do not know the value of life
juṣṭam
practiced by
asvargyam
which does not lead to higher planets
akīrti-karam arjuna
akīrti
infamy
karam
the cause of
arjuna
O Arjuna .
Important Words
  • kaśmalam — impurity, dejection
    A strong word — dirt, filth, weakness of soul. Kṛṣṇa does not call Arjuna's mood 'understandable' or 'human'; He calls it filth. The diagnosis is brutal because the cure must be.
  • anārya — not befitting an Ārya
    Ārya here is not racial but qualitative — one who knows the value of progressive life. Kṛṣṇa is saying: you, a knower, are behaving like one who does not know.
  • asvargyam — not leading to higher planets
    Even by the lowest standard of dharma — heavenly reward — this collapse fails. Before reaching for liberation, one must not fall below karma-kāṇḍa.
  • akīrti — infamy
    For the kṣatriya, kīrti (renown) is the very currency of dharma. Akīrti is not mere unpopularity but the death of the soul's social form.
  • viṣame — at this critical hour
    The word means *uneven*, *difficult*. Some moments demand more than ordinary action — and dejection in a viṣama-kāla is a heavier crime than dejection in an easy one.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy.
Purport

Kṛṣṇa and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are identical. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is referred to as Bhagavān throughout the Gītā. Bhagavān is the ultimate in the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding, namely Brahman, or the impersonal all-pervasive spirit; Paramātmā, or the localized aspect of the Supreme within the heart of all living entities; and Bhagavān, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11) this conception of the Absolute Truth is explained thus: vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate “The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding by the knower of the Absolute Truth, and all of them are identical. Such phases of the Absolute Truth are expressed as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.” These three divine aspects can be explained by the example of the sun, which also has three different aspects, namely the sunshine, the sun’s surface and the sun planet itself. One who studies the sunshine only is the preliminary student. One who understands the sun’s surface is further advanced. And one who can enter into the sun planet is the highest. Ordinary students who are satisfied by simply understanding the sunshine – its universal pervasiveness and the glaring effulgence of its impersonal nature – may be compared to those who can realize only the Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth. The student who has advanced still further can know the sun disc, which is compared to knowledge of the Paramātmā feature of the Absolute Truth. And the student who can enter into the heart of the sun planet is compared to those who realize the personal features of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Therefore, the bhaktas, or the transcendentalists who have realized the Bhagavān feature of the Absolute Truth, are the topmost transcendentalists, although all students who are engaged in the study of the Absolute Truth are engaged in the same subject matter. The sunshine, the sun disc and the inner affairs of the sun planet cannot be separated from one another, and yet the students of the three different phases are not in the same category. The Sanskrit word bhagavān is explained by the great authority Parāśara Muni, the father of Vyāsadeva. The Supreme Personality who possesses all riches, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation is called Bhagavān. There are many persons who are very rich, very powerful, very beautiful, very famous, very learned and very much detached, but no one can claim that he possesses all riches, all strength, etc., entirely. Only Kṛṣṇa can claim this because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No living entity, including Brahmā, Lord Śiva or Nārāyaṇa, can possess opulences as fully as Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is concluded in the Brahma-saṁhitā by Lord Brahmā himself that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one is equal to or above Him. He is the primeval Lord, or Bhagavān, known as Govinda, and He is the supreme cause of all causes: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam “There are many personalities possessing the qualities of Bhagavān, but Kṛṣṇa is the supreme because none can excel Him. He is the Supreme Person, and His body is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. He is the primeval Lord Govinda and the cause of all causes.” ( Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1 ) In the Bhāgavatam also there is a list of many incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Kṛṣṇa is described as the original Personality of Godhead, from whom many, many incarnations and Personalities of Godhead expand: ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge “All the lists of the incarnations of Godhead submitted herewith are either plenary expansions or parts of the plenary expansions of the Supreme Godhead, but Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.” ( Bhāg. 1.3.28 ) Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, the source of both the Supersoul and the impersonal Brahman. In the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna’s lamentation for his kinsmen is certainly unbecoming, and therefore Kṛṣṇa expressed His surprise with the word kutaḥ, “wherefrom.” Such impurities were never expected from a person belonging to the civilized class of men known as Āryans. The word āryan is applicable to persons who know the value of life and have a civilization based on spiritual realization. Persons who are led by the material conception of life do not know that the aim of life is realization of the Absolute Truth, Viṣṇu, or Bhagavān, and they are captivated by the external features of the material world, and therefore they do not know what liberation is. Persons who have no knowledge of liberation from material bondage are called non-Āryans. Although Arjuna was a kṣatriya, he was deviating from his prescribed duties by declining to fight. This act of cowardice is described as befitting the non-Āryans. Such deviation from duty does not help one in the progress of spiritual life, nor does it even give one the opportunity to become famous in this world. Lord Kṛṣṇa did not approve of the so-called compassion of Arjuna for his kinsmen.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
2. The Lord said: How has this bewilderment come upon you at the time of battle? It is against dharma, precluding Svarga in next life and fame in this life.
Commentary

Why (kutaḥ) has this bewilderment (kaśmalam) at this critical juncture of the war (viṣame) come upon you (upasthitam)? This bewilderment is not to be experienced by persons of good reputation (anārya-juṣṭam), and is against both happiness in next life (asvargyam) and this life (akīrt-karam)?

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
2. The Lord said: How has this bewilderment come upon you, which is contrary to liberation, prohibits svarga in the next life, and brings infamy in this life?
Commentary

Saṣjaya begins to relate what the Lord, Bhagavān, said. Bhagavān is eternally endowed with six qualities as stated by Parāśara: aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryaysa yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ jṣāna-vairāgyayos cāpi ṣaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā Bhaga of six parts is defined as: complete control, complete influence, complete excellent qualities of body, mind and words, complete beauty or wealth, complete knowledge and complete detachment from worldly affairs. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.74 Samagrasya (complete) applies to all the items. The word “contamination” (kaśmalam) is used with a derogatory sense, since Kṛṣṇa is taking the position of the teacher and criticizing his student. For what reason (kutaḥ) has this contamination of turning away from your duties come upon you, the jewel among warriors, at the time of battle (viṣame)? The Lord explains that this renunciation of fighting does not lead to liberation, svarga or fame. It is not practiced (juṣṭam) by those aspiring for liberation (ārya), because those who are ārya practice their designated duties for purification of the heart. It is also contrary to religious practices for obtaining svarga (asvargyam), and it destroys fame (akirti karam).

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Krsna doesn't approve of Arjuna,s compassion.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study Key verse
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

COMMON THEME: Krishna’s response seeing Arjuna’s lamentation – Krishna condemns by following words:

Non-Aryan (2.2)
Kasmalam – implies impurities (2.2)
Klaibyam – implies impotent (2.3)
Hrdoya daurbalyam – implies weakness of heart (2.3)

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TEXTS 2.2 – 2.3

Finer sentiments like compassion, although noble, are worthless if applied in an ignorant way

Focus of Learning

(a) Signs of ignorance of real self – Material compassion, lamentation and tears

(b) Definition of ‘sudra’ – To lament for outward dress (gross body) or one who laments

unnecessarily

Analogy: Compassion for the ‘dress of a drowning man’ is senseless
Similarly, a man fallen into the ocean of nescience cannot be saved simply by rescuing his gross body

(c) ‘Ignorance’ vs ‘Self-realisation’ – Compassion for the eternal soul is self-realisation

(d) Krishna as addressed as ‘Madhusudana’

Killer of Madhu demon
Arjuna requested Krishna to kill the demon of misunderstanding that had overtaken him in the discharge of his duty

(e) Why Bhagavad-gita was spoken – To dissipate the lamentation of the ignorant man

(f) Role of Chapter 2 in self-realization

Teaches Jnana – Analytical study of material body and spirit soul by Supreme authority, Lord Sri Krishna
Teaches Buddhi-yoga (path of activity) – “As the path of realisation” which involves:
To work without attachment to fruitive results
Fixed in the conception of the real self

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION I

When one realizes that there is:
No shelter in the material world
Including the mind and intelligence
He will take full shelter of spiritual authority

(a) Importance of Krishna being referred to as ‘Bhagavan’ (Ultimate feature of the Absolute Truth)

Three phases of Absolute Truth – Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan (Ref. SB 1.2.11)
Bhaktas are the topmost transcendentalists – because they have realized the Bhagavan feature, the topmost feature of the Absolute Truth (Analogy of the Sun – study purport)

(b) Definition of Bhagavan by Parasara Muni – All six opulences in full (Only Krishna can claim to

have all six in full)

(c) Supporting references on Krishna’s supremacy

Ref. Brahma Samhita – Krishna as the source of all, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Ref. SB 1.3.28 “Ete camsa...” – Krishna as the source of all incarnations

(d) Definition of Aryan – Civilized class of men

One who knows the value of life
Have a civilization based on spiritual realisation

(e) Non-Aryans

Do not know:
The aim of life is Vishnu
What is liberation from material bondage
Their conception of life is:
Led by the material conception of life
Captivated by the external features of the material world
Example of Non-aryan act – Arjuna, although being a ksatriya, is deviating from prescribed duties by declining to fight

(f) Result of Non-Aryan act

Infamy
No progress to Higher planets
No spiritual progress

(g) Kasmalam (Impurities)

Krishna expresses surprise (Word ‘kutah’ – implies ‘wherefrom’) because
Supreme Personality of Godhead was personally present and thus such lamenation is unexpected
Arjuna born in Aryan family (a civilised class of men) – Therefore he is not supposed to lament in ignorance

(h) Klaibyam (Impotent) – He is called so because:

As Son of Ksatriya (son of Prtha) , he is not expected to avoid fighting, otherwise he is acting as an unworthy son
Arjuna was the most intimate friend of Krishna and Krishna was directly guiding him on the chariot – Thus he is not expected to withdraw from the battlefield

(i) Hrdoya Daurbalyam (Weakness of heart) – Refers to false magnanimity shown to Bhisma and

Drona, which Arjuna uses as a justification point to avoid the battle

(j) Importance of Arjuna being called ‘Partha’

This indicates son of ksatriya parents; Prtha is the name of his mother
‘Partha’ also indicates that he has a blood relation with Krishna
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
2.2 Sri Sankaracharya did not comment on this sloka. The commentary starts from 2.10.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
2.1 - 2.3 Sanjaya said - Lord said When Arjuna thus sat, the Lord, opposing his action, said: 'What is the reason for your misplaced grief? Arise for battle, abandoning this grief, which has arisen in a critical situation, which can come only in men of wrong understanding, which is an obstacle for reaching heaven, which does not confer fame on you, which is very mean, and which is caused by faint-heartedness.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
2.2 Kutah etc. To commence with, the Bhagavat exhorts Arjuna just by following the worldly (common) practice; but, in due course, He will impart knowledge. Hence He says 'practised by men of low birth'. Uttering words of ruke such as 'unmanliness' etc., the Bhagavat causes [Arjuna] to know that he misconceives demerit as meritorious :
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
2.2 The Blessed Lord said Whence is this perilous strait come upon thee, this dejection which is unworthy of you, disgraceful, and which will close the gates of heaven upon you, O Arjuna?
Commentary

2.2 कुतः whence? त्वा upon thee? कश्मलम् dejection? इदम् this? विषमे in perilous strait? समुपस्थितम् comes? अनार्यजुष्टम् unworthy (unaryanlike)? अस्वर्ग्यम् heavenexcluding? अकीर्तिकरम् disgraceful? अर्जुन O Arjuna.No commentary.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
2.2 The Blessed Lord said O Arjuna, in this perilous place, whence has come to you this impurity entertained by unenlightened persons, which does not lead to heaven and which brings infamy?
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
2.2 "The Lord said: My beloved friend! Why yield, just on the eve of battle, to this weakness which does no credit to those who call themselves Aryans, and only brings them infamy and bars against them the gates of heaven?
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Arjava (Simplicity / Straightforwardness)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)
Related verses
BG 2.3 BG 2.11 BG 16.4 SB 1.13.17 SB 5.5.1 SB 11.23.57 CC Madhya 22.87 CC Madhya 19.149 CC Antya 4.176 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.2BRS 1.2.92
Concepts
Dharma
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Krishna's first words to Arjuna are corrective, not consoling — real friendship sometimes wounds before it heals.
Practical Applications
  • Welcome correction from those who love you spiritually; do not flinch from it.
  • When you must speak truth to a loved one, lead with love but do not soften the truth itself.
  • Read this verse before any difficult conversation you have been postponing.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom in my life do I expect to console me when I actually need correction?
  • Where am I avoiding being the truthful friend?
Analogy

A surgeon does not console the patient about the pain of the coming incision — he picks up the knife. Kṛṣṇa's first words are not balm but blade. Real friendship between guru and disciple begins where flattery ends.

Stories
Nārada rebukes Vyāsa

After compiling the four Vedas, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas, Vyāsa still felt restless and joyless. The sage Nārada came and, instead of praising the great compilation, rebuked him: you have written about dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa — but you have not glorified the Lord directly. Your heart is empty because your books are.

From that wound came the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Gauḍīya line treats Nārada's blow as the model: the genuine well-wisher corrects first and consoles later.

Prahlāda's reply to his demon father

When Hiraṇyakaśipu demanded what his son had learned, the boy Prahlāda did not soften the truth to save his life. He named the nine processes of devotion in his father's face. He loved his father enough to refuse to lie to him. Truth wrapped in love is harder than truth alone — Kṛṣṇa speaks to Arjuna the same way.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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