TEXT 28
arjuna uvaca
drstvemam sva-janam krsna
yuyutsum samupasthitam
sidanti mama gatrani
mukham ca parisusyati
drstvemam sva-janam krsna
yuyutsum samupasthitam
sidanti mama gatrani
mukham ca parisusyati
SYNONYMS
arjunah--Arjuna; uvaca--said; drstva--after seeing; imam--all these;sva-janam--kinsmen; krsna--O Krsna; yuyutsum--all in fighting spirit;samupasthitam--all
present; sidanti--quivering; mama--my; gatrani--limbs of the body; mukham--mouth; ca--also; parisusyati--drying up.
TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: My dear Krsna,
seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I
feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up.
PURPORT
Any man who has genuine
devotion to the Lord has all the good qualities which are found in godly
persons or in the demigods, whereas the nondevotee, however advanced he may be
in material qualifications by education and culture, lacks in godly qualities.
As such, Arjuna, just after seeing his kinsmen, friends and relatives on the
battlefield, was at once overwhelmed by compassion for them who had so decided
to fight amongst themselves. As far as his soldiers were concerned, he was
sympathetic from the beginning, but he felt compassion even for the soldiers of
the opposite party, foreseeing their imminent death. And so thinking, the limbs
of his body began to quiver, and his mouth became dry. He was more or less
astonished to see their fighting spirit. Practically the whole community, all
blood relatives of Arjuna, had come to fight with him. This overwhelmed a kind
devotee like Arjuna. Although it is not mentioned here, still one can easily
imagine that not only were Arjuna's bodily limbs quivering and his mouth drying
up, but that he was also crying out of compassion. Such symptoms in Arjuna were
not due to weakness but to his softheartedness, a characteristic of a pure
devotee of the Lord. It is said therefore:
yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana
sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah
harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna
mano-rathenasati dhavato bahih
sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah
harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna
mano-rathenasati dhavato bahih
"One
who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the good
qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only
material qualifications that are of little value. This is because he is
hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring
material energy." (Bhag. 5.18.12)
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