सञ्जय उवाच तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम्। विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः॥
sañjaya uvāca / taṃ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam / viṣīdantam idaṃ vākyam uvāca madhusūdanaḥ
Sanjaya describes what the blind king cannot see: Arjuna weeping, overwhelmed with compassion.
Word by word (5)
- sañjaya uvāca
- — Sanjaya said — the narrator speaking to Dhritarashtra
- tam tathā kṛpayā āviṣṭam
- — him, thus overcome with compassion · 'Kṛpā' — compassion, pity, tenderness. Sanjaya names Arjuna's state as compassion, not cowardice. This framing matters: Arjuna's crisis begins in love, not weakness.
- aśru-pūrṇa-ākula-īkṣaṇam
- — his eyes full of tears and troubled · Three words compounded: aśru (tears) + pūrṇa (full) + ākula (troubled/disturbed) + īkṣaṇa (eyes/gaze). Sanjaya is painting a visual picture for Dhritarashtra — and for us.
- viṣīdantam
- — despondent / sinking into grief · From the same root as 'vishāda' — the chapter name. Arjuna is still 'vishāda-ing' — the grief continues from Ch.1's end.
- madhusūdanaḥ uvāca
- — Madhusudana (Krishna, slayer of Madhu demon) said
Sanjaya said: 'Arjuna was overcome with compassion, his eyes full of tears, completely despondent. And seeing him this way, Madhusudana — Krishna — spoke.'
A modern analogy
A reporter describing what they're witnessing to someone who can't see it. Sanjaya has divine sight, granted by the sage Vyasa, to see the battlefield and report to the blind Dhritarashtra. This verse is the bridge: we return from Arjuna's speech to the narrated frame, and Krishna is about to respond.
Take with you
- Sanjaya calls it 'kṛpā' — compassion. Not weakness, not cowardice. The diagnosis matters for the treatment.
- The teaching Krishna is about to give is addressed to someone weeping with compassion — it is designed for that state.
- The transition back to Sanjaya reminds us this is a witnessed event, not just a private crisis.
Verse 1 of Chapter 2 is the hinge between Arjuna's crisis and Krishna's teaching. Sanjaya describes Arjuna's state with precision: three qualities — kṛpāviṣṭa (overwhelmed with compassion), aśru-pūrṇākula-īkṣaṇa (eyes full of tears and troubled), viṣīdanta (despondent). The word 'kṛpā' is crucial. It means compassion, tenderness, pity. Shankaracharya uses this to argue that Arjuna's crisis arises not from personal self-interest but from love — which, improperly directed, becomes the source of delusion (moha). The Gita does not treat compassion as wrong; it treats compassion without wisdom as incomplete. The teaching is the wisdom.
Advaita lens
Kṛpāviṣṭa (possessed by compassion) — Shankaracharya notes that even compassion, which seems virtuous, can be a form of attachment (to the wellbeing of specific people one identifies as 'mine'). True compassion extends to all beings equally and does not collapse into grief when personal bonds are threatened. The Gita will teach the expansion of kṛpā, not its suppression.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Sanjaya said: To him who was thus overcome with pity, whose eyes were filled with tears and troubled, and who was thus despondent, Madhusudana (Krishna) spoke these words. [4]
Sanjaya said: To him thus sorrowful and despondent, whose eyes were filled with tears and whose mind was troubled, Madhusudana spoke these words. [6]
Sanjaya: Him, Arjuna, thus o'ercome with ruth and grief, with eyes tear-dimmed, despondent, in that strait, Madhusudana, the slayer of Madhu, spake. [7]
Sanjaya said: To him who was thus overcome with compassion and despondent, whose eyes were full of tears and troubled, Madhusudana spoke these words. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Bow down, arrows scattered, warrior collapsed — this is where the Gita begins.
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Once that joy is found, no other gain seems greater — established in it, even the heaviest sorrow cannot shake you.
'Alas' — the word before the argument ends and the grief takes over completely.
Unmanifest, inconceivable, unchangeable — knowing this, you should not grieve.