Category:Arjuna Says
Theme Analysis
The statements of Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gītā provide a flawless blueprint for how a conditioned soul transitions from material bewilderment to perfect spiritual realization. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that in the beginning, Arjuna speaks purely from the bodily concept of life. Overwhelmed by false compassion upon seeing his relatives assembled for battle, he tells Kṛṣṇa that he does not want to fight. Although this sentiment appears noble to worldly men, Kṛṣṇa strongly condemns it as ignorance. Recognizing that his own mind cannot solve this crisis, Arjuna makes his most pivotal statement: śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam ("Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me"). This formal declaration of surrender allows the actual teaching of the Bhagavad-gītā to begin.
Throughout the dialogue, what Arjuna says serves to extract the deepest philosophical truths from the Supreme Lord. He asks vital questions about the symptoms of a self-realized soul, the nature of renunciation, and the power of the mind. Famously, when Kṛṣṇa outlines the mechanical aṣṭāṅga-yoga system, Arjuna frankly rejects it, stating that controlling the mind is more difficult than stopping the wind. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights that Kṛṣṇa does not rebuke Arjuna for this honesty but instead confirms that the highest yogī is the one who constantly thinks of the Lord. Finally, the climax of what Arjuna says occurs after he views the universal form. Having had his illusion dispelled, he emphatically declares Kṛṣṇa to be paraṁ brahma (the Supreme Absolute Truth) and entirely accepts the Lord's instructions, proving that true understanding of the Bhagavad-gītā requires total submission to Kṛṣṇa without mundane interpretation.
- The Voice of Illusion: Arjuna initially speaks from a platform of bodily affection, expressing a desire to abandon his duty to avoid killing his relatives.
- The Declaration of Surrender: Recognizing the limits of his own intelligence, Arjuna formally requests Kṛṣṇa to become his spiritual master (śiṣyas te 'haṁ).
- Practical Honesty: Arjuna frankly admits that controlling the restless mind through mechanical yoga is impossible for a practical man of the world.
- The Ultimate Conclusion: After hearing the Gītā, Arjuna completely accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and agrees to execute His divine will.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: From Illusion to Realization - What Arjuna Says.
Pages in category "Arjuna Says"
The following 48 pages are in this category, out of 48 total.
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- A great personality, Arjuna, belonged to the royal family & was a great warrior & an intimate friend of Krsna's, constantly living with Him, after hearing this process of yoga from Krsna face-to-face, said, - My dear Krsna, it is not possible to follow
- Arjuna directly listened to Krsna, and he says, "This is my practical experience, that when I. . ." He was a politician, I mean to say, a fighter. He had so many anxieties. So he used to remember the instruction given by Krsna directly to him
- Arjuna frankly said that this system of yoga was impossible to execute because the mind is as difficult to control as the wind
- Arjuna is not a fool. He said: "Whatever You have said, I accept them as truth." That is real understanding
- Arjuna is saying that "How can I kill my kinsmen? There is my grandfather, there is my teacher, there are my kinsmen." It is not bad. For worldly men this is very nice consideration, that - I am not going to kill my kinsmen
- Arjuna said, "I had a fight with Lord Siva, who appeared before me as a hunter, and when I satisfied him by my prowess he gave me the weapon known as Pasupata. Do not doubt my chivalry"
- Arjuna said, cancalam hi manah krsna: (BG 6.34) The mind is always agitated
- Arjuna said, My dear Krsna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy, and I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions. BG 18.73 - 1972
- Arjuna said, O Madhusudana, the system of yoga which you have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady. BG 1972 Introduction
- Arjuna said, O mighty-armed one, I wish to understand the purpose of renunciation (tyaga) and of the renounced order of life (sannyasa), O killer of the Kesi demon, Hrsikesa. BG 18.1 - 1972
- Arjuna said, param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan: (BG 10.12) - You are the Supreme Spirit, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth
- Arjuna said: Dronacarya. He has taught me this military art. Whatever I am warrior, my expertness is due to him
- Arjuna said: My dear Lord Krsna, I see assembled together in Your body all the demigods and various other living entities. I see Brahma sitting on the lotus flower as well as Lord Siva and many sages and divine serpents. BG 11.15 - 1972
- Arjuna said: O descendant of Vrsni, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force? BG 3.36 - 1972
- Arjuna said: O Janardana, O Kesava, why do You urge me to engage in this ghastly warfare, if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work? BG 3.1 - 1972
- Arjuna said: O killer of Madhu (Krsna), how can I counterattack with arrows in battle men like Bhisma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship? BG 2.4 - 1972
- Arjuna said: O Krsna, first of all You ask me to renounce work, and then again You recommend work with devotion. Now will You kindly tell me definitely which of the two is more beneficial? BG 5.1 - 1972
- Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, the system of yoga which you have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady. BG 6.33 - 1972
- Arjuna said: O my dear Krsna, I wish to know about prakrti (nature), Purusa (the enjoyer), and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the end of knowledge. BG 13.1-2 - 1972
- Arjuna said: What are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is thus merged in Transcendence? How does he speak, and what is his language? How does he sit, and how does he walk? BG 2.54 - 1972
- Arjuna said: What is the destination of the man of faith who does not persevere, who in the beginning takes to the process of self-realization but who later desists due to worldly-mindedness & thus does not attain perfection in mysticism? BG 6.37 - 1972
- Arjuna says Krsna, param brahma: "Krsna, You are the Supreme Brahman," param dhama, "the supreme resort for everything, and" pavitram paramam bhavan, "and the supreme pure." So nobody can approach Krsna if he's impure. That is not possible
- Arjuna says that controlling this mind is more difficult than stopping the wind from blowing. One can imagine a man stretching out his arms trying to stop a hurricane
- Arjuna says that he accepts all that Krsna has said to him because Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead - BG 18.73
- Arjuna summarized the purpose of the Bhagavad-gita by his realization of Lord Sri Krsna and thus said, "My dear Lord, You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Original Person in the eternal form of bliss and knowledge, and this is confirmed by Narada
- Arjuna teaches us submission by giving up his friendly relationship with Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He says, - I have now become Your disciple. Please instruct me
- Arjuna, by his direct experience talking with Krsna, he understood Him that, "Krsna, You are Param Brahman." So you take the words of Arjuna and accept Him as Param Brahman
- As supreme teacher of the world, Lord Krsna condemns the attitude of Arjuna who said - I do not find any good in this fighting. It will cause perpetual habitation in hell - Such statements by Arjuna were due to ignorance only. BG 1972 purports
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- He (Arjuna) said that, "Even they usurp my kingdom, I do not wish to kill them." So this affection, this bodily affection, was not very much approved by Krsna. He said that - You are talking like a non-Aryan
- He said - "Krsna, the opposite side, they are all my brothers and nephews and fathers and grandfather. So there is no use of fighting like this, to kill them. let them enjoy." But Krsna induced Arjuna, - No. This is the right cause. You must fight
K
- Krsna advised Arjuna to become a yogi, but Arjuna said that - Krsna, it is not possible for me. Because I am a politician, I am a soldier, I cannot sit down to practice yoga superficially. My mind will be disturbed in political affairs, in state affairs
- Krsna is speaking as the spiritual master of Arjuna, and Arjuna says, "Whatever You are saying I accept." Read it like that - not: "I like this, so I accept it; this I don't like, and so I reject it." Such reading is useless nonsense
- Krsna was doing everything, but still He told Arjuna, "You must fight." Nor did Arjuna say to Krsna, "You are my great friend. Better for You to fight and let me sit down and smoke ganja." No, that is not Krsna consciousness
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- The mind is cancala, flickering, and it changes very strongly. Therefore Arjuna admitted that controlling the mind is not at all possible; this would be as difficult as controlling the wind
- This is the real guru - one who has seen the truth, just as Arjuna has seen Krsna. Arjuna heard Krsna's instructions and said, - You are the Absolute Truth
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- What is the experience of Arjuna? Arjuna said: "You are . . . you are the Supreme Person, purusam. You are not female. You are not prakrti. You are purusa, sasvata, and the original, sasvatam, eternally." Not that, the Mayavadis, - Now impersonal
- When Arjuna became confused, he said, sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam prapannam (BG 2.7): "Now I am surrendered unto You (Krsna). Please teach me." Unless you come to that point, there will be no teaching, and there is no use of teaching
- When Arjuna said, "The system You are recommending, the hatha-yoga system, is not possible for me," Krsna assured him that he was the greatest of all yogis. He pacified him by saying not to bother about being unable to practice hatha-yoga
- When Arjuna saw that friendly talks would not make a solution to his problems, he surrendered unto Krsna, saying, sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam: "Now I am Your disciple and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me." This is the process
- When Arjuna submitted to Krsna, he said, - My dear Krsna, now I no longer care to talk to You as a friend because friendly talks will not benefit me now
- When Arjuna was speaking - "If I kill my brother, if I kill my grandfather on the other side..." - he was simply thinking on the basis of the bodily concept of life
- When the son of Kunti, Arjuna, saw all these different grades of friends and relatives, he became overwhelmed with compassion and spoke thus: BG 1.27 - 1972