Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 1
Bhagavad Gītā 2.1: Arjuna in tears
तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् ।
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः ॥
taṃ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭamaśrupūrṇākulekṣaṇam
viṣīdantamidaṃ vākyamuvāca madhusūdanaḥ
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
To him, overcome with pity, his eyes troubled and filled with tears, despairing, Madhusūdana spoke these words. The narrator, Sañjaya, sets the scene for the teaching: it begins not with a lecture but with a friend in distress, and Kṛṣṇa speaks in answer to that distress.
For children
Arjuna was so sad that his eyes filled with tears. Krishna, his best friend, saw him crying and began to speak to him.
Chapter 2 opens where chapter 1 ended: Arjuna has put down his bow on the battlefield, overcome by grief at fighting his own family.
Word by word
तं तथा कृपयाविष्टम् — To him, so filled with pity
- tam: to him
- tathā: in this way, so
- kṛpā: pity, compassion
- āviṣṭa: overcome by, filled with
अश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् — his eyes troubled and full of tears
- aśru: tears
- pūrṇa: full
- ākula: troubled
- īkṣaṇa: eyes
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यम् — sinking in sorrow, these words
- viṣīdantam: sinking in sorrow
- vākya: words, speech
उवाच मधुसूदनः — Kṛṣṇa spoke
- uvāca: spoke, said
- madhusūdana: Kṛṣṇa (slayer of the demon Madhu)
Sañjaya speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.