BhG 2.26

atha cainaṃ nitya-jātaṃ nityaṃ manyase mṛtam
tathāpi tvaṃ mahābāho nainaṃ śocitum arhasi

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syntax


he mahā-bāho (O mighty-armed one!),
atha ca (and moreover) enaṁ (this) nitya-jātam (always born) vā nityam (or always) mṛtam (dead) manyase (you think),
tathā api (even then) tvam (you) enam (this) śocitum (to lament) na arhasi (you should not).

 

grammar

atha av.then, now, moreover, certainly, rather;
ca av.and;
enam etat sn. 2n.1 m.this;
nitya-jātam nitya-jāta 2n.1 m.always born (from: nitya – continual, eternal; jan – to be born, jāta PP – born);
nityam av.constantly, eternally (from: nitya – continual, eternal);
av.or;
manyase man (to think) Praes. Ā 2v.1you think;
mṛtam mṛta (mṛ – to die) PP 2n.1 m.dead;
tathā av.in that manner, so, in like manner;
api av.although, moreover, besides, even;
tvam yuṣmat sn. 1n.1you;
mahā-bāho mahā-bāhu 8n.1 m.; BV: yasya bāhū mahāntau staḥ saḥO you who have mighty arms (from: mah – to magnify, mahant – great; baṁh – to grow, to increase, bāhu – the arm);
na av.not;
enam etat sn. 2n.1 m.this;
śocitum śuc (to lament) inf.to lament;
arhasi arh (to deserve, to be able to) Praes. P 2v.1 you deserve;

 

textual variants

cainaṃ → vainaṃ (or this);
nainaṁ → naivaṁ (certainly not);

 
 



Śāṃkara

The key:
an excerpt from the commented verse
quotes from the scriptures
starting polemic

Grating that the Self is not everlasting, the Lord proceeds:

ātmano ’nityatvam abhyupagamya idam ucyate

But even if thou thinkest of Him as ever being born and ever dying,
even then, O mighty armed, thou oughtst not to grieve thus.

atha cainaṃ nityajātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam |
tathāpi tvaṃ mahābāho naivaṃ śocitum arhasi ||2.26||

Granting that the Self – of whom we are speaking – is, according to the popular view, again and again born whenever a body comes into existence, and again and again dead whenever the body dies, –

atha ca iti abhyupagamārthaḥ | enaṃ prakṛtam ātmānaṃ nitya-jātaṃ loka-prasiddhyā praty aneka-śarīrotpatti jāto jāta iti manyase | tathā prati-tat-tad-vināśaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtaṃ mṛto mṛta iti |

even if the Self were so, as you think, O mighty-armed, you ought not to grieve thus; for, death is inevitable to what is born; and birth is inevitable to what is dead.

tathāpi tathābhāve ’py ātmani tvaṃ mahābāho, na evaṃ śocitum arhasi, janmavato nāśo nāśavato janma cety etāv avaśyaṃbhāvināv iti ||2.26||

 

Rāmānuja

atha nitya-jātaṃ nitya-mṛtaṃ deham evainam ātmānaṃ manuṣe, na dehātiriktam ukta-lakṣaṇaṃ tathāpy evam atimātraṃ śocituṃ nārhasi | pariṇāma-svabhāvasya dehasyotpatti-vināśayor avarjanīyatvāt

 

Śrīdhara

idānīṃ dehena saha ātmano janma tad-vināśena ca vināśam aṅgīkṛtyāpi śoko na kārya ity āha atha cainam ity ādi | atha ca yadyapy enam ātmānam nityajātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam tathāpi tvaṃ mahābāho naivaṃ śocitum arhasi

 

Madhusūdana

evam ātmano nirvikāratvenāśocyatvam uktam idānīṃ vikāravattvam abhyupetyāpi śloka-dvayenāśocyatvaṃ pratipādayati bhagavān | tatrātmā jñāna-svarūpaḥ pratikṣaṇa-vināśīti saugatāḥ | deha evātmā sa ca sthiro ‚py anukṣaṇa-pariṇāmī jāyate naśyati ceti pratyakṣa-siddham evaitad iti lokāyatikāḥ | dehātirikto ‚pi dehena sahaiva jāyate naśyati cety anye | sargādya-kāla evākāśavaj jāyate deha-bhede ‚py anuvartamāna evākalpa-sthāyī naśyati pralaya ity apare | nitya evātmā jāyate mriyate ceti tārkikāḥ | tathā hi – pretya-bhāvo janma | sa cāpūrva-dehendriyādi-sambandhaḥ | evaṃ maraṇam api pūrva-dehendriyādi-vicchedaḥ | idaṃ cobhayaṃ dharmādharma-nimittatvāt tad-ādhārasya nityasyaiva mukhyam | anityasya tu kṛta-hānya-kṛtābhyāgama-prasaṅgena dharmādharmādhāratvānupapatter na janma-maraṇe mukhye iti vadanti | ntiyasyām evety anye | tatrānityatva-pakṣe ‚pi śocyatvam ātmano niṣedhati atha cainam iti |
atheti pakṣāntare | co ‚py arthe | yadi durbodhatvād ātma-vastuno ‚sakṛc-chravaṇe ‚py avadhāraṇā-sāmarthyān mad-ukta-pakṣānaṅgīkāreṇa pakṣāntaram abhyupaiṣi | tatrāpy anityatva-pakṣam evāśritya yady enam ātmānaṃ nityaṃ jātaṃ nityaṃ mṛtaṃ vā manyase | vā-śabdaś cārthe | kṣaṇikatva-pakṣe nityaṃ pratikṣaṇaṃ pakṣāntare āvaśyakatvān nityaṃ niyataṃ jāto ‚yaṃ mṛto ‚yam iti laukika-pratyaya-vaśena yadi kalpayasi tathāpi he mahābāho ! puruṣa-dhaureyeti sopahāsaṃ kumatābhyupagamāt | tvayy etādṛśī kudṛṣṭir na sambhavatīti sānukampaṃ vā | evaṃ aha bata mahat pāpaṃ kartuṃ vyavasitā vayam [Gītā 1.45] ity ādi yathā śocasi evaṃ prakāram anuśokaṃ kartuṃ svayam api tvaṃ tādṛśa eva san nārhasi yogyo na bhavasi | kṣaṇikatva-pakṣe dehātma-vāda-pakṣe dehena saha janma-vināśa-pakṣe ca janmāntarābhāvena pāpa-bhayāsambhavāt pāpa-bhayenaiva khalu tvam anuśocasi | tac caitādṛśe darśane na sambhavati bandhu-vināśa-darśitvābhāvād ity adhikaṃ | pakṣāntare dṛṣṭa-duḥkha-nimittaṃ śokam abhyanujñātum evaṃ-kāraḥ | dṛṣṭa-duḥkha-nimitta-śoka-sambhave ‚py adṛṣṭa-duḥkha-nimittaḥ śokaḥ sarvathā nocita ity arthaḥ prathama-ślokasya

 

Viśvanātha

tad evaṃ śāstrīya-tattva-dṛṣṭyā tvām ahaṃ prabodhayan | vyāvahārahika-tattva-dṛṣṭyāpi prabodhayāmi avadhehīty āha atheti | nitya-jātaṃ dehe jāte saty enaṃ nityaṃ niyataṃ jātaṃ manyase | tathā deha eva mṛte mṛtaṃ nityaṃ niyataṃ manyase | mahā-bāho iti parākramavataḥ kṣatriyasya tava tad api yuddham avaśyakaṃ svadharmaḥ | yad uktaṃ –
kṣatriyāṇām ayaṃ dharmaḥ prajāpati-vinirmitaḥ |
bhrātāpi bhrātaraṃ hanyād yena ghorataras tataḥ || iti bhāvaḥ

 

Baladeva

evaṃ svoktasya jīvātmano ‚śocyatvam uktvā paroktasyāpi tasya tad ucyate para-mata-jñānāya | tad-abhijñaḥ khalu śiṣyas tad-avakarais tan nirasya vijayī san sva-mate sthairyam āsīt | tathā hi manuṣyatvādi-viśiṣṭe bhūmy-ādi-bhūta-catuṣṭaye tāmbūla-rāgavat mada-śaktivac ca caitanyam utpadyate | tādṛśas tac-catuṣṭaya-bhūto deha evātmā | sa ca sthiro ‚pi pratikṣaṇa-pariṇāmād utpatti-vināśa-yogīti loka-pratyakṣa-siddham iti lokāyatikā manyante | dehād bhinno vijñāna-svarūpo ‚py ātmā pratikṣaṇa-vināśīti vaibhāṣikādayo bauddhā vadanti | tad etad ubhaya-mate ‚py ātmanaḥ śocyatvaṃ pratiṣedhati | atheti pakṣāntare | co ‚py-arthe | tvaṃ cen mad-ukta-jīvātma-yāthātmyāvagāhanāsamartho lokāyatikādi-pakṣam ālambase, tatra dehātma-pakṣe enaṃ deha-lakṣaṇam ātmānaṃ nityaṃ vā mṛtaṃ manyase | vā-śabdaś cārthe | tathāpi tvam enaṃ aho bata mahat pāpaṃ ity ādi-vacanaiḥ śocituṃ nārhasi | pariṇāma-svabhāvasya tasya tasya cātmano janma-vināśayor anivāryatvāj janmāntarābhāvena pāpa-bhayāsambhavāc ca | he mahābāho iti sopahāsaṃ sambodhanaṃ kṣatriya-varyasya vaidikasya ca te nedṛśaṃ kumataṃ dhāryam iti bhāvaḥ

 
 



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