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Chapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized · 72 verses

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Questions & crisisChapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized
1.462.2

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 2.1

Grief, confusion, and Arjuna accepting discipleship

सञ्जय उवाच

तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् ।

विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः ॥ १ ॥

sañjaya uvāca

taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam

aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam

viṣīdantam idaṁ vākyam

uvāca madhusūdanaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion, his mind depressed, his eyes full of tears, Madhusūdana, Kṛṣṇa, spoke the following words.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Compassion for the Soul

  1. 1Seeing Arjuna full of compassion, depressed and tearful, Kṛṣṇa began to speak.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that material compassion and tears show ignorance of the real self. Compassion for the eternal soul is self-realization.
  3. 3Arjuna wanted Kṛṣṇa to remove his misunderstanding. Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to remove sorrow caused by ignorance.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 2, Contents of the Gītā Summarized: grief, confusion, and arjuna accepting discipleship.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Honest questions open the way to wisdom.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 2.1 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?

Practice

Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.

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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 2.2Grief, confusion, and Arjuna accepting discipleshipBG 2.3Grief, confusion, and Arjuna accepting discipleshipBG 1.28Compassion entangled with attachmentBG 1.46The bow falls

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 2.1 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.