Gita-Nectar: I - 47 to 59 with English Comments

Gita-Nectar: I - 47 to 59 with English Comments

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pram¦t| ¶¢dÞT| c s¥ßm| yÅCrN| ¢h n: .

i¢t ramayNE vEdE g£taya| c ¢vSExt: .. 47 ..

kaE{y| SrÎy: kaE{TI| c ¢kmTI| SrN| v#jEt¯ .

i¢t Ûy³£k]t| g#ÓTE paTaIy p#¢tpa¢dtE .. 48 ..

ÞvaÏma ¢h svIdE¢hnam¢p AaÏma . dEhBEdE¢p dEh£ ek ev . At: mamEk| i¢t

p#¢tpa¢dtÞvaÏmanmEv svaIÏmBavEn SrN| yah£¢t u¼vay up¢d¾| .

ÞvaåOè¢¾p#s³Þva¢t¢r³| svI| ¢vá¢váa¢dp·dSãpEN Att£¢t ÞvaÏma .

At ev tW¢äOr£y½¤¢t: ev| pZ¢t . yda/EvWx et¢Þm°èÜyE iÏya¢d .

áEtaátraE³s¥ßma¢ts¥ßmÞyWv SrNahIta mns: tadaÏØyap¢äOrEv SrNaTI: .

ramayNE tavt¯ Aad¬ dEvSrNag¢t: . AnÓtr| lßmNBrt¬ . dÎfkarÎyE §xy: .

kakas¤r: . ¢vB£xN: . i¢t tæO tæO SrNag¢trEv m¤ÁyE¢t ïaEÏytE . ¢k· ramSrNag¢t:

s¤g#£vsagrs¢°DanyaE: ÛyvharE l¬¢kkE c kayaI¢TIna| AavÜyk£ exa i¢t ¢vSd£kraE¢t .

B¥: p#pïE iÏya¢d vEdEx¤ . g£tayam¢p mamEk| SrN| v#j tmEv SrN| gÅC iÏya¢d c

SrÎySrNa¢TInaE: lXN| ¢vcarN£y| Bv¢t ..

I - 47, 48: All embodied persons have an AtmA (imperfectly translated as Soul). There may be differences in the bodies assumed; but the one who resides in all of them is the same. So when the Lord says Surrender to Me as your unique refuge, he means this single unique resident of all physical frames. This is what Krishna taught to Uddhava. This unique resident is called AtmA, because it pervades (= atati) everything by means of the 3 ´ 15 = 45 forms starting from vizva-vizva and going through vizva-taijasa, vizva-prAjna, etc. The Taittiriya-upanishad corroborates this (II -7). The surrender that is talked about in all scriptures is the surrender of the individual self to the higher Self. What is surrendered and sacrificed to the Self is the ego. The dehatma-buddhi, that is, the feeling that this Self is the conglomeration of several things external to it, like the body, etc. - this false dharma has to be surrendered. The entire Ramayana is full of such surrender - starting from the divines, from Lakshmana and Bharata, Kakasura, - with Vibhishana’s surrender topping all of them. The concept of surrender is being analysed now by means of six verses , each of the twelve lines ending with the refrain zaraNaM gantumarhati, meaning, it is necessary to be clear about whom to surrender to and to what purpose.

SaEks|trNaT£I y: SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .

AataInama¢tIhÓtar| SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .. 49 ..

t| è¾qva SæO¤hÓtar| SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .

svIlaEkSrÎy| t| SrN| gÓt¤mrqh¢t .. 50 ..

iISan| svI¢vïana| SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .

Aj| D#¤v| ¢nÏy¢s¼| SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .. 51 ..

jgdÞp¦¾ãp| t| SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .

dEhaÏmD£ p¢rÏyag£ SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t ..52..

s¥ßmaTaIvgm£ D£r: SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .

svIÞvapIND£raE y: SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .. 53 ..

¢váasarqh i¢t åOaÏva SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .

BavåO| svIvEäOar| SrN| gÓt¤mhI¢t .. 54 ..

SaEkmaEha¢dÏyagE l¬¢kkaEpayÞy ÛyTIta| åOaÏva i¾p#açy¢n¾p¢rharyaE:

Al¬¢kk upayp#¢tpadkvEdWkSrNa: sÓt: t¢¹åOanaTI| g¤âmEva¢BgÅCEt¯

i¢t ½¤¢tmn¤s¦Ïy t¹aÀyEx¤ ½¼avÓt: tÑ¤p¢d¾SrÎyvÞt¤ ekmEvE¢t ¢nDaIry¢Ót .

iÏy¤³lXN: SrÎy: i¢t sv©Iár: p#B¤rEv yÞsvIåO: svI¢vt¯ Þva¢t¢r³Þy svIÞy

A¢vïakayIÏvat¯ Þva¢t¢r³mEv n tÞy A¢XgaEcr| Bv¢t . At: ÞvÞvãpmEv

svIæO ¢vrajtE . tdÓtgItÏvat¯ SrNa¢TIn: SrÎy: n t| ÞvÞmadÓyæO A¢tXEçO¤|

S³aE Bv¢t ¢mæOBavEn s|p#açO| n ÏyjEy| i¢t ½£Bgv¹cnat¯ .. 49-54 ..

I - 49-54: Every one wants the eradication of all his misery all his confusion. But the worldly ways of doing this are all ineffective. Those who know, seek a guru for this purpose, as per the dictates of the scriptures. The Subject to whom we surrender is only the unique Self. He is the Lord of all Knowledge. He is the One to whom we surrender. He is unborn, permanent, eternally fulfilling, uncontaminated by anything in our physical or mental universe, He is the one who is the renouncer of all that is non-self, He can only be realised internally, He is the One who deserves to be trusted in full. So to Him we surrender. All these epithets can fit only that True Self which is omnipresent and omniscient. There is nothing else existent. He is our Friend. And when we surrender to Him the Lord accepts us just as He accepted Vibhishana, who, according to the Lord came to Him trusting Him to be the Only Saviour and Friend.

ASr£r£ c y: p¥NI: AKÎfÏvEn rajtE .

s ramaE ¢h mhadEv: g£tam¦tmhaEd¢D: .. 55 ..

rajmanmhaE ram: kâNam¦tp¥¢rt: .

¢mæO:s|vÏsraÏma c vEdvEïà ¢ng¤IN: .. 56 ..

SæOaEà B#atr| KÞT| v£ßy t| SrNagt| .

svaIÏma ramc|d#aE ¢h s|p#açO| ¢mæOBavt: .. 57 ..

½£ram¶dyåO| t| ASr£¢rpd| gt| .

tìavak]¾D£rEv ÞvtadaÏØy| c däOvan¯ .. 58 ..

ÏykqÏva p¤æOa|à dara|à taèÜy¢Bm¢t| p¤n: .

p¥NIÏvEnagtàE¢t ÏykqÏva dEha¢dS¦H¯Kla: .. 59 ..

SrNagtæOaNnsmTI: p¤âxaEäOm| y: p#¢tpïtE s ev Aaytnvan¯ Bv¢t .

ekÞsn¯ bh¤Da ¢vcar i¢t ½¤Ïya bh¤p#karEN ¢v¢vD| cr¢°v ¢vBa¢t . upaÒyn¤gt:sn¯ .

¢mæOBavEn s|p#açO¢mÏyæO ¢mæOSÖd: vEdEx¤ ¢nã¢ptÏvat¯ vEdaE¢dtp#karENWv ½£md#amayNpda¢n

ÛyaÁyEya¢n i¢t taèSr£Ïya ¢nâÅytE . s|vÏÞy¢Ót B¥ta¢n AæOE¢t ¢mæOSÖd: ¢mæOaEdaDarE¢t

½¤tE: . ¢mæO: dEv: n hÓytE n j£ytE iÏya¢d¢B: ¢mæOÞy dEvÞy ½v: sda s|ykq s|Bjn£y|

yt: ï¤m"| ¢cæO½vÞtm| ¢h tt¯ . p¤|¢lÄñà ¢vB£xNaE mhap#aåOaE ¢h DmaIÏma y: Þvtp:PlaÏmk

DmIb¤¼Ya yïÏkraE¢t täO¼mIy¤³mEv Bv¢t . Ap#ak]tåOan¢vg#haE ram: sÏyDmIp#Dan i¢t

i¢t mmtam¢p p¢rÏy³van¯ . ¢mæO ex: laEkÞy it vW¢dkaTIsaråO: etdqåOanan¤BvEnagtaE{y|

i¢t ¢vB£xN¶dyåO: . uBav¢p AÓyaE{Óy¶dyåO¬ . vEdvEï: prmp¤âx evWk: ¢mæOSÖdvaÅy:

½£ram uÅytE . s ¢h BgvÅCÖdÞy ¢vxy: . ¢nÏyam¦tgmk| Þva¢t¢r³BjIk· ÇyaE¢t:

ydEv u¼tIÛy| b#a'NEn . BaÂys¥³p#¢tpa¢dtBgSÖdvaÅy: eESvyIÞy smg#Þy v£yIÞy ySs:

¢½y: åOanvWraÂyyaEàWv xÎNa| Bg iÏy¤³E: . Þvp¥NIÏv| ¢våOay Aagt: ¢vB£xN: . ¢mæOaE{h¢m¢t

åOanat¯ . kT| c ÏyaÇyaE{y| . vEdahmEk| p¤âx| mhaÓt| i¢t ÞvÞvãp| ¢våOantaErWÀy¢s¢¼rEv

sm¸s£ . dEha¢dS¦H¯Kla i¢t dEha¢dÏyagaE nam n savIjn£n: . jÓmaÓtrmhaBaÂyadEv

taèSb¤¢¼laB: .. 55-59 ..

I - 55-59: The epithet gItAmRta-mahodadhiH is one of the names ascribed to Lord Sri Krishna in the aSTottara-nAmAvali praising this form of the Lord. Here the author says whether it is this Krishna or Rama or Siva it is manifestation of the same formless Absolute who shines in his unfragmented glory and bliss. He is the One who deserves to be surrendered to.

An elaborate discussion on the subtleties of zaraNAgati is begun here by the author. First it is the word, mitra, used in the Ramayana in the context of the zaraNAgati by Vibhishana. The Lord Himself uses the word and says that Vibhishana has come with an attitude of friendship - mitra-bhAvena. The vedic mantras beginning with the word ‘mitrasya’ that are used in the propitiation after the gAyatrI-japaM in the morning, are referred to here. The fame of mitra is well-known, says the zruti. He, mitra, is the One who leads every one to the fruit of his karma., He is the One who allots heaven or hell to departing souls. This mitra therefore is nothing but the Absolute. He is the One who has come in human form, in the form of Lord Rama, He knows the heart of Vibhishana. Rama and Vibhishana know the hearts of each other so well that none of the advisors who advised Rama on the pros and cons of admitting Vibhishana to their fold, knew the full Truth. Vibhishana himself has got it as a boon that whatever he does will be according to Dharma. It is only very rare souls that get this kind of a blessing. So when he says ‘I have come here seeking the refuge of the Lord’s feet, having forsaken the kith and kin,’ he has not only renounced his kith and kin but has renounced the very ego arising from the thought of that renunciation. To such a renouncer the Lord not only accepts the renunciation but gives Himself unto him!

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Notation for Transliteration of Sanskrit words in the Comments

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