BG 1.2 — Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 1.2Chapter 1 · Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga · Arjuna → Krishna · anuṣṭubh

संजय उवाचsaṃjaya uvāca

संजय उवाच दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस् तदा ।

आचार्यमुपसंगम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत् ॥

dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṃ vyūḍhaṃ duryodhanas tadā

ācāryam upasaṃgamya rājā vacanam abravīt

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Sañjaya said: seeing the Pāṇḍava forces drawn up in battle formation, King Duryodhana went to his teacher Droṇa and spoke.

ekras · bhāṣya

Sanjaya begins his answer. Before he says what Duryodhana said, he says what Duryodhana saw — the Pandava army standing in battle formation, drawn up tight in vajra-vyuha, the thunderbolt array. Sanjaya calls Duryodhana "the king" though his father, Dhritarashtra, is the actual king sitting in Hastinapur. By custom Duryodhana was the heir. By practice he ran the kingdom. Dhritarashtra was king in name. The man Sanjaya is reporting on is the one who set the war in motion, fielded the bigger force, put Bhishma the grandsire and the senior warriors on his side. By every prior measure he has won. And yet the moment he saw the Pandava formation drawn up against him, something shook.

Ramsukhdas Maharaj reads it this way: dharma was on the Pandava side, and Krishna was with them, and the army standing in one mind has tej — radiance, effective force, the inner fire of an aligned company. Smaller in number, but stronger in effect. Even Duryodhana felt it. The verse marks the shake by what Duryodhana does next: he walks. Past Bhishma. To Drona, his teacher. He goes on his own feet, not summoning. Going to the teacher in person, when one is shaken, looks like reverence; it is also where fear hides. So this is what Sanjaya tells Dhritarashtra first: your son saw the other side, and was rattled. He still spoke. But the shake came first.

Context

where

Chapter 1 · Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Arjuna → Krishna

preceded by — BG 1.1

Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks: on the sacred field of Kurukṣetra, when my sons and the Pāṇḍavas had massed for battle, what did they do, Sañjaya?

What's going on

Sañjaya said: seeing the Pāṇḍava forces drawn up in battle formation, King Duryodhana went to his teacher Droṇa and spoke.

Sūtras through this verse (99)

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

1.1Means and end set out as one paired axis.───→here1.2───→2.39Wisdom closes, action opens. Same axis.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-ruleapproach

───→here1.2───→2.12Every soul named here is a real distinct self.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)approach

───→here1.2───→2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.

show all 99

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbaapproach · other

───→here1.2───→2.18Image perishes, source endures

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closeapproach

───→here1.2───→2.18The mirror breaks but the sun is unhurt.

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesapproach

───→here1.2───→2.23Even great gods are unequal in their glory.

MadhvaclassicalT4

Liberation is bliss in body — not absorptionapproach

───→here1.2───→2.50Release is embodied, blissful, never merging.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksapproach

───→here1.2───→2.18The image perishes, but the source endures.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadapproach

───→here1.2───→2.23Nāradīya names what reason cannot prove.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39The two paths name one practice, one fruit.

MadhvaclassicalT8

Direct vision — the only proximate causeapproach

───→here1.2───→2.46Scripture is a small well when the flood arrives.

MadhvaclassicalT9

Devotion and grace — what knowledge cannot do aloneapproach

───→here1.2───→2.23Without worship of Hari no one ever crosses.

MadhvaclassicalT11

Only revealed scripture decides — reason alone cannotapproach

───→here1.2───→2.13Self-survival is settled by śruti, not by reason.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoireapproach

───→here1.2───→2.55'Self' here means mind — a single word redirects.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here1.2───→

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actapproach

───→here1.2───→2.47Only a human body can do new action.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionapproach

───→here1.2───→2.55Drop desire, and the sense of doing falls.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workapproach

───→here1.2───→2.45Rise above the modes, said in chapter two.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipapproach

───→here1.2───→2.31A warrior's own duty is the war he faces.

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterapproach

───→here1.2───→2.41A one-pointed mind is the seeker's mark.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingapproach

───→here1.2───→2.14Bear pleasure and pain as a passing season.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roomapproach

───→here1.2───→2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsapproach

───→here1.2───→3.37The enemy is desire turning into anger.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursapproach

───→here1.2───→3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firststation

───→here1.2───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalE

Pūrvapakṣa via nanu / āśaṅkyabetween

1.1Dialectical chain present from line one.───→here1.2───→2.39Nanu… tatrāha: one pair, named.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathapproach · v2

───→here1.2───→2.47Right to action

Ekrasmodernend_of_life

End of life — the threshold tourapproach · v2

───→here1.2───→2.13Bodies pass, the dehī does not

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterapproach · v2

───→here1.2───→1.29The body fails

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentapproach · v2

───→here1.2───→2.55Sthitaprajna defined

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionapproach · v2

───→here1.2───→3.20Janaka, lokasangraha

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesapproach · v2

───→here1.2───→2.41Single-pointed buddhi

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvaapproach · v2

───→here1.2───→3.27Modes act, ego claims

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementapproach · other

───→here1.2───→2.62Brooding breeds attachment

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictapproach · other

───→here1.2───→1.31Bad omens

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthaapproach · other

───→here1.2───→2.10Thesis flat

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseaseapproach

───→here1.2───→2.10Sorrow and delusion are the seed of saṁsāra.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downapproach

───→here1.2───→2.10First lay down all action, then knowledge frees.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youapproach

───→here1.2───→2.10Some say: combine knowledge with rites.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39So far for the seeker of the real; now hear yoga.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemyapproach

───→here1.2───→2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldapproach

───→here1.2───→3.20Janaka acted only to hold the world together.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimapproach

───→here1.2───→2.10Pāṇḍitya is knowing the Self — Bṛhadāraṇyaka.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedapproach

───→here1.2───→2.72Standing in this state, one reaches Brahman..

ĀnandagiriclassicalB

Three hexads = tat tvam asiapproach

───→here1.2───→2.1First hexad opens, tvam-pada implicit.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledapproach

───→here1.2───→2.47Primary fitness needs ripened conditions.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsapproach

───→here1.2───→3.1Buddhi-vyākulatva named the seed.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologyapproach

───→here1.2───→2.47No-fruit ≠ no-karma: kāmya-tyāga ≠ nitya-tyāga.

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyateapproach

───→here1.2───→2.55A description, not a command. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhiapproach

───→here1.2───→2.47Action stays; the wish for fruit goes.

ĀnandagiriclassicalK

Upasaṃhāra — recap as instrumentapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39Wisdom section wound up here.

JayatīrthaclassicalA

Body and embodied — the inference runs on the dehī sideapproach

───→here1.2───→2.13Same I as a child is now in this body.

JayatīrthaclassicalB

Pañcabheda — the five distinctions enforced verse by verseapproach

───→here1.2───→2.12Plurals block monistic absorption.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedapproach

───→here1.2───→2.13One-self-many-bodies runs out of grammar.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyaapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39Wrap prior section, then announce next.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsapproach

───→here1.2───→3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

Citation as proof — śruti, smṛti, MB, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pañcarātraapproach

───→here1.2───→2.13Pratyabhijñā backed by śruti citation.

JayatīrthaclassicalH

Pūrva-pakṣa explicit — nanu / iti cet / ity ata āhaapproach

───→here1.2───→2.13Two objections, three pādas glossed.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availableapproach

───→here1.2───→2.13Recognition is literal across bodies.

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥapproach

───→here1.2───→2.11Madhva first speaks, Jayatīrtha supplies.

MadhusūdanaclassicalK

Arjuna's grief has two roots, not onebetween

1.1Discrimination overrun by grief and confusion.───→here1.2───→2.1Pity and despair treated as guests, not host.

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanaapproach · other

───→here1.2───→2.47Fruit-free action cannot bind

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningapproach

───→here1.2───→2.62'Dhyayato vishayan pumsah sangas teshupajayate, sangat sanjayate kamah.' The out

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaapproach

───→here1.2───→1.28Arjuna at the edge: 'Drishtvemam svajanam Krishna yuyutsum samupasthitam, sidant

Gauravmodernheart_leadership

Heart Leadershipapproach

───→here1.2───→2.48'Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva Dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handapproach

───→here1.2───→2.47Middle finger. Nishkama karma plus the failure-gym. 'Karmany evadhikaras te, ma

Gauravmodernmemorial_pastoral

Memorial Pastoralapproach

───→here1.2───→2.13The memorial-register anchor. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, ta

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101approach

───→here1.2───→2.13Reincarnation pillar. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, tatha deha

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidapproach

───→here1.2───→3.3'Loke'smin dvi-vidha nishtha pura prokta mayanagha, jnana-yogena samkhyanam karm

Gauravmodernwitness_self_neti_neti

Witness Self Neti Netiapproach

───→here1.2───→2.13Body changes. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara.' Gaurav opens the

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

Three groups of six: you, the Lord, the joiningapproach

───→here1.2───→3.1The whole map laid out at chapter three's door.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39Two minds, two paths, never one rule for all.

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39Pure mind for knowing, impure mind for acting.

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingapproach

───→here1.2───→2.47Action offered, fruit-free, cannot bear bondage.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39Like light and dark, they cannot share a place.

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runapproach

───→here1.2───→3.1The architecture ends in living-liberation, then bodily.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalJ

Sañjaya's frame — evidentiary, not ornamentalstation

───→here1.2───→

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesbetween

1.1See Viṭṭhaleśa's hand for chapter one's gloss.───→here1.2───→1.31The despondency catalogue goes to Viṭṭhaleśa.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketapproach

───→here1.2───→2.10The teaching opens at the carama-bracket.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentapproach

───→here1.2───→3.30'Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi': read as antaryāmin.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalE

Pūrva-pakṣa — name the rival, close the doorapproach

───→here1.2───→2.12Plurals refute the unitary-self read.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39What chapter 3 will resolve, named here.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39Sāṅkhya and yoga: not two roads.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefapproach

───→here1.2───→2.10Krishna smiles before the first mā-śucaḥ.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedapproach

───→here1.2───→3.1Drop something inside the act, not the act.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesapproach

───→here1.2───→2.1Six-verse prelude lays out the whole map.

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39The yoga-mind is just the sāṅkhya-mind, retold.

VallabhaclassicalF

Soul as part of the highest Personapproach

───→here1.2───→2.12The eternal among the eternal, conscious among the conscious.

VallabhaclassicalH

Stilling the mind — into the Lordapproach

───→here1.2───→2.48Yoga itself is just sameness of mind.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridapproach

───→here1.2───→2.11Vallabha quotes his own Nibandha at verse two.

ŚrīdharaclassicalA

The Gītā as raft across griefbetween

1.1A raft of teaching crosses the grief-sea.───→here1.2───→2.7I am sunk in pity; ask, do not order.

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

1.1The first epithet: supremely compassionate.───→here1.2───→4.7When right wanes, I take a body.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingapproach

───→here1.2───→2.39Work polishes the inner instrument first.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerapproach

───→here1.2───→3.30Lay every act in Me; I move within.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerapproach

───→here1.2───→2.24The self is one unbroken awareness.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalF

Three guṇas: contractions of one consciousnessapproach

───→here1.2───→2.45Exit the modes — not better modes are the goal.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesapproach

───→here1.2───→2.20Cit alone — the self cannot be destroyed.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)approach

───→here1.2───→2.10Bracket opens here.

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)approach

───→here1.2───→2.47Act, but not for the fruit of acting.

Śabda · lemmas (14 unique · 14 occurrences)

दृष्ट्वा dṛś — to see (verbal root) · conv · also at 1.20, 1.28, 1.29, 1.30, 2.59, 11.20 +4
राजा rājan — king, ruler · nominative masculine singular noun
उवाच √vac — to speak (verbal root) · past indicative 3rd person singular verb

show all 14

संजयः saṃjaya — Saṃjaya (the charioteer-narrator of the Gītā); also: victory · nominative masculine singular noun
तु tu — but, on the other hand (particle)
पाण्डव pāṇḍava — son of Pāṇḍu (the five Pāṇḍava brothers) · compound · also at 1.1, 1.14, 1.20, 4.35, 6.2, 10.37 +4
अनीकम् anīka — battle-array, army · accusative neuter singular noun
व्यूढम् √vyūh — to arrange in array, marshal (vi- + √ūh) · accusative neuter singular participle noun
दुर्योधनः duryodhana — Duryodhana (the eldest Kaurava) · nominative masculine singular noun
तदा tadā — then, at that time
आचार्यम् ācārya — teacher, preceptor · accusative masculine singular noun
उपसंगम्य upasaṃgam — to approach (upa- + sam- + √gam) · conv
वचनम् vacana — speech, utterance (from √vac) · accusative neuter singular noun
अब्रवीत् √brū — to speak, say (verbal root) · impf indicative 3rd person singular · also at 1.28

Praśna · so what (7)

01Why does Sañjaya begin his narration with Duryodhana's anxiety rather than the battle-formations — what does this tell us about the Gītā's actual subject?
02Duryodhana goes to Droṇa rather than summoning him: is this genuine guru-deference or political calculation, and does the distinction matter to the text?

show all 7

03The vyūha (battle-array) is arranged by Dhṛṣṭadyumna — the man fated to kill Droṇa. What is Vyāsa saying by having Duryodhana report the same array to Droṇa?
04Madhusūdana identifies rājanīti-kuśalatā (political skill) in Duryodhana's approach — can skillful concealment of fear ever be dharmic?
05Rāmānuja's commentary spans verses 1.2 through 1.19 as a single arc ending in Kṛṣṇa's conch shaking the three worlds: what is the structural function of Duryodhana's viṣāda (dejection) as the opening note?
06Śaṅkara begins his commentary at 2.10, implicitly treating Chapter 1 as prologue: does the philosophical silence on 1.2 say something about what Advaita considers 'real' content in scripture?
07All six schools agree that Duryodhana speaks to his ācārya at the moment of seeing the enemy force: what kind of knowledge does a student seek from a teacher in a moment of fear?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you feel the urge to survey threats and calculate odds — checking competitors, measuring gaps, assessing vulnerabilities — notice that this scanning is the ahaṃkāra (ego-sense) consolidating its sense of a separate self under siege. The bhāṣya is silent here precisely because jñāna (liberating knowledge) has nothing to say to strategic anxiety; it waits at 2.10. Practice: in moments of competitive fear, pause before the first counsel-seeking move and ask whether the one who fears is ultimately real.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Rāmānuja's commentary shows Duryodhana reporting his vulnerability to his ācārya — an act of apparent transparency that is actually a plea for reassurance. In your own kainkarya (service-work), notice when you present problems to mentors or colleagues not from genuine humility but from anxiety-seeking-comfort. True viśiṣṭādvaita practice means bringing your actual insufficiency to Bhagavān in prayer before you bring your edited version to a human counselor — let the Lord be your first ācārya.

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Dvaita

Madhva's framework reminds us that no jīva's strategic planning, however thorough, can override Hari's sovereignty. When you face a project or relationship where you have carefully mapped the forces on both sides and still feel the arithmetic coming up short, the Dvaita response is not to seek more data — it is to ask whether you have placed the outcome in Hari's hands. Duryodhana's error is not poor generalship; it is treating the outcome as his to calculate.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha reads Duryodhana's inner dejection as a thread in Kṛṣṇa's līlā. When you find yourself in a position of apparent strategic disadvantage — feeling outmatched, outresourced, outmaneuvered — Puṣṭi-mārga invites you to receive even that sinking feeling as prasāda (grace). The dejection itself is Kṛṣṇa preparing the ground. Do not immediately reach for the motivational override; sit briefly in the inadequacy and ask what it is being prepared for.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's reading foregrounds the act of approaching the ācārya — a physical movement of respect even under duress. In everyday terms: when crisis arrives, go to your teacher or mentor rather than broadcasting the problem to peers. Duryodhana walks to Droṇa; he does not send a messenger. The quality of how you seek guidance — in person, with attention, with the vyūha (complexity) fully named — shapes the quality of counsel you receive.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's sharpest gift here is naming rājanīti-kuśalatā — the political skill of hiding fear behind the mask of respect. Most of us do this daily: we frame anxious requests as professional consultations, we disguise insecurity as due diligence. The advaita-bhakti practice is to catch this concealment in yourself before it calcifies into a habitual persona. When you notice you are performing calm or performing deference, name it internally — bhaya (fear) dressed as gaurava (reverence) — and bring the actual fear forward, at least in your own awareness.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 1, Verse 2: Arjuna to Krishna — Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga