Post by madanmohandas on Oct 31, 2020 18:23:12 GMT -6
Arguments for the Gita, Canto by Canto
The blind king makes inquiries,
Sanjaya to the king replies;
And catalogues the men at arms,
The fearful clash, the dire alarms;
How Arjuna the forces viewed,
How he with pity was subdued,
His moral speech to Krishna made,
How Arjuna was sore dismayed;
Thus is the argument rehearsed,
Among the Gita's Cantos first. 1
Krishna begins his tuneful speech,
And deigns his friend, distressed, to teach,
He tells of the immortal soul,
Of intellect, of self control,
And how he might himself redeem,
Such is the second Canto's theme. 2
The questions by Arjuna raised;
The way of selfless action praised;
The cause of sin identified;
Avoidance of desire and pride;
Such are the themes herein extolled,
As in the third Canto are told. 3
Of Krishna's antecedents now
Are told, and also why and how
He in the world reincarnates,
And how all things he antedates;
The way of wisdom is extolled,
Of selfless action has been told;
And how action to consecrate,
The fourth Canto does thus relate. 4
More questions by Arjuna made;
All ambiguity allayed;
Abandonment of action's fruit;
Of selfless action the pursuit;
The ways of meditation shown;
All these from Canto five are known. 5
The meditative posture now
Is taught, and the means whereby how
The gaze must be in firm repose
Bent downward and fixed on the nose;
More questions by Arjuna raised;
His further doubtings all erased;
These subjects several we glean,
As are in the sixth Canto seen. 6
In his sweet salutary speech
The Lord Krishna his friend doth teach;
Of knowledge and of wisdom too,
How rarely men the path pursue
To freedom, yet those who are wise
Lord Vaasudeva realise;
A novel theme is introduced,
And terms of reference adduced;
And this Canto seven completes,
Of these terms the next Canto treats. 7
How contemplation is maintained,
How recollection is retained,
How he who to the Lord aspires,
Attains him when his life expires
Is told; and also in what way
Is calculated Brahma’s day;
Thus Krishna does expatiate,
The diverse themes of Canto eight. 8
In the ninth Canto is extolled,
The mystery but rarely told,
The supreme sov’reign wisdom hight,
Delivered for his soul’s delight.
The nature of his being tells,
How tho’ aloof, in all he dwells,
How all beings from him evolve,
And how they into him dissolve;
And praised is the high dignity,
Of the exclusive devotee. 9
Now with his divine eloquence,
Krishna tells of his opulence,
And comprehensively relates,
How from him all this emanates;
His secret mystery conveyed,
And how the prince Arjuna prayed;
How he at length delineates,
And his many aspects relates;
How merely by a part he holds,
The infinitude of the worlds.
Such are the subjects treated then
In divine Gita’s Canto ten. 10
On his friend's importunity,
Who fain the truth thus heard, would see,
Lord Krishna showed his splendid form,
Which did the universe inform;
All gathered into one he saw,
Filled with consternation and awe.
How then that form he dissassumed,
And his gentle aspect resumed.
In him subsist earth and heaven,
As is shown in Canto eleven. 11
Two types of yogins are declared,
Their votive practises compared;
How progress is made by degrees,
Of those who are his voteries;
The true devotee to discern,
We may from the twelfth Canto learn. 12
The 'field' and the 'field knower' then,
And he who doth both of them ken;
Knowledge and the knower are shown,
And the object of knowledge known;
And who this wisdom comprehends,
Unto the supreme Brahman wends;
How he doth in all forms remain,
Uncontaminated by stain;
How one attains the perfect state,
The thirteenth Canto doth relate. 13
Distinction of varieties,
Is now made of the qualities,
Pertaining to the gunas three,
Of good and evil destiny;
The signs of he who these transcends,
Exclusive devotion commends;
How the perfect to Brahman go,
Is told in the fourteenth Canto. 14
With roots above and shoots below,
The endless Banyan tree doth grow,
The means whereby it is cut down;
The supreme state and high renown
Of Purusottama, the Lord,
The worshipfullest and adored;
The supreme fulfilment extolled,
Are in the fifteenth Canto told. 15
The distinctions are now reviewed
Of gifts whereby all are endued
According as their states incline,
As demonic or as divine;
And scripture is declared to be,
In all matters authority;
Such is the iterated theme,
Which obtains in Canto sixteen. 16
Three types of faith are shown to be
Influenced by the gunas three;
As sacrifice, penance and food,
Are indifferent, bad or good;
And the words, Om Tat Sat, also
Are treated of in this Canto. 17
The last Canto further relates,
Develops and reiterates
Renouncement of all action's fruit,
Of selfless action the pursuit;
And ultimately to forsake,
All duty and surrender make
To Krishna's protection consigned,
With a sincere devoted mind;
And thus did the Lord Krishna teach,
Then Sanjaya concludes his speech. 18
Finis
The blind king makes inquiries,
Sanjaya to the king replies;
And catalogues the men at arms,
The fearful clash, the dire alarms;
How Arjuna the forces viewed,
How he with pity was subdued,
His moral speech to Krishna made,
How Arjuna was sore dismayed;
Thus is the argument rehearsed,
Among the Gita's Cantos first. 1
Krishna begins his tuneful speech,
And deigns his friend, distressed, to teach,
He tells of the immortal soul,
Of intellect, of self control,
And how he might himself redeem,
Such is the second Canto's theme. 2
The questions by Arjuna raised;
The way of selfless action praised;
The cause of sin identified;
Avoidance of desire and pride;
Such are the themes herein extolled,
As in the third Canto are told. 3
Of Krishna's antecedents now
Are told, and also why and how
He in the world reincarnates,
And how all things he antedates;
The way of wisdom is extolled,
Of selfless action has been told;
And how action to consecrate,
The fourth Canto does thus relate. 4
More questions by Arjuna made;
All ambiguity allayed;
Abandonment of action's fruit;
Of selfless action the pursuit;
The ways of meditation shown;
All these from Canto five are known. 5
The meditative posture now
Is taught, and the means whereby how
The gaze must be in firm repose
Bent downward and fixed on the nose;
More questions by Arjuna raised;
His further doubtings all erased;
These subjects several we glean,
As are in the sixth Canto seen. 6
In his sweet salutary speech
The Lord Krishna his friend doth teach;
Of knowledge and of wisdom too,
How rarely men the path pursue
To freedom, yet those who are wise
Lord Vaasudeva realise;
A novel theme is introduced,
And terms of reference adduced;
And this Canto seven completes,
Of these terms the next Canto treats. 7
How contemplation is maintained,
How recollection is retained,
How he who to the Lord aspires,
Attains him when his life expires
Is told; and also in what way
Is calculated Brahma’s day;
Thus Krishna does expatiate,
The diverse themes of Canto eight. 8
In the ninth Canto is extolled,
The mystery but rarely told,
The supreme sov’reign wisdom hight,
Delivered for his soul’s delight.
The nature of his being tells,
How tho’ aloof, in all he dwells,
How all beings from him evolve,
And how they into him dissolve;
And praised is the high dignity,
Of the exclusive devotee. 9
Now with his divine eloquence,
Krishna tells of his opulence,
And comprehensively relates,
How from him all this emanates;
His secret mystery conveyed,
And how the prince Arjuna prayed;
How he at length delineates,
And his many aspects relates;
How merely by a part he holds,
The infinitude of the worlds.
Such are the subjects treated then
In divine Gita’s Canto ten. 10
On his friend's importunity,
Who fain the truth thus heard, would see,
Lord Krishna showed his splendid form,
Which did the universe inform;
All gathered into one he saw,
Filled with consternation and awe.
How then that form he dissassumed,
And his gentle aspect resumed.
In him subsist earth and heaven,
As is shown in Canto eleven. 11
Two types of yogins are declared,
Their votive practises compared;
How progress is made by degrees,
Of those who are his voteries;
The true devotee to discern,
We may from the twelfth Canto learn. 12
The 'field' and the 'field knower' then,
And he who doth both of them ken;
Knowledge and the knower are shown,
And the object of knowledge known;
And who this wisdom comprehends,
Unto the supreme Brahman wends;
How he doth in all forms remain,
Uncontaminated by stain;
How one attains the perfect state,
The thirteenth Canto doth relate. 13
Distinction of varieties,
Is now made of the qualities,
Pertaining to the gunas three,
Of good and evil destiny;
The signs of he who these transcends,
Exclusive devotion commends;
How the perfect to Brahman go,
Is told in the fourteenth Canto. 14
With roots above and shoots below,
The endless Banyan tree doth grow,
The means whereby it is cut down;
The supreme state and high renown
Of Purusottama, the Lord,
The worshipfullest and adored;
The supreme fulfilment extolled,
Are in the fifteenth Canto told. 15
The distinctions are now reviewed
Of gifts whereby all are endued
According as their states incline,
As demonic or as divine;
And scripture is declared to be,
In all matters authority;
Such is the iterated theme,
Which obtains in Canto sixteen. 16
Three types of faith are shown to be
Influenced by the gunas three;
As sacrifice, penance and food,
Are indifferent, bad or good;
And the words, Om Tat Sat, also
Are treated of in this Canto. 17
The last Canto further relates,
Develops and reiterates
Renouncement of all action's fruit,
Of selfless action the pursuit;
And ultimately to forsake,
All duty and surrender make
To Krishna's protection consigned,
With a sincere devoted mind;
And thus did the Lord Krishna teach,
Then Sanjaya concludes his speech. 18
Finis