Chapter 2, Verses 8–9

Sanskrit

न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद् यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम्। अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम्॥8॥

सञ्जय उवाच। एवमुक्त्वा हृषीकेशं गुडाकेशः परन्तप। न योत्स्य इति गोविन्दमुक्त्वा तूष्णीं बभूव ह॥9॥

Transliteration

na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām avāpya bhūmāv asapatnam ṛddhaṃ rājyaṃ surāṇām api cādhipatyam (8)

sañjaya uvāca evam uktvā hṛṣīkeśaṃ guḍākeśaḥ parantapa na yotsya iti govindam uktvā tūṣṇīṃ babhūva ha (9)

Translation (per Swami’s paraphrase)

I do not see what could remove this grief of mine, which parches my senses — even if I were to gain unrivaled kingship over the earth, even lordship over the gods. (8)

Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus to Hrishikesha (Krishna), Gudakesha (Arjuna), the scorcher of foes, said to Govinda — I will not fight — and fell silent. (9)

Concepts discussed

• karpanya — its completion: outer solutions are all explicitly ruled out
• moksha — that Arjuna does not yet know this is what he needs, but the verse points there

Characters present

• arjuna — addressed as Gudakesha (conqueror of sleep) and Parantapa (scorcher of foes)
• krishna — addressed as Hrishikesha (lord of the senses) and Govinda
• sanjaya — narrator

Swami’s commentary

These two verses complete the karpanya-dosha of verse 2.7. Arjuna has surrendered as a disciple; now he lays out exactly what he has ruled out and what he has left:

Nothing external will do. Not unrivaled kingship over the earth. Not lordship over the gods. No outer rearrangement can remove the grief that is drying up his senses. This is the technical end-point of karpanya: every outer solution, explicitly named and rejected. Whatever the answer is, it has to come from somewhere else.

And then — silence. Verse 9 is Sanjaya’s observation from the chariot: Arjuna said, “I will not fight,” and fell silent. That silence is not defeat. It is the silence a teacher can finally work with. While the student is still speaking, no teaching is possible. The Gita will not begin delivering its answer until this line.

The names. Note the careful choice of addresses in verse 9. Arjuna is called Gudakesha — conqueror of sleep, the disciplined one. Krishna is called Hrishikesha — lord of the senses. The one whose senses are being dried up is falling silent before the one who is lord of the senses. The Sanskrit is already pointing at the cure.

Shankara’s own commentary begins here, at verse 2.10 — the next verse, where Krishna, “as if smiling,” begins to teach.

Lecture evidence

• Ep. 2 [~50:00]: Arjuna explicitly rules out every external solution — even lordship over the gods would not remove this grief.
• Ep. 2 [~55:00]: The silence of verse 9 is what Krishna was waiting for; the teaching begins only when the student stops speaking.