Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 1 — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga
Sanskrit
अर्जुन उवाच | संन्यासस्य महाबाहो तत्त्वमिच्छामि वेदितुम् | त्यागस्य च हृषीकेश पृथक्केशिनिषूदन ||१८-१||
Transliteration
arjuna uvāca . saṃnyāsasya mahābāho tattvamicchāmi veditum . tyāgasya ca hṛṣīkeśa pṛthakkeśiniṣūdana ||18-1||
Hindi Meaning
।।18.1।। अर्जुन ने कहा -- हे महाबाहो ! हे हृषीकेश ! हे केशनिषूदन ! मैं संन्यास और त्याग के तत्त्व को पृथक्-पृथक् जानना चाहता हूँ।।
English Meaning
Arjuna said: O mighty-armed one, I wish to understand the purpose of renunciation [tyāga] and of the renounced order of life [sannyāsa], O killer of the Keśī demon, master of the senses.
Commentary
Actually the Bhagavad-gītā is finished in seventeen chapters. The Eighteenth Chapter is a supplementary summarization of the topics discussed before. In every chapter of Bhagavad-gītā , Lord Kṛṣṇa stresses that devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal of life. This same point is summarized in the Eighteenth Chapter as the most confidential path of knowledge. In the first six chapters, stress was given to devotional service: yoginām api sarveṣām … “Of all yogīs or transcendentalists, one who always thinks of Me within himself is best.” In the next six chapters, pure devotional service and its nature and activity were discussed. In the third six chapters, knowledge, renunciation, the activities of material nature and transcendental nature, and devotional service were described. It was concluded that all acts should be performed in conjunction with the Supreme Lord, represented by the words oṁ tat sat, which indicate Viṣṇu, the Supreme Person. The third part of Bhagavad-gītā has shown that devotional service, and nothing else, is the ultimate purpose of life. This has been established by citing past ācāryas and the Brahma-sūtra, the Vedānta-sūtra . Certain impersonalists consider themselves to have a monopoly on the knowledge of Vedānta-sūtra, but actually the Vedānta-sūtra is meant for understanding devotional service, for the Lord Himself is the composer of the Vedānta-sūtra, and He is its knower. That is described in the Fifteenth Chapter. In every scripture, every Veda, devotional service is the objective. That is explained in Bhagavad-gītā . As in the Second Chapter a synopsis of the whole subject matter was described, in the Eighteenth Chapter also the summary of all instruction is given. The purpose of life is indicated to be renunciation and attainment of the transcendental position above the three material modes of nature. Arjuna wants to clarify the two distinct subject matters of Bhagavad-gītā , namely renunciation ( tyāga ) and the renounced order of life ( sannyāsa ). Thus he is asking the meaning of these two words. Two words used in this verse to address the Supreme Lord – Hṛṣīkeśa and Keśi-niṣūdana – are significant. Hṛṣīkeśa is Kṛṣṇa, the master of all senses, who can always help us attain mental serenity. Arjuna requests Him to summarize everything in such a way that he can remain equipoised. Yet he has some doubts, and doubts are always compared to demons. He therefore addresses Kṛṣṇa as Keśi-niṣūdana. Keśī was a most formidable demon who was killed by the Lord; now Arjuna is expecting Kṛṣṇa to kill the demon of doubt.
Hinglish Commentary
Bhagavad-gītā ka jo safar hai, woh 17 chapters mein khatam hota hai. Aathwa chapter ek tarah se purane topics ka summary hai. Har chapter mein, Bhagwan Kṛṣṇa yeh baat baar-baar kehte hain ki Supreme Personality of Godhead ki bhakti hi zindagi ka ultimate goal hai. Aathwe chapter mein is baat ko sabse gehre gyaan ke raahein samjhaya gaya hai. Pehle chhe chapters mein bhakti se bhare yogi ki mahanta ko dikhaya gaya hai: “Sab yogiyon mein, jo hamesha mujhe yaad karta hai, wahi sabse best hai.” Agle chhe chapters mein, shuddh bhakti aur uski prakriti aur kriyaon par baat hui hai. Teesre chhe chapters mein gyaan, tyag, material nature aur transcendental nature ki baatein hui hain, aur yeh conclude kiya gaya hai ki sab kaam Supreme Lord ke saath milkar hone chahiye, jise oṁ tat sat ke shabdon se darshaya gaya hai, jo ki Viṣṇu, Supreme Person ko darshata hai. Bhagavad-gītā ka teesra hissa yeh dikhata hai ki sirf bhakti hi zindagi ka asli maqsad hai, aur is baat ko pichle ācāryas aur Brahma-sūtra ke zariye establish kiya gaya hai. Kuch log jo impersonalists hain, unka yeh maana hai ki unke paas Vedānta-sūtra ka gyaan hai, lekin asal mein yeh vedānta bhakti samajhne ke liye hai, kyunki Bhagwan khud Vedānta-sūtra ke rachnakar hain aur wahi iske gyaan ka bhi gyaan rakhte hain. Yeh Fifteenth Chapter mein bataya gaya hai. Har scripture, har Veda mein bhakti ka hi uddeshya hai, jo Bhagavad-gītā mein samjhaya gaya hai. Jaise Second Chapter mein poore subject matter ka summary diya gaya, waise hi Eighteenth Chapter mein bhi sabhi instructions ka summary hai. Zindagi ka maqsad hai tyag aur teen material modes of nature se upar transcendental position prapt karna. Arjuna yeh clarify karna chahta hai ki Bhagavad-gītā ke do alag topics hain: tyag (renunciation) aur renounced order of life (sannyāsa). Isliye woh in dono shabdon ka arth samajhna chahta hai. Yeh do shabd jo is verse mein Supreme Lord ko address karne ke liye use kiye gaye hain – Hṛṣīkeśa aur Keśi-niṣūdana – yeh bahut maayne rakhte hain. Hṛṣīkeśa Kṛṣṇa hain, jo sab senses ke master hain, aur jo hamesha humein mental serenity prapt karne mein madad kar sakte hain. Arjuna unse request karta hai ki woh sab kuch is tarah se summarize karein ki woh balance mein rahe sake. Lekin uske mann mein kuch doubts hain, aur doubts ko aksar demons se compare kiya jata hai. Isliye woh Kṛṣṇa ko Keśi-niṣūdana kehkar bulaata hai. Keśī ek bahut hi bhayanak demon tha jise Bhagwan ne maar diya tha; ab Arjuna Kṛṣṇa se ummid kar raha hai ki woh doubt ke demon ko bhi maar denge.
Chinmaya Commentary
यद्यपि अर्जुन की जिज्ञासा शैक्षणिक रुचि की है तथापि भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण पूर्ण गम्भीरता के साथ उसका उत्तर देते हैं। जब शिष्य अपना सन्देह या जिज्ञासा प्रकट करता है तब निश्चय ही वह स्वयं अपनी कठिनाई नहीं जान पाता है। अत गुरु का यह कर्तव्य हो जाता है कि शिष्य की कठिनाई को समझकर उसका समाधान करे। यहाँ भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण का यही प्रयत्न है।यह सम्पूर्ण अध्याय त्याग और संन्यास के अर्थ के चारों ओर घूमता रहता है। त्याग के बिना संन्यास अनाकलनीय है असम्भव है और यदि कोई ऐसा प्रयत्न करता है तो उसका संन्यास केवल पाखण्ड ही कहा जायेगा। यह अध्याय हमारी उन वासनाओं प्रवृत्तियों उद्देश्यों आदि का वर्णन करता है जो सर्वथा त्याज्य है। इनके ज्ञान से अवांछनीय गुणों का वास्तविक त्याग संभव हो सकता है। इस तथ्य को ध्यान में रखकर इस अध्याय का अध्ययन करना चाहिए अन्यथा निश्चय ही यह हमें प्रभावित नहीं कर पायेगा।केशनिषूदन केशि नामक एक असुर अश्व का रूप धारण करके बालकृष्ण की हत्या करने आया था परन्तु भगवान् ने उसे ही दो भागों में विदीर्ण कर दिया था। अत वे केशिनिषूदन के नाम से प्रसिद्ध हुए।इन शब्दों के तत्त्वनिर्णय हेतु