Bhagavad Gita 8.2अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन।प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ॥
adhiyajñaḥ kathaṁ ko ’tra dehe ’smin madhusūdana
prayāṇa-kāle cha kathaṁ jñeyo ’si niyatātmabhiḥ
Sanskrit recitation
What you remember at the end · 8.1–8.13 · Teaching
Translation
Who and how is Adhiyajna here in this body, O destroyer of Madhu? And how, at the time of death, are You to be known by the self-controlled?
Hindi translation
।।8.1 -- 8.2।। अर्जुन बोले -- हे पुरुषोत्तम ! वह ब्रह्म क्या है? अध्यात्म क्या है? कर्म क्या है? अधिभूत किसको कहा गया है? और अधिदैव किसको कहा जाता है? यहाँ अधियज्ञ कौन है और वह इस देहमें कैसे है? हे मधूसूदन ! नियतात्मा (वशीभूत अन्तःकरणवाले) मनुष्यके द्वारा अन्तकालमें आप कैसे जाननेमें आते हैं?
Meaning
Arjuna put seven questions to the Lord1. What is that Brahman Is it Brahman with the Upadhis (limiting adjuncts) or Brahman without them2. Is it the aggregate of the senses or individual consciousness (PratyakChaitanya) or distinct, pure consciousness3. What is Karma Is it Yajna Or, is it distinct from Yajna4. Adhibhuta is knowledge of the Bhutas. Is this the knowledge of the elements or something else5. Adhidaiva is that which is associated with the gods. Is this the meditation on the gods Or, is it the consciousness associated with the Suryamandala, etc.6. Adhiyajna is that which is associated with Yajnas or Vedic rituals. Is this the Para Brahman (Supreme Being) or any special god Is it of the same form (Tadatmyarupa) or is it entirely nondifferent (Abheda) Does it exist in the body or outside it If it exists in the body, is it the intellect (Buddhi) or distinct from it7. At the time of death, when the memory is lost and when the senses become cold (i.e., whenthey lose their vitality) how can the man of onepointedness and of steadfast mind know the LordO Lord Madhusudana Thou art allmerciful. Thou hast killed Madhu and removed the miseries of the people. Even so Thou canst remove my difficulties and doubts very easily. This is nothing for Thee, the omniscient Lord. (This is the reason why Arjuna addresses the Lord by the name Madhusudana.)
After Swami Sivananda
What you remember at the end· 8.1–8.13→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 8.1Arjuna said, "What is Brahman? What is Adhyatma? What is action, O best among men? What is…
8.2Who and how is Adhiyajna here in this body, O destroyer of Madhu? And how, at the time of…
- 8.3The Blessed Lord said, "Brahman is the Imperishable, the Supreme; its essential nature is…
- 8.4Adhibhuta—knowledge of the elements—pertains to My perishable nature, and the Purusha, or…
- 8.5And whoever, leaving their body, goes forth remembering Me alone at the time of death,…
- 8.6Whoever at the end leaves the body, thinking of any being, to that being only does he go,…
- 8.7Therefore, at all times, remember Me only and fight. With your mind and intellect fixed on…
- 8.8With the mind not moving towards any other thing, made steadfast through the practice of…
- 8.9Whosoever meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, the Ruler of the whole world, minuter…
- 8.10At the time of death, with an unwavering mind, endowed with devotion, by the power of…
- 8.11That which is declared to be Imperishable by those who know the Vedas, that which the…
- 8.12Having closed all the gates, confined the mind in the heart, and fixed the life-breath in…
- 8.13Uttering the one-syllabled Om, the Brahman, and remembering Me, he who departs, leaving…
Word-by-word→
- asi
- are (you)
- cha
- and
- atra
- here
- dehe
- in body
- asmin
- this
- kaḥ
- who
- katham
- how
- jñeyaḥ
- to be known
- madhusūdana
- Shree Krishna, the killer of the demon named Madhu
- adhiyajñaḥ
- the Lord all sacrificial performances
- prayāṇa-kāle
- at the time of death
- niyata-ātmabhiḥ
- by those of steadfast mind
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