Bhagavad Gītā: Chapter 2 : Text 22

Bhagavad Gītā: Chapter two: Contents of the Gītā Summarized, Text 22

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरो ऽपराणि │

vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi

तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ││२२││

tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānyanyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī

Figure 01: Lord Kṛṣṇa said, “As a person draws on new clothes, yielding up old ones, the soul likewise accepts new material bodies, yielding up the old and useless one.” (2.22) (Prabhupāda 2017)

Vocabulary

vāsāṁsi—garments; jīrṇāni—old and worn out; yathā—just as; vihāya—giving up; navāni—new garments; gṛhṇāti—does accept; naraḥ—a man; aparāṇi—others; tathā—in the same way; śarīrāṇi—bodies; vihāya—giving up; jīrṇāni—old and useless; anyāni—different; saṁyāti—verily accepts; navāni—new sets; dehī—the embodied.

Translate the following verse into English

As a person draws on new clothes, yielding up old ones, the soul likewise accepts new material bodies, yielding up the old and useless ones.

Purport the following verse

Change of body by the individual atomic spirit is an affirmed truth. Furthermore, modern scientists who do not believe in the being of the soul, but at the same time cannot describe the source of energy from the heart; have to affirm continuously transforms of the body which appears from youth to boyhood and from boyhood to youth and again from youth to old age, the change transferred to another body.

Brief out the Moral teachings in the following verse

Transference of the individual atomic soul to another body is made possible by the grace of the Supersoul. The Supersoul executes the desire of the atomic soul as one friend fulfils the desire of another. It can compare the soul and Supersoul to two kindly birds dwelling on the same tree. One of the birds as the individual atomic soul is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird Kṛṣṇa is only observing His friend. Although two birds are the same attribution, one fascinates fruits on the material tree while the other only observing His friend’s activities. Kṛṣṇa is the observing bird, and Arjuna is the eating bird.

Although they are friends, one is yet the leader, and the other is the attendant. Oblivious of relationship by the atomic soul is the cause of one is changing his position from one tree to another like as from one body to another. The jīva spirit is struggling very hard on the tree of the material body, but as soon as he agreed to accept the other bird as the supreme spiritual leader—as Arjuna has done by voluntary surrender unto Kṛṣṇa for instruction—the subordinate bird immediately becomes free from all lamentations.

“Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. However, if in some way, he turns his face to his friend the Lord and knows His glories—at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties.” Arjuna has now turned his face towards his eternal friends, Kṛṣṇa, and understands the Bhagavad- gītā from Him. Also thus, hearing from Kṛṣṇa, he can understand the supreme glories of the Lord and be free from lamentation.

Arjuna is advised herewith by the Lord not to lament for the bodily change of his old grandfather and his teacher. He should instead be happy to kill their bodies in the righteous fight so that they may clean at once of all reactions from various bodily activities. One, who places down his life on the sacrificial altar, or in the proper battlefield, is at once cleaned of bodily reactions and promoted to the higher status of life. So there was no cause for Arjuna’s lamentation. (Prabhupāda 2017)

Bibliography

Elizarenkova, Tatyana J. Language and Style of the Vedic Rsis. New York: State University of New York Press, 1995.

Lochtefeld, James. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 2. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2002.

Macdonell, Arthur A. A Sanskrit Grammar for Students. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1927.

Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1923.

Müller, Friedrich Max. A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature. London: Williams and Norgate, 1860.

Prabhupāda, A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami. Bhagavad Gītā as it is. California: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2017.