Chapter 1 · Verse 8 · Arjuna Visada Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 1.8
Sanskrit
भवान्भीष्मश्च कर्णश्च कृपश्च समितिञ्जयः। अश्वत्थामा विकर्णश्च सौमदत्तिस्तथैव च।।1.8।।
Transliteration
bhavānbhīṣhmaśhcha karṇaśhcha kṛipaśhcha samitiñjayaḥ aśhvatthāmā vikarṇaśhcha saumadattis tathaiva cha
In plain words
When you're facing someone who has hurt you—a family member, a spouse, someone you once trusted—the pain can make you want to see them as only an enemy. But Krishna shows us through Arjuna that naming what's in front of us clearly, without hatred, is what gives us power. You don't have to love what they did, but the moment you stop dehumanizing them in your mind, you take back your own freedom.
हिंदी अर्थ
आप, भीष्म, कर्ण और कृप महान योद्धा हैं जो कौरवों की सेना में हैं। अश्वत्थामा, विकर्ण और सौमदत्ति भी इसी सेना के प्रमुख सैनिक हैं।
Word by Word
Arjuna names the great warriors arrayed against him—Bhishma, Karna, Kripa, Ashvatthama—each a master of dharma and battle, each worthy of reverence. In this moment, he sees not enemies but beloved teachers and kinsmen, and the naming itself becomes an act of recognition that transforms the battlefield into a hall of mirrors where he must confront his own attachments.
When we face our difficulties today, can we name them clearly without being consumed by them, seeing each challenge as a teacher calling us toward our deeper truth?
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 1.8 — BG 1.8
Your Mantra Prescription
This mantra is prescribed for clarity and purpose. Is that what you're going through?
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