Verse 2.8

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.8:

न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद् यच् छोकम् उच्छोषणम् इन्द्रियाणाम् ।
अवाप्य भूमाव् असपत्नम् ऋद्धं राज्यं सुराणाम् अपि चाधिपत्यम् ॥ ८ ॥

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

na–not; hi–certainly; prapaśyāmi–I do see; mama–my; apanudyāt–it can be removed; yat–which; śokam–lamentation; ucchoṣaṇam–is drying up; indriyāṇām–of the senses; avāpya–after attaining; bhūmau–on the Earth; asapatnam–unrivalled; ṛddham–prosperous; rājyam–kingdom; surāṇām–over the demigods; api–even; ca–also; ādhipatyam–sovereignty.

Even if we attain an unrivalled and prosperous kingdom on Earth, with sovereignty over the demigods, I do not see any way to dispel this lamentation, which is drying up my senses.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

Śrī Kṛṣṇa may say, “You do not have a reverential attitude towards Me. Rather, you have a friendly mood. How can I accept you as My disciple? You should take shelter of personalities such as Śrī Vyāsadeva, whom you revere.” Anticipating this, Arjuna is speaking the present verse beginning with the words na hi. “In the three worlds, I do not find anyone other than You who can dispel my lamentation. I do not consider even Bṛhaspati to be more intelligent than You. Therefore, since I am overwhelmed with grief, whose shelter can I take other than Yours? Just as the intense heat of the summer season dries up small ponds, similarly, this grief is drying up my senses.”

Kṛṣṇa may also say, “Although you are overwhelmed with grief, you should still fight. When you win the battle, you will become absorbed in enjoying the pleasure of your kingdom and be freed from this grief.” Arjuna therefore replies with the utterance beginning with avāpya. “Even if I attain the unrivalled kingdom of the Earth or sovereignty over the demigods in the heavenly planets, still my senses will remain as dry as they are now.”