Inane Interpolations In Bhagvad-Gita, BS Murthy [free novel reading sites .txt] 📗

’n kin?

tasmān nārhā vayaṁ hantuṁ dhārtarāṣhṭrān sa-bāndhavān
sva-janaṁ hi kathaṁ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava

Ch1, V38

Blinded by greed, bent on deceit  
Fail they foresee, war ruins the race.

yady apy ete na paśhyanti lobhopahata-chetasaḥ
kula-kṣhaya-kṛitaṁ doṣhaṁ mitra-drohe cha pātakam.

C1, V39

Wiser for the woes of wars 
Why not Lord we rescind now.

kathaṁ na jñeyam asmābhiḥ pāpād asmān nivartitum
kula-kṣhaya-kṛitaṁ doṣhaṁ prapaśhyadbhir janārdana

Ch 2, V4

Adore as I, how dare I  
Make Bhishma ’n Dron target?

kathaṁ bhīṣhmam ahaṁ sankhye droṇaṁ cha madhusūdana
iṣhubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāvari-sūdana ,,,

Ch2, V5

Better I go with begging bowl
Than earn disgrace slaying them, 
Would the scepter ever glitter  
In the bloodstained hands of mine?

gurūnahatvā hi mahānubhāvān
śhreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣhyamapīha loke
hatvārtha-kāmāṁstu gurūnihaiva
bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān

Ch2, V6

Those us oppose
We hate hurting,
What use war
Who victors are?

na chaitadvidmaḥ kataranno garīyo
yadvā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ
yāneva hatvā na jijīviṣhāmas
te ’vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhārtarāṣhṭrāḥ

Ch2, V7

About my duty I’m in doubt 
Tell me kindly what is right.

kārpaṇya-doṣhopahata-svabhāvaḥ
pṛichchhāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammū

ha-chetāḥ
yach-chhreyaḥ syānniśhchitaṁ brūhi tanme
śhiṣhyaste ’haṁ śhādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam

Besides, Arjuna was also concerned about,

Ch1, V40 

Die aged en masse dharma’s votaries 
Won't that let go youth ours haywire? 

kula-kṣhaye praṇaśhyanti kula-dharmāḥ sanātanāḥ
dharme naṣhṭe kulaṁ kṛitsnam adharmo ’bhibhavaty uta

Ch1, v41

Sex ratio adverse that war ensues

Turns women soft on caste barriers.

adharmābhibhavāt kṛiṣhṇa praduṣhyanti kula-striyaḥ
strīṣhu duṣhṭāsu vārṣhṇeya jāyate varṇa-saṅkara

Ch1, V42

Fallen women all go to hell  
What is more their bastards rob
Posthumous rites of forebearers.

saṅkaro narakāyaiva kula-ghnānāṁ kulasya cha
patanti pitaro hy eṣhāṁ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ

Ch1, V43

Liaisons low of women wanton

Set our race on ruinous course.

doṣhair etaiḥ kula-ghnanaṁ varṇa-saṅkara-karakaiḥ

utsadyante jati-dharmaḥ kula-dharmash cha shashvataḥ

and this is understandable for Arjuna, who was a Kshatriya, seated next only to the Brahmins on the Hindu High Caste-table

So, Lord Vishnu, the Creator, in his avatar as Krishna (lo as Shudra), donning the role of Arjuna’s charioteer, set out to motivate the doubting tom to fight the just war on hand, beginning with a taunt that is –

Ch2, V11

Averring as knowing
Worried over trivia!
Reckon never wise 
Dead and alive both

śhrī bhagavān uvācha
aśhochyān-anvaśhochas-tvaṁ prajñā-vādānśh cha bhāṣhase
gatāsūn-agatāsūnśh-cha nānuśhochanti paṇḍitāḥ

Ch2, V12

You and Me    
As well these,
Have had past 
Future as well.

na tvevāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ
na chaiva na bhaviṣhyāmaḥ sarve vayamataḥ param

Ch2, V13       

Wise all realize
Embodies selfsame spirit in one
From birth to death, in every birth. 

dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati

Ch2, V18

Perish all bodies, Spirit not therein 
Know this truth, and take up arms. 

antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śharīriṇaḥ
anāśhino ’prameyasya tasmād yudhyasva bhārata

Ch2, V19

With no slayer, nor one slain        
Whoso feels that he might kill
It's in delusion that he harps.

ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ yaśh chainaṁ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate.

Ch2, V20

Unbound being ever unborn
Ageless since it’s endless too  
Goes on Spirit, beyond life-span. 

na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre

Ch2, V21

Spirit as entity hath no birth
How can thou kill what’s not born!

vedāvināśhinaṁ nityaṁ ya enam ajam avyayam
kathaṁ sa puruṣhaḥ pārtha kaṁ ghātayati hanti kam

Ch2, V22

Change as men fade if clothes
So doth Spirit as frames are worn

vāsānsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛihṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śharīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānya
nyāni sanyāti navāni dehī.

Ch2, V26

Prima facie if thou feel
Subject Spirit is to rebirths  
Why grieve over end of frame?

atha chainaṁ nitya-jātaṁ nityaṁ vā manyase mṛitam
tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho naivaṁ śhochitum arhasi.

Ch2, V27

Dies as one
For like rebirth,
Why feel sad
Of what’s cyclic

jaatasya hi dhruvoo mrityu dhruvam janma mritasya cha
tasmaadaparihaaryerthe na tvam shoochitumarhasi.

Ch2, V30

Dies not Spirit as die beings 
What for man then tends to grieve!

dehī nityam avadhyo ’yaṁ dehe sarvasya bhārata
tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni na tvaṁ śhochitum arhasi

Ch 2 V31

Being a warrior dharma thine 
That thee fight with all thy might.

swa-dharmam api chāvekṣhya na vikampitum arhasi
dharmyāddhi yuddhāch chhreyo ’nyat kṣhatriyasya na vidyate.

At that, had Arjuna picked up the Gandiva, his divine bow, and said “here we go,” perhaps the Gita would have ended then and there, but as he remained unmoved Krishna had continued –

Ch2, V38

Shed thy sentiment, guilt unhinge  
Eye not gain as wage thou war.

sukha-duḥkhe same kṛitvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi

Ch2, V39

It's this knowledge that liberates 
And helps thee act, with no restraint. 

eṣhā te ’bhihitā sānkhye
buddhir yoge tvimāṁ śhṛiṇu
buddhyā yukto yayā pārtha
karma-bandhaṁ prahāsyasi

Obviously privy to the Vedic ritualistic regimen, the bedrock of the Hindu religiosity that comes in the way of man’s liberation, Krishna affirmed in the same vein:

Ch2, V42

Unwise use all enticing
Flowery language to further
Rituals Vedic in their scores 
Not the knowledge of Vedas.  

yāmimāṁ puṣhpitāṁ vāchaṁ pravadanty-avipaśhchitaḥ
veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ

Ch2, V43

Eyeing heaven with mind mundane  
Go for ceremonies such in hope
Of having best of both the worlds.

kāmātmānaḥ swarga-parā janma-karma-phala-pradām
kriyā-viśheṣha-bahulāṁ bhogaiśhwarya-gatiṁ prati.

Ch2, V44

Pursue if thou wants with zeal
Instincts then would spin thy mind.

bhogaiśwvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛita-chetasām
vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate.

Ch2, V53

Stands as firm mind thy clear
Steer thou clear of path rituals.   

śhruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niśhchalā
samādhāv-achalā buddhis tadā yogam avāpsyasi.

It was then that Arjuna broke his silence with the query –

Ch2, V54

How to spot the yogi true   
Were he there ever in the crowd?

sthita-prajñasya kā bhāṣhā samādhi-sthasya keśhava
sthita-dhīḥ kiṁ prabhāṣheta kim āsīta vrajeta kim.

Later, having heard Krishna’s exposition of the virtues of self-restraint that was after having goaded him to wage the just war without suffering any qualms about killing his kith and kin, Arjuna, in confusion, quizzed Krishna again thus:

Ch3, V1

Capping wants, if betters action
How come Thou then push for war!

jyāyasī chet karmaṇas te matā buddhir janārdana
tat kiṁ karmaṇi ghore māṁ niyojayasi keśhava and then said,

Ch 3, V2

Find I hard to grasp all this 
Thou be forthright, what is right.  

vyāmiśhreṇeva vākyena buddhiṁ mohayasīva me
tad ekaṁ vada niśhchitya yena śhreyo ’ham āpnuyām

The discourse between Krishna and Arjuna that follows is a treatise of self-help containing the cumulative wisdom enshrined in the Upanishads, Brahma sutras and Yoga sastra, however marred in the latter-period by 110 inane interpolations.

Be that as it may, did Krishna share ‘higher caste’ Arjuna’s ‘lower’ caste concerns?

Seemingly not since he averred that –

Ch9, V6

Skies in rooted wind as spreads
Dwell in Me though disperse all.

yathākāśha-sthito nityaṁ vāyuḥ sarvatra-go mahān
tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni mat-sthānītyupadhāraya

But the interpolartor(s) thought differently,

Ch9, V32

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśhritya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ
striyo vaiśhyās tathā śhūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim

Surely, O Paartha, even those who are born of sinful origin – women, traders, and also Shudras (labourers), they attain the supreme state by taking refuge in me

Had Arjuna heard Krishna aver the above that dented his concept of kula-striyaḥ (high caste women) aired in Ch1,V41 (quoted before), he would have been truly flabbergasted, and might have even dismissed him (Krishna) from service, for at that stage, the latter hadn’t shown his Vishvarupa (the Universal Form) to him as in Ch10.

Then, what about Arjuna’s concern for the posthumous rites of forebears?

Ch15, V8

Wind as carries scent of flowers
While leaving them as is where,
In like fashion Spirit from frames
Moves its awareness to rebirths,

śharīraṁ yad avāpnoti yach chāpy utkrāmatīśhvaraḥ
gṛihītvaitāni sanyāti vāyur gandhān ivāśhayāt.

So, seemingly Krishna inferred the futility of the Vedic rituals for the dead, the bread and butter of the priestly class of Brahmins?

But then, notwithstanding their meager numbers, as the Brahmins acquired an unrivalled domination over the rest, they even came to believe that they had the power to control the gods as expostulated in the Nārāyana Upanishad!

daiva dēnam jagat sarvam

mantrā dēnantu daivatam,

tan mantram brāhmanādēnam

brāhmano mama dēvata.

It’s on god that hinges all

Mantras rein in that godhood

Controlled are those by Brahmans

Making them our own angels.

Not just that, going by the purānās, not only the Brahmin sages and saints through yagnās ‘n yāgās ordained the gods to fulfill theirs as well as their clients’ wishes but also were wont to curse them when offended.

Needless to say, the Gita’s pristine text, besides being at odds with their religious practices and social prejudices had the potential to undermine their temporal power and social preeminence for all time to come, and so they set out to dispose that Krishna proposed.

 

Provocation for Interpolation

 

It is believed that the gods themselves made the Brahmin seers of yore privy to the Vedas, the primordial rhythms of creation, and as the communion took place in Sanskrit, it is called devabhasha, the language of the gods.

It is another matter though that in the latter-day Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Brahmins themselves postulated that “.. since he (man) created gods who are better than he: and also because, being mortal, he created immortals, it is his higher creation. Whoever knows this, comes to be in this, his higher creation.”

Be that as it may, if one were to read the Purusha Sukta (10.7.90.1-16) of the Rig Veda, the foremost of the four Vedas, it would be apparent that v11- v13 are clever Brahmanical interpolations though a clear give away. Given v13’s alleged creation of the Brahmins from the creator’s face, it can be inferred that this sloka, and its two facilitators, were inserted into the said sukta by them, the self-proclaimed guardians of the divine revelations. So as to grasp this Brahmin mischief, the relevant original hymns would come in handy.

V10

tasmad yajnat sarvahutaha

richassamani jijignire

chandhagamsi jijignire tasmat

yajus tasmad ajayata

From that yajna (or sacrifice) wherein the Cosmic Being was Himself the oblation, were born the riks (the mantras of the Rig-veda) and the samans (the mantras of the Sama-veda). From that (yajna) the metres (like Gayatri) were born. From that (yajna again) the yujas (the Yajur-veda) was born.

V14

chandrama manaso jataha

chakshoh suryo ajayata                                                                                                      

mukhad indrash chagnishcha       

pranadvayur ajayata

From His mind was born the moon. From His two eyes was born the sun. From His mouth were born Indra and Agni. From His breath was born the air.

V15

nabhya asidanta riksham

shirshno dyauh samavartata                                                                     

padhyam bhumirdishash shrotrat                              

tada lokagamm akalpayan 

From (His) navel was produced the antariksha (the space between the earth and the heavens). Dyuloka (or heaven) came into existence from His head. The bhumi (th earth) evolved out of His feet, and deek (or spacial directions) from His ears. Similarly (the demigods) produced the worlds (too).

V16

vedahametam purusham mahantam

adityavarnam tamasastu pare

sarvani rupani vichitya dhiraha

namani kritva abhivadan yadaste

"I know (through intuitive experience) this great Purusha (the Supreme Being), the wise one, who, having created the various forms and the nomenclatures (for those forms), deals with them by those names, and who is beyond darkness and is brilliant like the sun."

Thus, in this creative process, all are seen as arising out of the same original reality, the Purusha, which suggest human oneness, and that wouldn’t have gone down well with the Brahmins, the self-proclaimed god’s own angels. So, they set out to rectify the ‘wrong’ through the three following interpolations thus:

V11  

tasmadashva ajayata

ye ke cobhaya dataha

gavo ha jijignire tasmat

tasmad jnata ajavayaha            

From that were born the horses, as also animals (like donkeys and mules) which have two rows of teeth. From that were born the cattle. From that (again) were born goats and sheep.

V12 

yatpurusham vyadadhuhu

kadhita vyakalpayan

mukham kimasya kau bahu

kavuru padavuchayate

(Now some questions are raised by the sages:) When the gods decided to (mentally) sacrifice the Viratpurusha (and produce further creation), in how many ways did they do it? What became of his face or mouth? What became of his two arms? What became of His two thighs? What were (the products of) the two feet called?

V13 

brahmanosya mukhamasit

bahu rajanyah kritaha

uru tadasya yadvaishyaha

padhyagam shudro ajayata 

From His face (or the mouth) came the brahmanas. From His two arms came the rajanya (the kshatriyas). From His two thighs came the vaishyas. From His two feet came the shudras.

So, His face (head) produced what– Heaven or Brahmins? 

Who were born out of His belly (navel)? – Antariksha or Vaisyas?

What evolved from his feet – Earth or Shudras?

Often the Purusha Sukta with these contradictions gets chanted (and heard) without anyone raising an eyebrow for none knows Sanskrit and that’s