Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 8

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Arjuna

Sanskrit verse

न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद्
यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् ।
अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं
राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् ॥

Transliteration

na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād yacchokamucchoṣaṇamindriyāṇām .
avāpya bhūmāvasapatnamṛddhaṃ rājyaṃ surāṇāmapi cādhipatyam ॥

Meaning

I see nothing that could drive away this grief which is drying up my senses — not even if I gained an unrivalled, prosperous kingdom on earth, or lordship over the gods themselves.

Word meanings

न हि – indeed not
प्रपश्यामि – I see
मम – my
अपनुद्यात् – would drive away
यत् – that which
शोकम् – grief
उच्छोषणम् – drying up, parching
इन्द्रियाणाम् – of the senses
अवाप्य – having obtained
भूमौ – on earth
असपत्नम् – without rival
ऋद्धम् – prosperous
राज्यम् – kingdom
सुराणाम् – of the gods
अपि – even
च – and
आधिपत्यम् – sovereignty, lordship

Anvaya (word order)

भूमौ असपत्नम् ऋद्धं राज्यं सुराणाम् अपि च आधिपत्यम् अवाप्य (अपि), यत् मम इन्द्रियाणाम् उच्छोषणं शोकम् अपनुद्यात् (तत्) न हि प्रपश्यामि ।

Explanation

Having surrendered, Arjuna reveals the full depth of his pain. His grief is ‘parching his senses’ — as a scorching summer withers plants, this sorrow is draining all his strength. The description is both psychological and physical: grief has invaded his whole being.

Arjuna says that not even an unrivalled, prosperous kingdom on earth — nor even sovereignty over the gods, the throne of Indra — could remove this sorrow. Though he may not yet grasp its full significance, this is a profound spiritual insight: no outer gain can heal an inner wound.

The verse makes it plain that Arjuna's problem will not be solved by winning or losing the war. His problem is inward — delusion and ignorance — and so its remedy must also be inward: knowledge of the Self. Shankara sees here the true theme of the Gita introduced: grief and delusion, the seeds of samsara, are destroyed only by the knowledge of the Self.

The same truth applies to modern life. We imagine that more wealth, position or success will quiet the restlessness of the mind, yet a wound of the mind heals only at the level of the mind. Arjuna's confession prepares him to receive the real medicine.

Context

In 2.7 Arjuna took refuge as a disciple. Here he explains that no worldly gain could remove his grief. In the next verse (2.9) Sanjaya reports that, having said this and declared ‘I will not fight’, Arjuna fell silent.

Life lesson

Outer achievements cannot fill an inner emptiness. If the mind is troubled by grief or unrest, its healing must come through reflection, understanding and right knowledge.

Key terms

Asapatna: without rival or enemy
Ucchoshana: that which dries up completely
Adhipatya: sovereignty, lordship