Gita Dhyanam - 6

 

भीष्मद्रोणतटा जयद्रथजला गान्धारनीलोत्पला शल्यग्राहवती कृपेण वहनी कर्णेन वेलाकुला ।

अश्वत्थामविकर्णघोरमकरा दुर्योधनावर्तिनी सोत्तीर्णा खलु पाण्डवै रणनदी कैवर्तकः केशवः ॥ ६॥

Bheeshma drone-taTA jayadratha-jalA , GandhAra-nIlothphalA, Shalya-grAhavatI , kripena vahanI , karNena VelAkulA

AswathAma-Vikarnaa-ghora-Makaraa DuryodhanAvarthinI, SothIrno khalu Pandavai , rana nadhI kaivarthakah KeshavaH.

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भीष्म-द्रोण – Bhishma and Drona

तटा            - Banks

जयद्रथ        -Jayadratha

जला - river

गान्धार         - Gandhara

नीलोत्पला    - Blue Lotus

शल्य           - Shalya

ग्राहवती       - Shark

कृपेण          -Kripa

वहनी          - flow

कर्णेन          - Karna

वेलाकुला     - mighty wave

अश्वत्थाम-विकर्ण      - AshwatthAma and vikarna

घोर-मकरा   - dangerous Alligators

दुर्योधनावर्तिनी        - Duryodhana-whirlpool

सोत्तीर्णा                 - crossed

खलु                     - indeed

पाण्डवै                  - by Pandavas

रणनदी                 - war like river

कैवर्तकः                - boatman

केशवः                  - Krishna

Meaning :

BhIshma, Drona were the two banks , Jayadratha was the water, Shakuni (GandhAra) was the blue lotus, Shalya was the shark , Kripa was the flow , Karna was the mighty wave.

AshwatthAma and Vikarna were the dangerous alligators, Duryodhana was the whirlpool, this river of war was crossed by the Pandavas with Krishna as their boatman.

Significance :

                          This verse brings out the true essence of Bhagavad Gita. Our vedas, Upanishads are teaching us to lead a righteous life , to attain the four purusharthas – dharma , artha , kama and moksha. Of the four,Moksha , the attainment of the feet of the Supreme, is the ultimate goal of our soul. We, who in this material world – samsara sAgara , inturn are caught in the cycle of birth and death. We need to cross this sagara to reach the Supreme Lord.

                              This sea or river is not an easy one, we are facing many ups and downs, many happy moments and unpleasant moments, we have many friends and foes. We need to break all the bondage in order to get the ultimate happiness. We need a guide to show us the right path. We need a person who can give us moral and physical strength to face all the hurdles. We face many threats in the form of both pleasure and pain. We need to break the chain which has its root in the attachment of our senses with objects. The only person to destroy the root cause of pain is Krishna himself. The characters of Mahabharata are none other than our own qualities. It is Krishna who destroys them all and takes us safely to His feet. Lets pray to Him to be our boatman to cross this samsara Sagara.