Shloka

एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति |
स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति ||२-७२||

Transliteration

eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha naināṃ prāpya vimuhyati .
sthitvāsyāmantakāle.api brahmanirvāṇamṛcchati ||2-72||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

2.72. O son of Prtha ! This is the Brahmanic state; having attained this, one never gets deluded [again]; and even by remaining in this [for a while] one attains at the time of death, the Brahman, the Tranil One.

Shri Purohit Swami

2.72 O Arjuna! This is the state of the Self, the Supreme Spirit, to which if a man once attain, it shall never be taken from him. Even at the time of leaving the body, he will remain firmly enthroned there, and will become one with the Eternal."

Sri Abhinav Gupta

2.72 Esa etc. This is the Brahman-existance by remaining, i.e., having dwalt in which, even for a moment, one attains the Supreme Brahman [after] one’s body breaks. Thus [all the] four estions have been decided.

Sri Ramanuja

2.72 This state of performing disinterested work which is preceded by the knowledge of the eternal self and which is characterised by firm wisdom, is the Brahmi-state, which secures the attainment of the Brahman (the self). After attaining such a state, he will not be deluded, i.e., he will not get again the mortal coil. Reaching this state even during the last years of life, he wins the blissful Brahman (the self) i.e., which is full of beatitude. The meaning is that he attains the self which is constituted of nothing but bliss.

Thus in the second chapter, the Lord wanted to remove the delusion of Arjuna, who did not know the real nature of the self and also did not realize that the activity named ‘war’ (here an ordained duty) is a means for attaining the nature of Sankhya or the self. Arjuna was under the delusion that the body is itself the self, and dominated by that delusion, had retreated from battle. He was therefore taught the knowledge called ‘Sankhya’ or the understanding of the self, and Yoga or what is called the path of practical work without attachment. These together have as their objective the attainment of steady wisdom (Sthitaprajnata)

This has been explained in the following verse by Sri Yamunacarya: Sankhya and Yoga, which comprehend within their scope the understanding of the eternal self and the practical way of disinterested action respectively, were imparted in order to remove Arjuna’s delusion.

Through them the state of firm wisdom can be reached.

Sri Shankaracharya

2.72 O Partha, esa, this, the aforesaid; is brahmisthitih, the state of being established in Brahman, i.e. continuing (in life) in indentification with Brahman, after renouncing all actions. Na vimuhyati, one does not become deluded; prapya, after attaining ; enam, this Rcchati, one attains; brahma-nirvanam, identification with Brahman, Liberation; sthitva, by being established; asyam, in this, in the state of Brahman-hood as described; api, even; anta-kale, in the closing years of one’s life. What need it be said that, one who remains established only in Brahman during the whole life, after having espoused monasticism even from the stage of celibacy, attains indetification with Brahman!

Swami Adidevananda

2.72 This is the Brahmi-state, O Arjuna. None attaining to this is deluded. By abiding in this state even at the hour of death, one wins the self.

Swami Gambirananda

2.72 O Partha, this is the state of being established in Brahman. One does not become deluded after attaining this. One attains identification with Brahman by being established in this state even in the closing years of one’s life.

Swami Sivananda

2.72 This is the Brahmic seat (eternal state), O son of Pritha. Attaining to this, none is deluded. Being established therein, even at the end of life, one attains to oneness with Brahman.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

2.72 एषा this? ब्राह्मी of Brahmic? स्थितिः state? पार्थ O Partha? न not? एनाम् this? प्राप्य having obtained? विमुह्यति is deluded? स्थित्वा being established? अस्याम् in this? अन्तकाले at the end of life? अपि even? ब्रह्मनिर्वाणम् oneness with Brahman? ऋच्छति attains.Commentary The state described in the previous verse – to renounce everything and to live in Brahman – is the Brahmic state or the state of Brahman. If one attains to this state one is never deluded. He attains Moksha if he stays in that state even at the hour of his death. It is needless to say that he who gets establised in Brahman throughout his life attains to the state of Brahman or,BrahmaNirvana (Cf.VIII.5?6).Maharshi Vidyaranya says in his Panchadasi that Antakala here means the moment at which Avidya or mutual superimposition of the Self and the notSelf ends.Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the second discourse entitledThe Sankhya Yoga.,