Devanagari
न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मनः ।
निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव ॥ ३० ॥
Verse text
na ca śaknomy avasthātuṁ
bhramatīva ca me manaḥ
nimittāni ca paśyāmi
viparītāni keśava
Synonyms
na
—
nor
;
ca
—
also
;
śaknomi
—
am I able
;
avasthātum
—
to stay
;
bhramati
—
forgetting
;
iva
—
as
;
ca
—
and
;
me
—
my
;
manaḥ
—
mind
;
nimittāni
—
causes
;
ca
—
also
;
paśyāmi
—
I see
;
viparītāni
—
just the opposite
;
keśava
—
O killer of the demon Keśī (Kṛṣṇa).
Translation
I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I see only causes of misfortune, O Kṛṣṇa, killer of the Keśī demon.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
30. I cannot stay fixed and my mind seems to whirl about. I see contrary results in this battle, O Keśava.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
30. I cannot stay fixed and my mind seems to whirl about. I see contrary results in this battle, O Keśava.
Translation (Bhurijana Dasa)
I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I see only causes of misfortune, O Krsna, killer of the Kesi demon.
(cn/DS) In his Purport, Srila Prabhupada summarizes for all practical purposes, the all purpose of the Bhagavad‑gita and what Arjuna's trouble is: "Arjuna envisioned only painful reverses in the battlefield‑‑he would not be happy even by gaining victory over the foe. The words nimittani viparitani are significant. When a man sees only frustration in his expectations, he thinks, ``Why am I here?'' Everyone is interested in himself and his own welfare. No one is interested in the Supreme Self. Arjuna is showing ignorance of his real self‑interest by Krsna's will. One's real self‑interest lies in Visnu, or Krsna. The conditioned soul forgets this, and therefore suffers material pains. Arjuna thought that his victory in the battle would only be a cause of lamentation for him."
The word 'nimittani' means 'the causes'. And 'viparitani' means 'the opposite'. These words are significant in this verse, Srila Prabhupada explains, because "the causes of what I want to happen, just the opposite is going to happen, if I fight in this battle", Arjuna is thinking. "I want happiness, I want to regain the kingdom, I want these type of pleasures, to fight with Duryodhana... but just the opposite of the actual res are going to come from my fighting. How can I be inspired to fight if just misery is going to come?
Arjuna was examining the results of this battle just from the point of view of how it is going to affect him and with his great intelligence he saw that the effects were going to be just the opposite of what he desires. Therefore he is extremely up‑set and don't want to fight at all.
Now Arjuna is thinking: "If I fight in this battle, I've practically been empowered by Krsna, I am going to survive and all this people is going to die. How strange it is that their death is going to bring them to the heavenly planets and for me, who is not going to die, what is going to happen? I will be responsible for killing this people, getting unlimited sin and no good is going to come to me. I will not even go to the heavenly planets like the people that I am going to kill."
We may say: "Even if Arjuna doesn't go to heaven at least he will gain the kingdom." But Arjuna doesn't agree that it is worth of it. Thus he says:
Purport
Due to his impatience, Arjuna was unable to stay on the battlefield, and he was forgetting himself on account of this weakness of his mind. Excessive attachment for material things puts a man in such a bewildering condition of existence. Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt ( Bhāg. 11.2.37 ): such fearfulness and loss of mental equilibrium take place in persons who are too affected by material conditions. Arjuna envisioned only painful reverses in the battlefield – he would not be happy even by gaining victory over the foe. The words nimittāni viparītāni are significant. When a man sees only frustration in his expectations, he thinks, “Why am I here?” Everyone is interested in himself and his own welfare. No one is interested in the Supreme Self. Arjuna is showing ignorance of his real self-interest by Kṛṣṇa’s will. One’s real self-interest lies in Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa. The conditioned soul forgets this, and therefore suffers material pains. Arjuna thought that his victory in the battle would only be a cause of lamentation for him.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Nimitta is used in the sense of “end result”, just as the goal of money is a good residence. I will not get happiness by attaining the kingdom if I win the war, but rather will suffer sorrow, the opposite result.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
I cannot even (ca) remain steady and my mind seems to whirl about. This indicates the appearance of weakness and fainting. I see opposite results (viparītāni nimittāni) in this war: being victorious and gaining a kingdom will not give me bliss; tather it will give the opposite, remorse. Nimitta means “result,” as in the usage “For what purpose (nimitta) are you living here?”