Bhagavad Gita 1.47: meaning and translation
Chapter 1: Arjuna Vishada Yoga. Sanjaya says
Sanjaya tells the king that, having said this on the battlefield, Arjuna puts down his bow and arrows and sinks down on the seat of his chariot, his mind overwhelmed by grief.
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Bhagavad Gita 1.47
सञ्जय उवाच ।
एवमुक्त्वाऽर्जुनः सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् ।विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥
Evamuktvarjunah sankhye rathopastha upavishatVisrijya sasharam chapam shokasanvignamanasah
evamuktvā’rjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopastha upāviśat |visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ śokasaṃvignamānasaḥ ||
Our explanation Sanjaya tells the king that, having said this on the battlefield, Arjuna puts down his bow and arrows and sinks down on the seat of his chariot, his mind overwhelmed by grief. The chapter is called Arjuna Vishada Yoga, the yoga of Arjuna's despondency. Krishna's teaching, which begins in chapter 2, is his answer to this grief.
हिंदी अर्थ संजय राजा को बताते हैं कि युद्धभूमि में यह कहकर अर्जुन धनुष-बाण छोड़कर रथ में बैठ जाते हैं; उनका मन शोक से व्याकुल है। इस अध्याय का नाम अर्जुनविषादयोग (अर्जुन के विषाद का योग) है। अध्याय 2 से कृष्ण का उपदेश आरंभ होता है, जो इसी शोक का उत्तर है।
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Word by word
- एवम् evam · thus (indeclinable) Dictionary: evam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “thus, in this way, in such a manner, such”
- उक्त्वा uktvā · having spoken (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: vac, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 912, col. 1 “to speak, say, tell, utter, announce”
- अर्जुनः arjunaḥ · Arjuna (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: arjuna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 90, col. 1
- सङ्ख्ये saṅkhye · on the battlefield (noun (neuter), locative singular) Dictionary: saṃ-khya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1128, col. 1 “n. conflict, battle, war”
- रथोपस्थे rathopasthe · on the seat of the chariot (compound (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: 1. ratha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 865, col. 2 “‘goer,’ a chariot, car, esp. a two-wheeled war-chariot”; 1. upa-stha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 211, col. 1 “‘the part which is under,’ lap, middle or inner part of anything”
- उपाविशत् upāviśat · sat down (imperfect, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: upa-viś, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 207, col. 1 “to sit down, take a seat”
- विसृज्य visṛjya · having cast aside (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: vi-sṛj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1001, col. 1 “to abandon, desert, give up, renounce”
- सशरम् saśaram · with its arrows (adjective (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: sa-śara, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1191, col. 3 “furnished with an arrow, together with an arrow”
- चापम् cāpam · bow (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: cāpa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 393, col. 1 “a bow”
- शोकसंविग्नमानसः śokasaṃvignamānasaḥ · his mind shaken by grief (compound (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: śoka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1091, col. 1 “sorrow, affliction, anguish, pain, trouble, grief”; saṃ-vigna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1115, col. 1 “agitated, flurried, terrified, shy”; mānasa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 810, col. 1 “n. (ifc. f. ā) the mental powers, mind, spirit”
2 printings differ
Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.
- Spelling A digital text reads Same words. The 1922 edition marks the merged vowel with an avagraha (ऽ); this e-text does not. Edition: एवमुक्त्वाऽर्जुनः.
- Omission A digital text reads Same words, without the speaker line sañjaya uvāca that the 1922 edition prints before this verse.
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 42.
Sañgaya said:
Having spoken thus, Arguna cast aside his bow together with the arrows, on the battle-field, and sat down in (his) chariot, with a mind agitated by grief.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 42.
Sañgaya said:
Having spoken thus, Arguna cast aside his bow together with the arrows, on the battle-field, and sat down in (his) chariot, with a mind agitated by grief.
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 23.
Sanjaya said:
Having thus spoken on the battle-[field], Arjuna sank down on the seat of the chariot, casting away his bow and arrow, his mind overborne by grief.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 22–23.
Sanjaya said:
Speaking thus in the midst of the battle-field, Arjuna casting away his bow and arrows, sank down on the seat of his chariot, with his mind distressed with sorrow.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 42. Bhagavad Gita 1.47.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 23. Bhagavad Gita 1.47.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), pp. 22–23. Bhagavad Gita 1.47.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 1.47: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/47/
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Bhagavad Gita 1.47
एवमुक्त्वाऽर्जुनः सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् ।
विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥
“Having spoken thus, Arguna cast aside his bow together with the arrows, on the battle-field, and sat down in (his) chariot, with a mind agitated by grief.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 42, public domain)
“Having thus spoken on the battle-[field], Arjuna sank down on the seat of the chariot, casting away his bow and arrow, his mind overborne by grief.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 23, public domain)
“Speaking thus in the midst of the battle-field, Arjuna casting away his bow and arrows, sank down on the seat of his chariot, with his mind distressed with sorrow.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), pp. 22–23, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/47/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 1.47?
Sanjaya speaks this verse, in chapter 1 (Arjuna Vishada Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026