Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 10
तमुवाच हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव भारत।
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वचः।।
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वचः।।
tam-uvāca hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasanniva bhārata
senayorubhayor-madhye viṣīdantam-idaṁ vacaḥ
also searched as "tam uvacha hrishikeshah prahasanniva bharata"
Translation
O King, to him who was thus sorrowing between the two armies, Sri Krishna spoke the following words, as if smiling (by way of ridicule).
Vāṇi's rendering
Between the two armies, to the despairing Arjuna, Krishna — with the trace of a smile — spoke.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तम्tam | to him — to Arjuna |
| उवाचuvāca | spoke |
| हृषीकेशःhṛṣīkeśaḥ | Krishna, master of the senses |
| प्रहसन्prahasan | smiling (sandhi: prahasann + iva) |
| इवiva | as it were, with only the trace of it |
| भारतbhārata | O Bhārata — Sanjaya addressing Dhṛtarāṣṭra |
| सेनयोःsenayoḥ | of the armies |
| उभयोःubhayoḥ | of both |
| मध्येmadhye | in the middle |
| विषीदन्तम्viṣīdantam | to the one sinking in despair |
| इदम्idaṁ | this |
| वचःvacaḥ | word, speech |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 10 mean?
It is the pause before the teaching begins. Arjuna has sunk down between the two armies, and Krishna, before speaking a word, smiles — prahasann iva, barely. The verse records the expression on the teacher's face at the exact moment the student breaks. Steadiness answers panic; it does not echo it.
What is the meaning of tam uvacha hrishikeshah prahasanniva bharata?
To him — the despairing Arjuna — Krishna spoke, as if smiling. Hṛṣīkeśa means the one who holds the senses; he holds his own composure here. Bhārata is Sanjaya's address to the blind king, who must be told even the smile, since he cannot see the field for himself.
Why does Krishna smile at Arjuna's grief?
Not to mock him. The smile is what someone looks like who can see past the thing you are drowning in. Arjuna's sorrow is real and Krishna will answer it fully for seven hundred verses — but he will not treat it as the last word. That certainty shows on his face before it reaches his mouth.
Why does this verse mention the middle of the two armies?
Because the Gītā is not spoken in a forest or a hall. It is spoken in the narrow space between drawn-up armies, with the conches already blown. Whatever Krishna is about to say has to be sayable there. Your own teaching will arrive the same way — mid-crisis, not after it clears.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Krishna says nothing yet. He smiles first — prahasann iva, as if smiling, the word held carefully back from laughter. Arjuna has collapsed between two armies, and the response is not alarm. Sanjaya notices this and reports it, because it is the strangest thing on the field: everyone else is braced for war, and the charioteer is almost amused. Not at Arjuna. At the size of the grief compared with the size of what is true. When your own despair feels total, someone who can see past it will not match your panic. Look for that face. It is the first thing Krishna offers, before any word of teaching.