Chapter II · Śloka 8
न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद्
यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् |
अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं
राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् ||
यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् |
अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं
राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् ||
na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād
yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām |
avāpya bhūmāv asapatnam ṛddhaṃ
rājyaṃ surāṇām api cādhipatyam ||
yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām |
avāpya bhūmāv asapatnam ṛddhaṃ
rājyaṃ surāṇām api cādhipatyam ||
I do not see what could dispel this grief that is drying up my senses — not even an unrivalled and prosperous kingdom on earth, nor sovereignty over the gods.
Arjuna acknowledges that his suffering is not material — no external prize, not even the greatest conceivable reward, could cure it. This confession prepares the ground for Krishna's teaching that the remedy must be inward and philosophical.