Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 18, Verse 78: Krishna to Arjuna — Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhāṣyakāra purports

• Śaṅkaraadvaita

  Where Krishna (yogeshvara, 'lord of all yogas,' their very source and seed) stands as the sovereign principle of all yoga, and where Partha (dhanur-dhara, 'bow-bearer') stands as his instrument of action, there abide shri (prosperity), vijaya (victory), bhuti (the fullness that is shri's expansion), and dhruva niti (the policy that does not waver). Shankara reads yatra-yatra ('where...where') as pakshe-pakshe ('in that camp, in that party') — this is a statement about alignment with the side where Ishvara himself operates. The verse closes the Gita not with metaphysics but with Sanjaya's empirical confidence: the outcome is assured precisely because jnana-shakti and karma-shakti are unified in one camp.

  divergence: Shankara: 'yatra yogeshvarah sarva-yoganam ishvarah tat-prabhavatvat sarva-yoga-bijasya' — Krishna is yogeshvara because all yogas arise from him as seed; Partha is gandhiva-dhanva; shri, vijaya, bhuti (shri's expansion and spread), and dhruva niti (avyabhicharini) — all belong to that side.

• Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

  Where *yogeśvara* Kṛṣṇa abides — *kṛtsnasya uccāvaca-rūpeṇa avasthitasya cetanasya acetanasya ca vastunaḥ* (of all existence, high and low, sentient and non-sentient alike), the lord of every *svabhāva-yoga* pertaining to them, whose very being is *sva-saṅkalpāyatta-sva-itara-samasta-vastu-svarūpa-sthiti-pravṛtti-bhedaḥ* — the differentiation of form, existence, and activity of all else held entirely within his own sovereign *saṅkalpa* (will) — he being *kṛṣṇo vāsudeva-sūnuḥ*, Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva; and where Pārtha stands as bow-bearer — *tat-pitṛṣvasuḥ putraḥ*, son of that Lord's father's sister, and *tat-pada-dvandvaikāśrayaḥ*, whose sole refuge is the pair of those feet, having taken up his bow in accordance with the Lord's teaching in abandonment of the prior state of *visṛjya sa-śaraṃ cāpam* — there *śrī* (prosperity in the form of royal enjoyment), *vijayaḥ* (routing of enemies), *bhūtiḥ* (*aiśvarya*, lordly power and its continuous increase), and *nītiḥ* (right policy born of *artha-śāstra*-grounded determination, inviolable even by the four means of polity deployed by the most alert minds) are *dhruvā niścalā*, immovably fixed. Such is *matir mama* — and not theirs, for as the Mahābhārata records: *māyāṃ na seve bhadraṃ te*, 'I do not follow illusion; I know Janārdana through scripture and pure devotion.' Pārtha is named the archetype of the *prapanna* (one surrendered): unlike Dhṛtarāṣṭra's son, he did not press Kṛṣṇa into service as a mere instrument, but made the Lord's feet his only shelter.

  divergence: Rāmānuja: *sva-saṅkalpāyatta-sva-itara-samasta-vastu-svarūpa-sthiti-pravṛtti-bhedaḥ kṛṣṇo vāsudeva-sūnuḥ* and *tat-pada-dvandvaikāśrayaḥ* — *yogeśvara* is glossed through the full *śarīra-śarīrī* register: the Lord's *saṅkalpa* alone governs the svarūpa, sthiti, and pravṛtti of every cetana and acetana entity. Veṅkaṭanātha adds that *dhanuṣ-dhara* is set against the prior *visṛjya sa-śaraṃ cāpam* [1.47], marking Pārtha's transformation into *bhagavad-anuśiṣṭa-yathokta-karaṇa* (one acting exactly as the Lord has taught); *bhūti* is parsed via the Amarakośa synonym *aiśvarya* and denotes ongoing increase of prosperity; *nīti* is the policy-determination (*artha-śāstra-janya-kartavya-niścaya*) that no adversary can shake — *akampanīyo nayaḥ*.

• Madhvadvaita

  The final verse seals the testimony that where the purna (complete, without defect) Mahavishnu is present and where his dependent devotee Partha stands as the instrument of his will, there all auspiciousness — shri, vijaya, bhuti, niti — is established with absolute certainty. For Madhva, the verse underlines the eternal, irrevocable ontological gap: jiva depends entirely on Hari; victory belongs to the side Hari graces, not because of Partha's excellence but because Vishnu's sovereignty is the only cause.

  divergence: Madhva's colophon verse: 'purnadoshamaha-vishnor gitam ashritya lesha-tah nirupanam krtam tena priyatam me sada vibhuh' — even this commentary is offered as service to Vishnu who is purnada-dosha-rahita (full, without flaw). The verse's certainty (dhruva) reflects Vishnu's invariant supremacy over all outcomes.

• Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

  Vallabha addresses Dhritarashtra directly: 'O King, having reflected on all this, be free of doubt — for consider: where Krishna the yogeshvara is, and where Partha the bow-bearer is, there alone are shri (royal-lakshmi), vijaya, and dhruva niti (certain, settled policy). Not elsewhere.' The certainty rests on Krishna's nature as Shripati ('lord of Shri') and Arjuna's as vijaya-svarupa ('very form of victory'): only their conjunction makes all outcomes firm. Vallabha's colophon makes the soteriological point explicit — until a person takes shelter in Krishna by the path taught here, moha (delusion) is not dissolved; but one who has done so attains Krishna's imperishable abode through pushti-bhakti.

  divergence: Vallabha: 'bhagavatah shri-patitvat arjunasya vijayatvat tat-samyoge eva sarvam dhruvam nitish-cheti me matih' and 'yavatad-uktam-margena shri-krishnah sharanam mama / naro na bhavayet bhaktya tavan-moho na nashyati.'

• Śrīdharabhakti

  Sridhara reads the verse as Sanjaya's counsel to Dhritarashtra: 'Therefore, O King, abandon anxiety about the kingdom for your sons — for where Krishna the yogeshvara is present, and where Partha the Gandiva-bow-bearer is, there alone are shri (royal-lakshmi), vijaya, bhuti (ever-increasing prosperity), and dhruva niti (certain policy) — this is my conviction.' The theological summary follows: bhagavad-bhakti-yuktasya tat-prasadatma-bodhatah — for one possessed of devotion to Bhagavan, through the grace that arises from that devotion comes self-knowledge, and from that, liberation (bandha-vimuktih). Bhakti is the sole efficient cause of moksha; jnana functions only as its subordinate instrument.

  divergence: Sridhara: 'bhagavad-bhakti-yuktasya tat-prasadatma-bodhatah sukham bandha-vimuktih syad iti gitartha-sangrahah' — his verse summary of the entire Gita.

• Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

  Madhusudana reads yogeshvara as 'sarva-yoga-siddhinam ishvarah sarva-jnah sarva-shaktih bhagavan krishnah bhakta-duhkha-karshanas' — the omniscient, omnipotent Bhagavan who draws away the sorrows of his devotees — and pairs him with Arjuna as 'nara,' such that the Yudhishthira-paksha is the site of Nara-Narayana jointly. Where they stand together, shri (royal-lakshmi), vijaya (enemy-defeating excellence), and bhuti (ever-increasing royal-lakshmi) are avashyam-bhavinI (inevitably coming). The purpose is practical counsel: Dhritarashtra should abandon futile hope in his son's victory and seek reconciliation with the Pandavas, who are graced by Lakshmi, victory, and the Lord alike.

  divergence: Madhusudana: 'nara-narayana-adhisthite tasmin yudhishthira-pakshe shri raja-lakshmih vijayah shatru-parajaya-nimitta utkarsho bhutir uttarottaram raja-lakshmya vivrddhi dhruva avashyam-bhavini' and his closing verse: 'krishnat param kim api tattvam aham na jane.'