Verse 2.10

तमुवाच हृषीकेशः प्रहसन्निव भारत ।

सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वचः ॥

2.10

Transliteration

tamuvāca hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasanniva bhārata |

senayorubhayormadhye viṣīdantamidaṃ vacaḥ ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

To him who was despondent in the midst of the two armies, Krishna, as if smiling, O Bharata, spoke these words.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

to him
spoke
Hrishikesha
smiling
as if
O Bharata

of the armies
of both
in the middle
grieving
these
words

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

Sanjaya pictures Krishna between the two armies, speaking as if with a smile to the despairing Arjuna. The setting is important: the teaching is given in the open, at the very point of conflict, not in retreat from it. The faint smile has been read in many ways, as affection, as calm in the face of crisis, or as a sign that Arjuna's tragedy looks different from a wider view. Whatever its meaning, it signals a change of tone from rebuke to instruction.