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BG 11.28 — 11.28 Verily, just as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, even so these heroes in the world of men enter Thy flaming mouths.
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यथा नदीनां बहवोऽम्बुवेगाः
समुद्रमेवाभिमुखा द्रवन्ति |
तथा तवामी नरलोकवीरा
विशन्ति वक्त्राण्यभिविज्वलन्ति ||११-२८||

yathā nadīnāṃ bahavo.ambuvegāḥ samudramevābhimukhā dravanti . tathā tavāmī naralokavīrā viśanti vaktrāṇyabhivijvalanti ||11-28||


11.28 Verily, just as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, even so these heroes in the world of men enter Thy flaming mouths.

Word-by-word meanings

11.28 यथा as? नदीनाम् of rivers? बहवः many? अम्बुवेगाः watercurrents? समुद्रम् to the ocean? एव verily? अभिमुखाः towards? द्रवन्ति flow? तथा so? तव Thy? अमी these? नरलोकवीराः heroes in the world of men? विशन्ति enter? वक्त्राणि mouths? अभिविज्वलन्ति flaming.Commentary Ami These warriors such as Bhishma. Arjuna is now seeing all these warriors,whom he did not wish to kill? rushing to death. His delusion has vanished. He thinks now This battle cannot be avoided. It has the sanction of the Supreme

Commentaries

Non-dualism. The individual self and Brahman are one. The world is appearance (maya). Liberation through knowledge.

Sri Shankaracharya

11.28 Yatha, as; the bahavah, numerous; ambu-vegah, currents of the waters, particularly the swift ones; nadinam, of flowing rivers; dravanti abhimukhah, rush towards, enter into; the samudram, sea; eva, alone; tatha, so also; do ami, those; nara-loka-virah, heroes of the human world-Bhisma and others; visanti, enter into; tava, Your; abhi-vijvalanti, blazing, glowing; vaktrani, mouths. Why do they enter, and how? In answer Arjuna says:

Swami Gambirananda

11.28 As the numerous currents of the waters of rivers rush towards the sea alone so also do those heroes of the human world enter into Your blazing mouths.

This interpretation draws on the Advaita tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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