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TEXT 2 adhiyajnah katham ko 'tra
SYNONYMS  adhiyajnah--the
Lord of sacrifice; katham--how; kah--who; atra--here;
dehe--in the body; asmin--in this; madhusudana--O
Madhusudana; prayana-kale--at the time of death; ca--and;
katham--how; jneyah--be known; asi--You can; niyata-atmabhih--by
the self-controlled.
TRANSLATION How does
this Lord of sacrifice live in the body, and in which part does He live,
O Madhusudana? And how can those engaged in devotional service know You
at the time of death?
PURPORT The Lord of
sacrifice accepts Indra and Visnu. Visnu is the chief of the primal demigods,
including Brahma and Siva, and Indra is the chief of the administrative
demigods. Both Indra and Visnu are worshiped by yajna performances.
But here Arjuna asks who is actually the Lord of yajna (sacrifice),
and how is the Lord residing within the body of the living entity.
Arjuna addresses
the Lord as Madhusudana because Krsna once killed a demon named Madhu.
Actually these questions, which are of the nature of doubts, should not
have arisen in the mind of Arjuna because Arjuna is a Krsna conscious devotee.
Therefore these doubts are like demons. Since Krsna is so expert in killing
demons, Arjuna here addresses Him as Madhusudana so that Krsna might kill
the demonic doubts that arise in Arjuna's mind.
Now the
word prayana-kale in this verse is very significant because whatever
we do in life will be tested at the time of death. Arjuna fears that at
the time of death, those who are in Krsna consciousness will forget the
Supreme Lord because at such a time body functions are disrupted and the
mind may be in a panic-stricken state. Therefore Maharaja Kulasekhara,
a great devotee, prays, "My dear Lord, may I die immediately now that I
am healthy so that the swan of my mind may enter into the stem of Thy lotus
feet." This metaphor is used because the swan often takes pleasure in entering
the stem of the lotus flower--similarly, the mind of the pure devotee is
drawn to the lotus feet of the Lord. Maharaja Kulasekhara fears that at
the moment of death his throat will be so choked up that he will not be
able to chant the holy names, so it is better to "die immediately." Arjuna
questions how one's mind can remain fixed on Krsna's lotus feet at such
times.
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