Setting the Scene
Pred bitkou
Although widely published and read by itself, Bhagavad-gītā originally appears as an episode in the Mahābhārata, the epic Sanskrit history of the ancient world. The Mahābhārata tells of events leading up to the present Age of Kali. It was at the beginning of this age, some fifty centuries ago, that Lord Kṛṣṇa spoke Bhagavad-gītā to His friend and devotee Arjuna.
Aj keď sa Bhagavad-gīta väčšinou číta a publikuje ako samostatné dielo, pôvodne sa objavuje v rozsiahlom staroindickom epose Mahābhārata. Rozprávanie Mahābhāraty siaha až do súčasného veku Kali. Bolo to približne pred 5 000 rokmi, na počiatku veku Kali, keď Śrī Kṛṣṇa predniesol Bhagavad-gītu Svojmu oddanému priateľovi Arjunovi.
Their discourse – one of the greatest philosophical and religious dialogues known to man – took place just before the onset of war, a great fratricidal conflict between the hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and on the opposing side their cousins the Pāṇḍavas, or sons of Pāṇḍu.
K ich rozhovoru — jednému z najväčších filozofických a náboženských dialógov — došlo vo chvíli, keď sa dve znepriatelené vojská dvoch spriaznených dynastií chystali stretnúť v boji. Na jednej strane stáli synovia Dhṛtarāṣṭrovi, Kuruovci, a na strane druhej ich bratanci, synovia Pāṇḍuovi, Pāṇḍuovci.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Pāṇḍu were brothers born in the Kuru dynasty, descending from King Bharata, a former ruler of the earth, from whom the name Mahābhārata derives. Because Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the elder brother, was born blind, the throne that otherwise would have been his was passed down to the younger brother, Pāṇḍu.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra a Pāṇḍu boli bratia. Obidvaja sa narodili v Kuruovskej dynastii pochádzajúcej od kráľa Bharatu, dávneho vládcu zeme, od mena ktorého pochádza aj názov Mahābhārata. Starší brat Dhṛṭarāṣṭra sa narodil slepý, a tak bol trón, ktorý by mu inak patril, pridelený mladšiemu bratovi, Pāṇḍuovi.
When Pāṇḍu died at an early age, his five children – Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva – came under the care of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who in effect became, for the time being, the king. Thus the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and those of Pāṇḍu grew up in the same royal household. Both were trained in the military arts by the expert Droṇa and counseled by the revered “grandfather” of the clan, Bhīṣma.
Keď Pāṇḍu predčasne zomrel, jeho päť synov — Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula a Sahadeva — prešlo pod ochranu Dhṛtarāṣṭrovu, ktorý sa tak dočasne ujal kráľovského žezla. Synovia Dhṛtarāṣṭrovi a Pāṇḍuovi vyrastali spoločne. Pod vedením Dronu prenikli do všetkých tajov bojového umenia a od praotca rodu, Bhīṣmu, získali duchovné vedenie.
Yet the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, especially the eldest, Duryodhana, hated and envied the Pāṇḍavas. And the blind and weak-minded Dhṛtarāṣṭra wanted his own sons, not those of Pāṇḍu, to inherit the kingdom.
Dhṛtarāṣṭrovi synovia, najmä najstarší Duryodhana, však Pāṇḍuovcov nenávideli a závideli im. Slepý a neprajnícky Dhṛtarāṣṭra chcel, aby trón zdedili jeho synovia, a Pāṇḍuovcom neprial.
Thus Duryodhana, with Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s consent, plotted to kill the young sons of Pāṇḍu, and it was only by the careful protection of their uncle Vidura and their cousin Lord Kṛṣṇa that the Pāṇḍavas escaped the many attempts against their lives.
A tak Duryodhana s Dhṛtarāṣṭrovým súhlasom pripravoval záhubu Pāṇḍuovcov. Iba vďaka láskyplnej ochrane Viduru a bratanca Kṛṣṇu sa Pāṇḍuovcom podarilo uniknúť všetkým nástrahám smrti.
Now, Lord Kṛṣṇa was not an ordinary man but the Supreme Godhead Himself, who had descended to earth and was playing the role of a prince in a contemporary dynasty. In this role He was also the nephew of Pāṇḍu’s wife Kuntī, or Pṛthā, the mother of the Pāṇḍavas. So both as a relative and as the eternal upholder of religion, Kṛṣṇa favored the righteous sons of Pāṇḍu and protected them.
Pán Kṛṣṇa nie je obyčajná ľudská bytosť, ale sám Najvyšší Pán, ktorý zostúpil na Zem a hral úlohu princa v kráľovskej dynastii. V tejto úlohe bol teda bratancom Pāṇḍuovej manželky Kuntī (Pṛthy), matky Pāṇḍuovcov. Stál na strane zbožných Pāṇḍuovcov a ako príbuzný i ako večný udržovateľ náboženstva im vždy poskytol ochranu.
Ultimately, however, the clever Duryodhana challenged the Pāṇḍavas to a gambling match. In the course of that fateful tournament, Duryodhana and his brothers took possession of Draupadī, the chaste and devoted wife of the Pāṇḍavas, and insultingly tried to strip her naked before the entire assembly of princes and kings. Kṛṣṇa’s divine intervention saved her, but the gambling, which was rigged, cheated the Pāṇḍavas of their kingdom and forced them into thirteen years of exile.
Duryodhana nakoniec vyzval Pāṇḍuovcov k hre v kocky, aby ich mohol pripraviť o kráľovský trón. Počas tohoto osudného stretnutia sa Duryodhana so svojimi bratmi zmocnil Draupadī, cudnej a oddanej manželky Pāṇḍuovcov a pred celým zhromaždením princov a kráľov sa ju pokúsil vyzliecť donaha a tak verejne zneuctiť. Kṛṣṇa ju zázračným spôsobom pred zneuctením zachránil, avšak pravidlá prehry prikazovali Pāṇḍuovcom zrieknuť sa kráľovstva a odobrať sa na trinásť rokov do vyhnanstva.
Upon returning from exile, the Pāṇḍavas rightfully requested their kingdom from Duryodhana, who bluntly refused to yield it. Duty-bound as princes to serve in public administration, the five Pāṇḍavas reduced their request to a mere five villages. But Duryodhana arrogantly replied that he wouldn’t spare them enough land into which to drive a pin.
Po návrate z exilu požadovali Pāṇḍuovci naspäť svoje kráľovstvo, avšak Duryodhana ich žiadosť zlostne odmietol. Keď Pāṇḍuovci zmenšili svoju požiadavku a prosili iba o päť dedín, aby mohli slúžiť ľudu (čo bolo ich kṣatriyskou povinnosťou) Duryodhana pyšne odvetil, že im nedá ani taký kúsok zeme, do ktorého by bolo možné zapichnúť hrot ihly.
Throughout all this, the Pāṇḍavas had been consistently tolerant and forbearing. But now war seemed inevitable.
Aj keď boli Pāṇḍuovci veľmi mierni a trpezliví, zdalo sa, že vojna je neodkladná.
Nonetheless, as the princes of the world divided, some siding with the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, others with the Pāṇḍavas, Kṛṣṇa Himself took the role of messenger for the sons of Pāṇḍu and went to the court of Dhṛtarāṣṭra to plead for peace. When His pleas were refused, war was now certain.
Vládcovia z celého sveta sa pripojili k jednej či druhej strane a Kṛṣṇa sa osobne ujal úlohy posla a odišiel za Duryodhanom, aby dohodol mier. Keď ani tento pokus nevyšiel, vojna bola istá.
The Pāṇḍavas, men of the highest moral stature, recognized Kṛṣṇa to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas the impious sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not. Yet Kṛṣṇa offered to enter the war according to the desire of the antagonists. As God, He would not personally fight; but whoever so desired might avail himself of Kṛṣṇa’s army – and the other side could have Kṛṣṇa Himself, as an advisor and helper. Duryodhana, the political genius, snatched at Kṛṣṇa’s armed forces, while the Pāṇḍavas were equally eager to have Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Pāṇḍuovci, ľudia vysokých kvalít, vedeli, že Kṛṣṇa je Najvyššia Božská Osobnosť, zatiaľ čo bezbožní synovia Dhṛtarāṣṭrovy Jeho postavenie neuznávali. Kṛṣṇa však ponúkol pomoc v boji obidvom stranám. Kṛṣṇa ako Najvyšší Pán sľúbil, že sa boja osobne ako bojovník nezúčastní, ale že jedna strana môže použiť Jeho vojenskú silu a druhá môže využiť Jeho osobnú pomoc. Duryodhana, politický génius, sa rozhodol pre Kṛṣṇovu armádu a Pāṇḍuovci s rovnakým nadšením prijali Kṛṣṇovu osobnú pomoc.
In this way, Kṛṣṇa became the charioteer of Arjuna, taking it upon Himself to drive the fabled bowman’s chariot. This brings us to the point at which Bhagavad-gītā begins, with the two armies arrayed, ready for combat, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra anxiously inquiring of his secretary Sañjaya, “What did they do?”
Tak sa Kṛṣṇa stal Arjunovým vozatajom. Bhagavad-gītā začína v tomto okamihu — obidve znepriatelené vojská stoja proti sebe na bojisku a Dhṛtarāṣṭra sa nedočkavo pýta svojho tajomníka Sañjayu: „Čo robia?“ Bitka začína.
The scene is set, with only the need for a brief note regarding this translation and commentary.
Situacia je jasna, preto postacuje k tomuto versu a vykladu iba kratky komentar.
The general pattern translators have followed in rendering Bhagavad-gītā into English has been to brush aside the person Kṛṣṇa to make room for their own concepts and philosophies. The history of the Mahābhārata is taken as quaint mythology, and Kṛṣṇa becomes a poetic device for presenting the ideas of some anonymous genius, or at best He becomes a minor historical personage.
Väčšina autorov predkladajúcich Bhagavad-gītu v angličtine má v obľube odviesť čitateľovu pozornosť od Kṛṣṇovej osobnosti a vytvoriť tak priestor pre svoje vlastné koncepcie a filozofie. História Mahābhāraty sa pokladá za mytológiu a Kṛṣṇa za osobu obdarenú poetickým duchom, schopnú vysloviť idey neznámeho génia, alebo prinajlepšom za významnú historickú osobnosť.
But the person Kṛṣṇa is both the goal and the substance of Bhagavad-gītā, so far as the Gītā speaks of itself.
Avšak Kṛṣṇa nie je iba pôvodným autorom Bhagavad-gīty, ale súčasne jej cieľom a podstatou.
This translation, then, and the commentary that accompanies it propose to direct the reader to Kṛṣṇa rather than away from Him. The Bhagavad-gītā thus becomes wholly consistent and comprehensible. Since Kṛṣṇa is the speaker of the Gītā, and its ultimate goal as well, the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is presents this great scripture in its true terms.
Tento preklad sa teda spolu s podrobnými komentármi snaží obrátiť pozornosť čitateľa ku Kṛṣṇovi, namiesto toho, aby Ho pred ním zakrýval. V tom je Bhagavad-gītā — taká, aká je jedinečná. Jej jedinečnosť spočíva tiež v celkovej dôslednosti a zrozumiteľnosti. Keďže rečníkom, ako aj konečným cieľom Gīty je Kṛṣṇa samotný, ide nepochybne o jediný preklad, ktorý toto veľké dielo predkladá v jeho pravom svetle.
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