sañjaya uvāca
taḿ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam
aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam
viṣīdantam idaḿ vākyam
uvāca madhusūdanaḥ

Translation of Bhagavad Gita 2.1

Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion, his mind depressed, his eyes full of tears, Madhusudana, Krishna, spoke the following words.

Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:

Material compassion, lamentation and tears are all signs of ignorance of the real self. Compassion for the eternal soul is self-realization. The word “Madhusudana” is significant in this verse. Lord Krishna killed the demon Madhu, and now Arjuna wanted Krishna to kill the demon of misunderstanding that had overtaken him in the discharge of his duty. No one knows where compassion should be applied. Compassion for the dress of a drowning man is senseless. A man fallen in the ocean of nescience cannot be saved simply by rescuing his outward dress—the gross material body. One who does not know this and laments for the outward dress is called a shudra, or one who laments unnecessarily. Arjuna was a kshatriya, and this conduct was not expected from him. Lord Krishna, however, can dissipate the lamentation of the ignorant man, and for this purpose the Bhagavad-gita was sung by Him. This chapter instructs us in self-realization by an analytical study of the material body and the spirit soul, as explained by the supreme authority, Lord Sri Krishna. This realization is possible when one works without attachment to fruitive results and is situated in the fixed conception of the real self.

Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:

In this second chapter, after destroying the darkness of bewilderment and lamentation of Arjuna by distinction of soul and body, Krishna speaks about the characteristics of the liberated soul.

Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:

2.1 – 2.3 Sanjaya said — Lord said — When Arjuna thus sat, the Lord, opposing his action, said: ‘What is the reason for your misplaced grief? Arise for battle, abandoning this grief, which has arisen in a critical situation, which can come only in men of wrong understanding, which is an obstacle for reaching heaven, which does not confer fame on you, which is very mean, and which is caused by faint-heartedness.

Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:

What happened next? To answer this the verse states that to him meaning Arjuna whose eyes were filled with tears in bewilderment, to him Arjuna who was grieving the Supreme Lord Krishna spoke these words.

Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:

Sri Madhvacharya did not comment on this sloka.

Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:

Having heard Arjuna’s justifications from refraining from the battle due to the fear of receiving sin for the slaying of relatives; Dhritarastra was relieved of the fear that his sons might have returned to the Pandavas their fair share of the kingdom and desired to know what happened next. Sanjaya spoke that Arjunas eyes were brimming with tears, when ones eyes are full of tears ones clear vision is obstructed and thus refers to Arjunas unable to see the situation in the correct perspective. By addressing Lord Krishna with the vocative Madhusudana indicates that just as He destroyed the demon Madhu in times of yore, by descending in the royal dynasty as a ksatriya He would destroy all the demoniac and evil elements which are burdening the Earth.

Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:

2.1 Sri Sankaracharya did not comment on this sloka. The commentary starts from 2.10.

Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:

Sri Abhinavagupta did not comment on this sloka.

Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:

sanjaya uvaca
tam tatha krpayavistam
asru-purnakuleksanam
visidantam idam vakyam
uvaca madhusudanah

Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:

sañjayaḥ uvāca — Sañjaya said; tam — unto Arjuna; tathā — thus; kṛpayā — by compassion; āviṣṭam — overwhelmed; aśru-pūrṇa-ākula — full of tears; īkṣaṇam — eyes; viṣīdantam — lamenting; idam — these; vākyam — words; uvāca — said; madhu-sūdanaḥ — the killer of Madhu.