BG 8.2

8.2 अधियज्ञः Adhiyajna? कथम् how? कः who? अत्र here? देहे in body? अस्मिन् this? मधुसूदन O Madhusudana? प्रयाणकाले at the time of death? च and? कथम् how? ज्ञेयः knowable? असि art? नियतात्मभिः by the selfcontrolled.Commentary Arjuna put seven estions to the Lord1. What is that Brahman Is it Brahman with the Upadhis (limiting adjuncts) or Brahman without them2. Is it the aggregate of the senses or individual consciousness (PratyakChaitanya) or distinct? pure consciousness3. What is Karma Is it Yajna Or? is it distinct from Yajna4. Adhibhuta is knowledge of the Bhutas. Is this the knowledge of the elements or something else5. Adhidaiva is that which is associated with the gods. Is this the meditation on the gods Or? is it the consciousness associated with the Suryamandala? etc.6. Adhiyajna is that which is associated with Yajnas or Vedic rituals. Is this the Para Brahman (Supreme Being) or any special god Is it of the same form (Tadatmyarupa) or is it entirely nondifferent (Abheda) Does it exist in the body or outside it If it exists in the body? is it the intellect (Buddhi) or distinct from it7. At the time of death? when the memory is lost and when the senses become cold (i.e.? whenthey lose their vitality) how can the man of onepointedness and of steadfast mind know the LordO Lord Madhusudana Thou art allmerciful. Thou hast killed Madhu and removed the miseries of the people. Even so Thou canst remove my difficulties and doubts very easily. This is nothing for Thee? the omniscient Lord. (This is the reason why Arjuna addresses the Lord by the name Madhusudana.)

— vedicscriptures · exposition · source ↗

“Lord of sacrifice” may refer to either Indra or Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is the chief of the primal demigods, including Brahmā and Śiva, and Indra is the chief of the administrative demigods. Both Indra and Viṣṇu are worshiped by yajña performances. But here Arjuna asks who is actually the Lord of yajña (sacrifice) and how the Lord is residing within the body of the living entity. Arjuna addresses the Lord as Madhusūdana because Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee. Therefore these doubts are like demons. Since Kṛṣṇa is so expert in killing demons, Arjuna here addresses Him as Madhusūdana so that Kṛṣṇa might kill the demonic doubts that arise in Arjuna’s mind. Now the word prayāṇa-kāle in this verse is very significant because whatever we do in life will be tested at the time of death. Arjuna is very anxious to know of those who are constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. What should be their position at that final moment? At the time of death all the bodily functions are disrupted, and the mind is not in a proper condition. Thus disturbed by the bodily situation, one may not be able to remember the Supreme Lord. Mahārāja Kulaśekhara, a great devotee, prays, “My dear Lord, just now I am quite healthy, and it is better that I die immediately so that the swan of my mind can seek entrance at the stem of Your lotus feet.” The metaphor is used because the swan, a bird of the water, takes pleasure in digging into the lotus flowers; its sporting proclivity is to enter the lotus flower. Mahārāja Kulaśekhara says to the Lord, “Now my mind is undisturbed, and I am quite healthy. If I die immediately, thinking of Your lotus feet, then I am sure that my performance of Your devotional service will become perfect. But if I have to wait for my natural death, then I do not know what will happen, because at that time the bodily functions will be disrupted, my throat will be choked up, and I do not know whether I shall be able to chant Your name. Better let me die immediately.” Arjuna questions how a person can fix his mind on Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet at such a time.

— vedicscriptures · exposition · source ↗