Hari Om! “anuśuśruma” doesn’t mean “hearsay” here. “hearsay” implies heard in casual fashion through discussions or gossips from other people. Just look at what subjects Arjuna is talking about. He is talking about punya/papa/adrishya phala/after-death-rituals/ancestral worlds. None of these subjects can be comprehended through sense organs/mind/intellect, so how can they come in the realm of common people to casually discuss in “hearsay” fashion? These subjects are known only through Shabda praman, Vedas! Atindriya vishayah vedah pramanam! This knowledge is passed down from Teacher to Taught (BG Ch 4-1), one after other in a chain. “Anu” word means “After”. So, Arjuna is saying that he has heard it from “Parampara” of learned. Another thing is, only knowing is not sufficient because one has to also know “where and when to apply it” and “who should apply it”. In Ch 2 Bhagavan is pooh poohing Arjun’s dejection, cowardice and his misplaced application of knowledge.
