Bhagavad gita Chapter 1 (Verses 21-30)

                                                Observing the Armies on the

Battlefield of Kurukṣetra

Verses 21-30

Verse 21-22

अर्जुन उवाच
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत ।
यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्‍धुकामानवस्थितान् ॥ २१ ॥
कैर्मया सह योद्धव्यमस्मिन्‍रणसमुद्यमे ॥ २२ ॥

arjuna uvāca
senayor ubhayor madhye
rathaṁ sthāpaya me ’cyuta
yāvad etān nirīkṣe ’haṁ
yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān

kair mayā saha yoddhavyam
asmin raṇa-samudyame

Translation

Arjuna said, "O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see those who are present here, who want to fight, and with whom I must contend in this great trial of arms.

Purport

Even though Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He was serving His companion out of causeless mercy. He is referred to Him as infallible since He never fails to show His love for His followers. He was Arjuna's charioteer and had to obey his commands; because He did so without hesitation, He is said to as infallible. Although He had agreed to drive a chariot for one of His followers, His absolute authority was not questioned. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hrisikesa, the Lord of all senses, at all times. The Lord and His servant have a very loving and transcendental relationship.

The servant is always prepared to serve the Lord, and in a similar vein, the Lord is constantly looking for opportunities to serve the devotee. Instead of giving directions, He enjoys it more when His devoted followers assume the favourable position of doing so. Since He is the master, no one has the authority to command Him; everyone must obey His directives. But even though He is always the infallible master, He experiences sublime delight when He discovers that a sincere devotee is giving Him orders. As a devoted follower of the Lord, Arjuna had no desire to engage in combat with his brothers and cousins, but he was compelled to do so due to Duryodhana's stubborn refusal to engage in any kind of peaceful discussion. He was therefore quite interested in finding out who the influential people on the battlefield were. He wanted to see them again to assess how determined they were to demand an unwarranted conflict, despite the fact that there was no chance of bringing about peace on the battlefield.

 

Verse 23

योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः ।

धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ॥ २३ ॥

yotsyamānān avekṣe ’haṁ

ya ete ’tra samāgatāḥ

dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher

yuddhe priya-cikīrṣavaḥ

 

Translation-

Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

 

Purport

It was an open secret that Duryodhana wanted to usurp the kingdom of the Pāṇḍavas by evil plans, in collaboration with his father, Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Therefore, all persons who had joined the side of Duryodhana must have been birds of the same feather. Arjuna wanted to see them on the battlefield before the fight was begun, just to learn who they were, but he had no intention of proposing peace negotiations with them. It was also a fact that he wanted to see them to make an estimate of the strength which he had to face, although he was quite confident of victory because Kṛṣṇa was sitting by his side.

Verse 24

सञ्जय उवाच
एवमुक्तो हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारत ।
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम् ॥ २४ ॥

sañjaya uvāca
evam ukto hṛṣīkeśo
guḍākeśena bhārata
senayor ubhayor madhye
sthāpayitvā rathottamam

Translation

O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Ka drew up the beautiful chariot in the centre of both parties' troops.

Purport-

In this verse Arjuna is referred as Gudakesa meaning one who has conquered Sleep and ignorance.  As a great devotee he never forget to remember krishna whether in sleep or awakened, this what is called krishna consciousness. As Hrisikesa a,controller of senses Krishna understood the purpose of arjuna to place the chariot in midst of armies. He did so and speak as follows

 

Verse 25

भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम् ।
उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरुनिति ॥ २५ ॥

bhīṣma-droṇa-pramukhataḥ
sarveṣāṁ ca mahī-kṣitām
uvāca pārtha paśyaitān

samavetān kurūn iti

Translation

"Just behold, Prtha, all the Kurus assembled here," the Lord remarked in the sight of Bhishma, Drona, and all the other world chieftains.

Purport

Lord Krishna, being the Supersoul of all living entities, understood what was going on in Arjuna's mind. The word Hrishikesa is used in this context to denote that He understood everything. And the word Prtha, which means "son of Prtha, or Kunti," is also significant in connection to Arjuna. As a friend, He wanted to inform Arjuna that He had volunteered to be Arjuna's charioteer since Arjuna was the son of Prtha, the sister of His own father Vasudeva. What did Krishna mean when He spoke to Arjuna, "behold the Kurus"? Did Arjuna intend to quit fighting there? Krishna never expected such things from His aunt Prtha's son. Thus, the Lord, in a light-hearted joke, knew what Arjuna would think.

 

Verse 26

तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान्।
आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा।
श्वश‍ुरान्सुहृदश्चैव सेनयोरुभयोरपि ॥ २६ ॥

tatrāpaśyat sthitān pārthaḥ
pitṝn atha pitāmahān
ācāryān mātulān bhrātṝn
putrān pautrān sakhīṁs tathā
śvaśurān suhṛdaś caiva
senayor ubhayor api

 

Translation

Arjuna could see his dads, grandfathers, instructors, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, as well as his fathers-in-law and well-wishers there, in the midst of the troops of both parties.

Purport

Arjuna may observe a wide range of relatives on the battlefield. He could see people like Bhurisrava, who lived in the same era as his father, grandfathers Bhishma and Somadatta, teachers Dronacharya and Krpacarya, maternal uncles Salya and Sakuni, brothers Duryodhana and sons like  Laksmana, friends Asvatthama and well Krtavarma, and others. Additionally, he could see the troops that included many of his friends.

 

Verse 27

तान्समीक्ष्य स कौन्तेयः सर्वान्बन्धूनवस्थितान् ।

कृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत् ॥ २७ ॥

tān samīkṣya sa kaunteyaḥ

sarvān bandhūn avasthitān

kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo

viṣīdann idam abravīt

Translation

When Arjuna, the son of Kunt, saw all these different categories of friends and relatives, he became overwhelmed with compassion and spoke . 

Verse 28

अर्जुन उवाच

दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् ।

सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिश‍ुष्यति ॥ २८ ॥

arjuna uvāca

dṛṣṭvemaṁ sva-janaṁ kṛṣṇa

yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam

sīdanti mama gātrāṇi

mukhaṁ ca pariśuṣyati

 

Translation

Arjuna said-My beloved Krsna, I feel the limbs of my body trembling and my lips drying up seeing my friends and relatives there before me in such a fighting spirit.

Purport

Any man who is truly devoted to the Lord possesses all the virtues found in godly people or in demigods, whereas the nondevotee, regardless of how accomplished in material credentials he may be via education and culture, lacks godly traits. As a result, when Arjuna first saw his kin, friends, and family fighting amongst themselves on the battlefield, he was immediately overcome with compassion for them. He was empathetic towards his soldiers from the start, but he also felt sympathy for the soldiers of the other side because he knew they were going to die. His body started to tremble and his mouth started to dry out as he continued to contemplate. He was startled by their tenacity, to put it mildly. Practically the entire neighbourhood had gathered to fight alongside Arjuna, including all of his blood relatives. This overwhelmed Arjuna, a goodhearted devotee. Even though it isn't said, it is simple to believe that Arjuna was not only physically shaking and his mouth was drying up, but that he was also sobbing out of sympathy. These symptoms in Arjuna were a result of his softheartedness, which is a quality of a sincere devotee of the Lord rather than his weakness.

 

Verse 29

वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ।

गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्च‍ैव परिदह्यते ॥ २९ ॥

vepathuś ca śarīre me

roma-harṣaś ca jāyate

gāṇḍīvaṁ sraṁsate hastāt

tvak caiva paridahyate

Translation

My whole body is trembling, my hair is standing on end, my bow Gāṇḍīva is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning.

Purport

There are two types of body trembling and two types of hair standing on end. Such events arise either in extreme spiritual ecstasy or in extreme material terror. Transcendental realisation is free of fear. Arjuna's symptoms in this case stem from material fear, specifically the loss of life. This is clear from other symptoms as well; he became so eager that his renowned bow Gandiva slipped from his hands, and he felt a burning sensation on his skin because his heart was burning within him. All of this is due to a materialistic view on life

Verse 30

न च शक्न‍ोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मनः ।

निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव ॥ ३० ॥

na ca śaknomy avasthātuṁ

bhramatīva ca me manaḥ

nimittāni ca paśyāmi

viparītāni keśava

Translation

I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I see only causes of misfortune, O Kṛṣṇa, killer of the Keśī demon.

Purport

Arjuna was unable to stay on the battlefield due to his impatience, and he was forgetting himself as a result of this mental incapacity. Excessive devotion to material things leads to a perplexing state of being such fearfulness and lack of mental stability occur in people who are overly impacted by material circumstances. Arjuna imagined only severe defeats on the battlefield; he would not be satisfied even if he won the battle. When a guy sees only disappointment in his expectations, he wonders, "Why am I here?" Everyone is concerned with himself and his own well-being. Nobody cares about the Supreme Self. Arjuna exhibits ignorance. By Krishna's will, Arjuna demonstrates his ignorance of his own self-interest. The true self-interest rests in Visnu or Krishna. Because the conditioned soul forgets this, it endures material pains. Arjuna believed that his triumph in the war would only be cause for him to weep. Krishna is called ‘Kesava’ as he killed demon kesi.