Bhagavad Gita · 1.20 · Arjuna's Dilemma·20 of 47
अथ व्यवस्थितान् दृष्ट्वा धार्तराष्ट्रान्कपिध्वजः।प्रवृत्ते शस्त्रसंपाते धनुरुद्यम्य पाण्डवः ॥
atha vyavasthitān dṛiṣhṭvā dhārtarāṣhṭrān kapi-dhwajaḥ pravṛitte
śhastra-sampāte dhanurudyamya pāṇḍavaḥ hṛiṣhīkeśhaṁ tadā vākyam idam āha mahī-pate
Sanskrit recitation
The field is set · 1.1–1.27 · Scene
Translation
Then, seeing the people of Dhritarashtra's party standing arrayed and the discharge of weapons about to begin, Arjuna, the son of Pandu whose ensign was a monkey, took up his bow and said the following to Krishna, O Lord of the Earth.
Meaning
The battle was just about to begin. It is understood from the above statement that the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra were more or less disheartened by the unexpected arrangement of military force by the Pāṇḍavas, who were guided by the direct instructions of Lord Kṛṣṇa on the battlefield. The emblem of Hanumān on the flag of Arjuna is another sign of victory because Hanumān cooperated with Lord Rāma in the battle between Rāma and Rāvaṇa, and Lord Rāma emerged victorious. Now both Rāma and Hanumān were present on the chariot of Arjuna to help him. Lord Kṛṣṇa is Rāma Himself, and wherever Lord Rāma is, His eternal servitor Hanumān and His eternal consort Sītā, the goddess of fortune, are present. Therefore, Arjuna had no cause to fear any enemies whatsoever. And above all, the Lord of the senses, Lord Kṛṣṇa, was personally present to give him direction. Thus, all good counsel was available to Arjuna in the matter of executing the battle. In such auspicious conditions, arranged by the Lord for His eternal devotee, lay the signs of assured victory.
After Swami Sivananda
The field is set· 1.1–1.27→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 1.1Dhritarashtra said, "What did my people and the sons of Pandu do when they had assembled together, eager for battle, on the holy plain of Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya?"
- 1.2Sanjaya said: Having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in battle array, King Duryodhana approached his teacher, Drona, and spoke these words.
- 1.3Behold, O Teacher! This mighty army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada, thy wise disciple.
- 1.4Here are heroes, mighty archers, equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna, Yuyudhana (Satyaki), Virata, and Drupada—all mighty warriors.
- 1.5Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kasi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Saibya—the best of men.
- 1.6The strong Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas, the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and Arjuna), and the sons of Draupadi, all of them great charioteers (great heroes)."
- 1.7Know also, O best among the twice-born! the names of those who are the most distinguished amongst ourselves, the leaders of my army; these I name to you for your information.
- 1.8"Thou thyself, Bhishma, Karna, Kripa, the victorious in war, Asvatthama, Vikarna, and Bhurisrava, the son of Somadatta—all these are ready for battle."
- 1.9And also many other heroes, ready to give up their lives for my sake, armed with various weapons and missiles, all well-skilled in battle.
- 1.10Our army, marshalled by Bhishma, is insufficient, whereas theirs, marshalled by Bhima, is sufficient.
- 1.11Therefore, do all of you, stationed in your respective positions in the several divisions of the army, protect Bhishma alone.
- 1.12His glorious grandsire, the oldest of the Kauravas, roared like a lion to cheer Duryodhana and blew his conch.
- 1.13Then, suddenly, conches, kettledrums, tabors, drums, and cow horns blared forth from the Kaurava side, and the sound was tremendous.
- 1.14Then, Madhava (Krishna) and the son of Pandu (Arjuna), seated in the magnificent chariot yoked with white horses, blew divine conches.
- 1.15Hrishikesha blew the Panchajanya, Arjuna blew the Devadatta, and Bhima, the wolf-bellied doer of terrible deeds, blew the great conch Paundra.
- 1.16King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya; Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha and the Manipushpaka.
- 1.17The king of Kasi, an excellent archer, Sikhandi, the mighty car-warrior, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, and Satyaki, the unconquered.
- 1.18Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, O Lord of the Earth, and the son of Subhadra, the mighty-armed, blew their conches each separately.
- 1.19The tumultuous sound rent the hearts of Dhritarashtra's party, reverberating through both heaven and earth.
1.20Then, seeing the people of Dhritarashtra's party standing arrayed and the discharge of weapons about to begin, Arjuna, the son of Pandu whose ensign was a monkey, took up his bow and said the following to Krishna, O Lord of the Earth.
- 1.21Arjuna said, "O Krishna, place my chariot in the middle between the two armies, so that I may behold those who stand here, desirous to fight, and know with whom I must fight when the battle is about to commence."
- 1.22Arjuna said, "O Krishna, place my chariot in the middle between the two armies, so that I may behold those who stand here, desirous to fight, and know with whom I must fight when the battle is about to commence."
- 1.23For I desire to observe those who are assembled here to fight, wishing to please in battle the evil-minded Duryodhana—the son of Dhritarashtra.
- 1.24Sanjaya said, Thus addressed by Arjuna, Krishna stationed the best of chariots, O Dhritarashtra, in the midst of the two armies.
- 1.25In front of Bhishma and Drona, and all the rulers of the earth, he said: "O Arjuna, son of Pritha, behold these Kurus gathered together."
- 1.26Then, Arjuna (son of Pritha) saw there (in the armies) stationed fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and friends.
- 1.27He saw fathers-in-law and friends in both the armies. The son of Kunti, Arjuna, seeing all those kinsmen thus standing arrayed, spoke sorrowfully, deeply filled with pity.
Word-by-word→
- atha
- thereupon
- idam
- these
- āha
- said
- tadā
- at that time
- udyamya
- taking up
- vākyam
- words
- dhanuḥ
- bow
- mahī-pate
- King
- pravṛitte
- about to commence
- kapi-dwajaḥ
- the Monkey Bannered
- vyavasthitān
- arrayed
- dṛiṣhṭvā
- seeing
- pāṇḍavaḥ
- Arjun, the son of Pandu
- śhastra-sampāte
- to use the weapons
- hṛiṣhīkeśham
- to Shree Krishna
- dhārtarāṣhṭrān
- Dhritarashtra’s sons
Related verses
- 1.3Behold, O Teacher! This mighty army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada,…
- 1.5Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kasi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Saibya—the…
- 1.6The strong Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas, the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu, the son of…
- 1.7Know also, O best among the twice-born! the names of those who are the most distinguished…