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Bhagavad Gita · 1.20 · Arjuna's Dilemma·20 of 47

अथ व्यवस्थितान् दृष्ट्वा धार्तराष्ट्रान्कपिध्वजःप्रवृत्ते 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.

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

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