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Bhagavad Gita · 1.24 · Arjuna's Dilemma·24 of 47

संजय उवाच एवमुक्तो हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारतसेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम्

sañjaya uvācha evam ukto hṛiṣhīkeśho guḍākeśhena

bhārata senayor ubhayor madhye sthāpayitvā rathottamam

Sanskrit recitation

The field is set · 1.1–1.27 · Scene

Translation

Sanjaya said, Thus addressed by Arjuna, Krishna stationed the best of chariots, O Dhritarashtra, in the midst of the two armies.

Meaning

In this verse Arjuna is referred to as Guḍākeśa. Guḍākā means sleep, and one who conquers sleep is called guḍākeśa. Sleep also means ignorance. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his friendship with Kṛṣṇa. As a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he could not forget Kṛṣṇa even for a moment, because that is the nature of a devotee. Either in waking or in sleep, a devotee of the Lord can never be free from thinking of Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities and pastimes. Thus a devotee of Kṛṣṇa can conquer both sleep and ignorance simply by thinking of Kṛṣṇa constantly. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or samādhi. As Hṛṣīkeśa, or the director of the senses and mind of every living entity, Kṛṣṇa could understand Arjuna’s purpose in placing the chariot in the midst of the armies. Thus He did so, and spoke as follows.

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
evam
thus
madhye
between
uktaḥ
addressed
bhārata
descendant of Bharat
senayoḥ
armies
ubhayoḥ
the two
ratha-uttamam
magnificent chariot
sthāpayitvā
having drawn
guḍākeśhena
by Arjun, the conqueror of sleep
sañjayaḥ uvācha
Sanjay said
hṛiṣhīkeśhaḥ
Shree Krishna, the Lord of the senses

Related verses

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