Arjuna Confronts His Relatives

2009-02-14
Bhagavad Gita 01.20-26 - Arjuna Confronts His Relatives (download mp3)
HG Radhapati Prabhuat ISKCON Chowpatty.
www.iskcondesiretree.net




 Bg 1.20
atha vyavasthitan drstva
dhartarastran kapi-dhvajah
pravrtte sastra-sampate
dhanur udyamya pandavah
hrsikesam tada vakyam
idam aha mahi-pate

Translation:
At that time Arjuna, the son of Pandu, seated in the chariot bearing the flag marked with Hanuman, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows. O King, after looking at the sons of Dhrtarastra drawn in military array, Arjuna then spoke to Lord Krsna these words.

Purport:
The battle was just about to begin. It is understood from the above statement that the sons of Dhrtarastra were more or less disheartened by the unexpected arrangement of military force by the Pandavas, who were guided by the direct instructions of Lord Krsna on the battlefield. The emblem of Hanuman on the flag of Arjuna is another sign of victory because Hanuman cooperated with Lord Rama in the battle between Rama and Ravana, and Lord Rama emerged victorious. Now both Rama and Hanuman were present on the chariot of Arjuna to help him. Lord Krsna is Rama Himself, and wherever Lord Rama is, His eternal servitor Hanuman and His eternal consort Sita, 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 Krsna, 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.

Bg 1.21-22
arjuna uvaca
senayor ubhayor madhye
ratham sthapaya me 'cyuta
yavad etan nirikse 'ham
yoddhu-kaman avasthitan
kair maya saha yoddhavyam
asmin rana-samudyame

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

Purport:
Although Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, out of His causeless mercy He was engaged in the service of His friend. He never fails in His affection for His devotees, and thus He is addressed herein as infallible. As charioteer, He had to carry out the orders of Arjuna, and since He did not hesitate to do so, He is addressed as infallible. Although He had accepted the position of a charioteer for His devotee, His supreme position was not challenged. In all circumstances, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hrsikesa, the Lord of the total senses. The relationship between the Lord and His servitor is very sweet and transcendental. The servitor is always ready to render service to the Lord, and, similarly, the Lord is always seeking an opportunity to render some service to the devotee. He takes greater pleasure in His pure devotee's assuming the advantageous position of ordering Him than He does in being the giver of orders. Since He is master, everyone is under His orders, and no one is above Him to order Him. But when He finds that a pure devotee is ordering Him, He obtains transcendental pleasure, although He is the infallible master in all circumstances.

As a pure devotee of the Lord, Arjuna had no desire to fight with his cousins and brothers, but he was forced to come onto the battlefield by the obstinacy of Duryodhana, who was never agreeable to any peaceful negotiation. Therefore, he was very anxious to see who the leading persons present on the battlefield were. Although there was no question of a peacemaking endeavor on the battlefield, he wanted to see them again, and to see how much they were bent upon demanding an unwanted war.

Bg 1.23
yotsyamanan avekse 'ham
ya ete 'tra samagatah
dhartarastrasya durbuddher
yuddhe priya-cikirsavah

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

Purport: 
It was an open secret that Duryodhana wanted to usurp the kingdom of the Pandavas by evil plans, in collaboration with his father, Dhrtarastra. 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 Krsna was sitting by his side.


Bg 1.24
sañjaya uvaca
evam ukto hrsikeso
gudakesena bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye
sthapayitva rathottamam

Translation:
Sañjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Krsna drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.

Purport:
In this verse Arjuna is referred to as Gudakesa. Gudaka means sleep, and one who conquers sleep is called gudakesa. Sleep also means ignorance. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his friendship with Krsna. As a great devotee of Krsna, he could not forget Krsna 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 Krsna's name, form, qualities and pastimes. Thus a devotee of Krsna can conquer both sleep and ignorance simply by thinking of Krsna constantly. This is called Krsna consciousness, or samadhi. As Hrsikesa, or the director of the senses and mind of every living entity, Krsna could understand Arjuna's purpose in placing the chariot in the midst of the armies. Thus He did so, and spoke as follows.


Bg 1.25
bhisma-drona-pramukhatah
sarvesam ca mahi-ksitam
uvaca partha pasyaitan
samavetan kurun iti

Translation:
In the presence of Bhisma, Drona and all the other chieftains of the world, the Lord said, "Just behold, Partha, all the Kurus assembled here."

Purport:
As the Supersoul of all living entities, Lord Krsna could understand what was going on in the mind of Arjuna. The use of the word Hrsikesa in this connection indicates that He knew everything. And the word Partha, meaning "the son of Prtha, or Kunti," is also similarly significant in reference to Arjuna. As a friend, He wanted to inform Arjuna that because Arjuna was the son of Prtha, the sister of His own father Vasudeva, He had agreed to be the charioteer of Arjuna. Now what did Krsna mean when He told Arjuna to "behold the Kurus"? Did Arjuna want to stop there and not fight? Krsna never expected such things from the son of His aunt Prtha. The mind of Arjuna was thus predicted by the Lord in friendly joking.

Bg 1.26
tatrapasyat sthitan parthah
pitrn atha pitamahan
acaryan matulan bhratrn
putran pautran sakhims tatha
svasuran suhrdas caiva
senayor ubhayor api

Translation:
There Arjuna could see, within the midst of the armies of both parties, his fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, and also his fathers-in-law and well-wishers.

Purport:
On the battlefield Arjuna could see all kinds of relatives. He could see persons like Bhurisrava, who were his father's contemporaries, grandfathers Bhisma and Somadatta, teachers like Dronacarya and Krpacarya, maternal uncles like Salya and Sakuni, brothers like Duryodhana, sons like Laksmana, friends like Asvatthama, well-wishers like Krtavarma, etc. He could see also the armies which contained many of his friends.