Speaker: Arjuna
योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः ।
धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ॥२३॥
yotsyamānān avekṣe ’haṁ
ya ete ’tra samāgatāḥ
dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher
yuddhe priya-cikīrṣavaḥ
Word for word (synonyms)
- yotsyamānān
- those who will be fighting
- avekṣe
- let me see
- aham
- I
- ye
- who
- ete
- those
- atra
- here
- samāgatāḥ
- assembled
- dhārtarāṣṭrasya
- the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra
- durbuddheḥ
- evil-minded
- yuddhe
- in the fight
- priya
- well
- cikīrṣavaḥ
- wishing
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 in 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.
What this verse teaches
Desiring to see the supporters of Duryodhana, Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa to take the chariot between the two armies.
- Section
- Arjuna Observes the Armies
In thematic compilations 1
- Kṛṣṇa becomes a servant of His devotees, Arjuna’s charioteer (1.21-25).
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 1
- Bhagavad-gītā 1.23 1973-07-19
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.