Chapter1- Ślokās 20,21,22,23
atha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā dhārtarāsṭrān kapi-dhvajaḥ |
pravṛtte śastra-sampāte dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ ||20||
hṛṣīkeśaṃ tadā vākyam idam āha mahī-pate |
arjuna uvāca senayor-ubhayor madhye rathaṃ sthāpaya me’cyuta ||21||
yāvad etān nirīkṣe’haṃ yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān |
kair-mayā saha yoddhavyam asmin raṇa-samudyame ||22||
yotsyamānān avekṣehaṃ ya ete’tra samāgatāḥ |
dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher yuddhe priya cikīrṣavaḥ ||23||
(1.20,1.21)
mahīpate- O Dhṛtarāṣṭra! atha- after both armies blew their conches; kapi dhvajaḥ pāṇḍavaḥ- Arjuna the pāṇḍava, with Hanumān on the flag of his chariot; śastra-sampāte pravṛtte sati- about to begin the war and use weapons; udyamya- picked up; dhanuḥ- Gānḍīva (his bow); vyavasthitān dhārtarāsṭrān dṛṣṭvā- upon beholding the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the front array; tadā- then; āha- spoke; idam vākyam- these words; hṛṣīkeśaṃ - unto Lord Kṛṣṇa who is Hṛṣīkeśa; (iti) arjuna uvāca- Arjuna said; acyuta- O Acyutā!; rathaṃ sthāpaya me- station my chariot; madhye- between; ubhayoḥ- both; senayoḥ- the armies;
(1.22)
yāvat nirīkṣe- (station the chariot) as long as i can have a good look; etān- at these Duryodhana and others; avasthitān- stationed in the forefront; yoddhu-kāmān- with the desire to fight; kaiḥ saha mayā yoddhavyam- (until i see) all those with whom i will have to fight; asmin raṇa-samudyame- in this war attempt;
(1.23)
ahaṃ avekṣe- let me have a look; ya ete- at all those (Bhiṣma, Droṇa and others); samāgatāḥ- gathered; atra- in this battle arena; yotsyamānān- intending to fight (with us); yuddhe- in the battle; priya cikīrṣavaḥ- wishing to please; durbuddhiḥ- the evil minded; dhārtarāṣṭrasya- Duryodhana (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son);
Purport
After all the conches were blown, Arjuna who was ready to begin the war, spoke to Kṛṣṇa who was driving his chariot. Sañjaya narrated the same to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in these four ślokas.
"At that time, Arjuna who was equipped with weapons, who had Hanumān on his chariot's flag and who was all set to begin the war, picked up his Gānḍiva. O King Dhṛtarāṣṭra! On beholding your sons in the front array, he spoke these words to Sri Kṛṣṇa, 'O Kṛṣṇa! Station my chariot between the two armies, I want to have a good look at all these people who are positioned in the forefront desiring to fight with us. Let the chariot remain in this position until I have a look at all those with whom I will have to fight in this war arena. I wish to see all those gathered here, ready to fight in order to please the evil-minded Duryodhana.”
vyavasthitān Vyavasthitān means viśeṣena avasthitān. In this context it means that the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra were stationed there with the motive to fight the battle.
Kapidwajaḥ (The possessor of the flag with Hanumān on it) The word Kapidwaja signifies that this Hanumān who was present on Arjuna’s flag was no ordinary ape. He was the one who burnt Rāvana’s Lanka into ashes. Bhīma had a chance encounter with Hanumān during his quest for fetching Saugandhika flowers. Before parting ways, Hanumān granted Bhīma the benediction that he would augment Bhīma's might in the war and would be present on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot. Upon seeing him, all of their enemies would tremble just as all the rākṣaśas who were against Lord Rāma trembled at his sight.
hṛṣīkeśaṃ hṛṣīkā- indriyānyāhuḥ teṣaṃīśo yato bhavān| hṛṣīkeśa iti khyātaḥ (Senses which are the instruments of joy are called hṛṣīkas. Being their Īśwara, HE is called hṛṣīkeśa.) Without any distinctions of superiority and inferiority or any exemptions, HE is the controller of everyone’s outer senses and the internal sense called the mind.
krīdayā hṛṣyati vaktamīśaḥ san sṛṣtirūpayā | hṛṣīkeśatva mīśatva devatvaṃ cāsya tatsphuṭam || avikāritaya juṣṭo hṛṣīko vīryarūpayā | īśaḥ śvātantryayogena nityam sṛṣṭyādikarmaṇi|| aiśwaryavīryarūpatvaṃ hṛṣīkeśatvamucyate || Ahirbudhnya Saṃhita - 53-44.45.56 (As Īśa, the Lord of all, HE enjoys this creation as a sport. Hence hṛṣīkeśatvaṃ (being the controller of all senses), niyāmakatvaṃ (supreme governance) and devatvaṃ (being the almighty) shine forth very clearly in him. Since the heroic qualities of being blemishless and immutable (changeless) are in abundance in HIM, HE is called Hṛṣīkeśa. Since HE always independently performs the acts of creation, maintenance and protection, HE is known as
Īśa. Hence the Paramapuruṣa possessing aiśwarya (sovereignty) and vīrya (energy or vigour) is called Hṛṣīkeśa.)
As per the above statements, the word Hṛṣīkeśa tells about the one who creates the world, protects and guards it by HIS will alone and who is the one and only destination for the six untainted qualities namely jñāna, śakti, bala, aiśwarya, vīrya, tejas (knowledge, power, strength, sovereignty, valour and splendour.)
senayor ubhayor madhye... Arjuna asked Kṛṣṇa to stop the chariot between the two armies so that he could have a good look at both of them.
acyuta The derivation for the word 'acyuta' is, na cyāvayatītyacyutaḥ (HE is the one who doesn’t allow the downfall of those who take HIS shelter). Overcome by vātsalya (mercy filled with unconditional love) for Arjuna who was HIS dāsa (surrendered devotee), the Lord even took up the menial position of becoming Arjuna's charioteer, where HE would accept instructions like (Stop the chariot!, Take the chariot there!). The Lord’s radiance shone forth unhindered in HIS role as a charioteer too, hence the apt title 'acyuta' (meaning infallible) was used for HIM in this śloka.
yāvat nirīkṣe The term yāvat is a sākalyavāchi (a term that denotes something completely, until its end) eg: yāvatkālam- as long as anything lasts). nirīkṣe means to inspect something as it is. Together the meaning for 'yāvat nirīkṣe' should be taken as, 'until completely viewed'. From these words, we understand that Arjuna wished to inspect both the armies in totality.
kair-mayā saha yoddhavyam...yotsyamānān 'kair-mayā saha yoddhavyam' B.G 1.22 means 'all those with whom I will have to fight' and 'yotsyamānān' B.G 1.23 means 'all those who are going to fight with me'.
Since the two meanings are different there is no punarukti (repetition) here.
'kair-mayā saha (sthitvā) yoddhavyam' B.G 1.22 when grouped like this it means 'those who will join me in fighting with our enemy and 'yotsyamānān' B.G 1.23 refers to 'all the opponents'. In this consideration too, there is no repetition. Also śloka 1.23 brings out the nature of all those assembled on the Kaurava side of the army, ready to fight (yotsyamānān) with the Pāṇḍavas. Duryodhana was evil minded and unrighteous. All of them were prepared to fight on the side of unrighteousness too, in order to please him.