Place my chariot between them

Where we are

Sañjaya is still telling the blind king what he sees on the field of Kurukshetra. In the previous reading the Pāṇḍava allies’ conches shook the Kaurava side, and Arjuna raised his bow as the clash was about to begin. Now Arjuna turns to Krishna, who holds the reins, and asks him to drive the chariot right into the open ground between the two armies so he can look at who has come to fight.

The verses

1. 1.21

   Then, O lord of the earth, Arjuna spoke these words to Hṛṣīkeśa: “O Acyuta, place my chariot between the two armies.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.21

   हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते ।
   सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत ॥ २१ ॥

   hṛṣīkeśaṃ tadā vākyam idam āha mahīpate
   senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṃ sthāpaya me 'cyuta

   Say it

   hrish-ee-kay-shum tuh-daa vaak-yum i-dum aa-huh muh-hee-puh-tay
   say-nuh-yor oo-bhuh-yor mudh-yay ruh-thum sthaa-puh-yuh may chyu-tuh

   Word by word

   hṛṣīkeśam

   to Hṛṣīkeśa (Krishna, “lord of the senses”)

   tadā

   then, at that moment

   vākyam idam āha

   spoke these words

   mahīpate

   O lord of the earth (addressing the king)

   senayoḥ ubhayoḥ madhye

   in the middle of the two armies

   ratham sthāpaya

   place / station the chariot

   me

   for me, of mine

   acyuta

   O Acyuta (Krishna, “the unfallen / never-failing one”)

2. 1.22

   “so that I may look upon these who stand here eager to fight, and see with whom I must do battle in this great enterprise of war.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.22

   यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान् ।
   कैर्मया सह योद्धव्यमस्मिन् रणसमुद्यमे ॥ २२ ॥

   yāvad etān nirīkṣe 'haṃ yoddhukāmān avasthitān
   kair mayā saha yoddhavyam asmin raṇasamudyame

   Say it

   yaa-vud ay-taan ni-reek-shay-hum yo-ddhoo-kaa-maan uh-vuh-sthi-taan
   kair muh-yaa suh-huh yo-ddhuh-vyum us-min ruh-nuh-sum-ood-yuh-may

   Word by word

   yāvat

   so that, until

   etān nirīkṣe aham

   I may look upon these

   yoddhukāmān

   eager / desiring to fight

   avasthitān

   standing ready, drawn up

   kaiḥ mayā saha

   with whom I

   yoddhavyam

   must fight, have to do battle

   asmin raṇa-samudyame

   in this undertaking of war

3. 1.23

   “I want to see those who have come here ready to fight — the ones who wish to please that ill-minded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra in this war.”

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.23

   योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः ।
   धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ॥ २३ ॥

   yotsyamānān avekṣe 'haṃ ya ete 'tra samāgatāḥ
   dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher yuddhe priyacikīrṣavaḥ

   Say it

   yot-syuh-maa-naan uh-vayk-shay-hum yuh ay-tay-truh suh-maa-guh-taah
   dhaar-tuh-raash-truh-syuh door-bood-dhayr yood-dhay pri-yuh-chi-keer-shuh-vuh-huh

   Word by word

   yotsyamānān

   those who are about to fight

   avekṣe aham

   I wish to observe / survey

   ye ete atra samāgatāḥ

   who have gathered here

   dhārtarāṣṭrasya

   of the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

   durbuddheḥ

   of evil understanding, ill-minded

   yuddhe

   in war

   priya-cikīrṣavaḥ

   wishing to do what pleases him

4. 1.24

   sañjaya uvāca

   Thus addressed by Guḍākeśa, O descendant of Bharata, Hṛṣīkeśa drove the excellent chariot and stationed it in the middle, between the two armies. The sentence continues into the next reading, where they arrive in front of Bhīṣma, Droṇa and the other kings.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.24

   एवमुक्तो हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारत ।
   सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम् ॥ २४ ॥

   evam ukto hṛṣīkeśo guḍākeśena bhārata
   senayor ubhayor madhye sthāpayitvā rathottamam

   Say it

   ay-vum ook-to hrish-ee-kay-sho goo-daa-kay-shay-nuh bhaa-ruh-tuh
   say-nuh-yor oo-bhuh-yor mudh-yay sthaa-puh-yit-vaa ruh-tho-ttuh-mum

   Word by word

   evam uktaḥ

   thus addressed / spoken to

   hṛṣīkeśaḥ

   Hṛṣīkeśa (Krishna)

   guḍākeśena

   by Guḍākeśa (Arjuna, “conqueror of sleep”)

   bhārata

   O descendant of Bharata (addressing the king)

   senayoḥ ubhayoḥ madhye

   in the middle of the two armies

   sthāpayitvā

   having placed / stationed

   ratha-uttamam

   the finest / excellent chariot

Context and commentary

Two names for Krishna and one for Arjuna matter here. Hṛṣīkeśa, “lord of the senses,” is how Arjuna addresses the friend who holds the reins; Acyuta, “the unfallen,” is a word of trust — he will not fail. Guḍākeśa, “conqueror of sleep,” is Arjuna’s epithet for mastery over drowsiness and, by extension, over dullness of mind. Asking to stop between the armies is not yet despair; it is a soldier’s wish to see the faces he must meet. Only later will that look turn into grief. Calling Duryodhana durbuddhi, “ill-minded,” already shows Arjuna’s judgement of the war’s cause, even before his heart breaks. Śaṅkara treats this chapter mainly as the setting for teaching that begins in Chapter 2. Devotional readers often linger on Acyuta: the charioteer who never fails is already the guide Arjuna will need (interpretation). Readers who take the battle as an inner drama sometimes read “between the two armies” as the moment of clear seeing before choice — standing where both sides are visible (interpretation).