BG 1.21-22 (1972)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXTS 21-22
- अर्जुन उवाच ।
- सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत ॥२१॥
- यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान् ।
- कैर्मया सह योद्धव्यमस्मिन् रणसमुद्यमे ॥२२॥
- arjuna uvāca
- senayor ubhayor madhye
- rathaṁ sthāpaya me 'cyuta
- yāvad etān nirīkṣe 'haṁ
- yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān
- kair mayā saha yoddhavyam
- asmin raṇa-samudyame
SYNONYMS
arjunaḥ—Arjuna; uvāca—said; senayoḥ—of the armies; ubhayoḥ—of both the parties; madhye—in between them; ratham—the chariot; sthāpaya—please keep; me—my; acyuta—O infallible one; yāvat—as long as; etān—all these; nirīkṣe—may look; aham—I; yoddhu-kāmān—desiring to fight; avasthitān—arrayed on the battlefield; kaiḥ—with whom; mayā—by me; saha—with; yoddhavyam—to fight with; asmin—in this; raṇa—strife; samudyame—in the attempt.
TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see who is present here, who is desirous of fighting, and with whom I must contend in this great battle attempt.
PURPORT
Although Lord Kṛṣṇa 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, Hṛṣīkeśa, 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 a 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 postion of ordering Him than He does in being the giver of orders. As 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 of 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.