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Chapter 1. Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra TEXT 21-22 arjuna uvaca
kair maya saha yoddhavyam
SYNONYMS  arjunah--Arjuna;
uvaca--said; senayoh--of the armies; ubhayoh--of both
the parties; madhye--in between them; ratham--the chariot;
sthapaya--please
keep; me--my; acyuta--O infallible one; yavat--as
long as; etan--all these; nirikse--may look; aham--I;
yoddhu-kaman--desiring to fight; avasthitan--arrayed on the
battlefield; kaih--with whom; maya--by me; saha--with;
yoddhavyam--to
fight with; asmin--in this; rana--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
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 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 position 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.
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