Sanskrit
हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते । सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत ॥
hṛṣīkeśaṃ tadā vākyam idam āha mahīpate senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṃ sthāpaya me'cyuta
Translation
And spake this word to Hrishîkesha, O Lord of Earth: In the midst, between the two armies, stay my chariot, O Achyuta,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Arjuna speaks for the first time in the chapter, and his very first request — addressed to Krishna as “Achyuta,” the unshaken one — is simply to be positioned squarely between the two armies. It’s an unremarkable tactical request that turns out to be the whole chapter’s turning point: that close-up vantage is exactly what triggers the crisis described from verse 26 onward.
Study deeper
Word by word
- hṛṣīkeśaṃहृषीकेशं
- to Hṛṣīkeśa — Krishna
- tadāतदा
- then
- vākyam idamवाक्यं इदं
- this word
- āhaआह
- said
- mahī-pateमही-पते
- O lord of the earth
- senayor ubhayor madhyeसेनयोः उभयोः मध्ये
- in the middle of the two armies
- rathaṃरथं
- the chariot
- sthāpayaस्थापय
- halt
- me'cyutaमेऽच्युत
- for me, O Acyuta — the unfallen, unshaken one
Commentary
Site Commentary
Of everything Arjuna could have said as his first line in the entire text — a battle cry, an order, a boast — he asks instead to be positioned so he can see clearly. A person’s first words in a high-stakes moment often reveal what they actually need before anything else does: here, it’s sight, not action.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Notice what your instinctive first move actually is at the start of a high-stakes situation — often it's the need to see clearly before acting, and that instinct is usually worth trusting.
Professional
- Before jumping into execution on a high-stakes project, ask first for the clearest possible view of what you're actually dealing with — like Arjuna's first move, that's not stalling, it's the right sequencing.
Family & Social
- Before reacting in a high-stakes family situation, ask to actually understand what's happening first — the instinct to want clear sight before acting is usually the right one to trust.
Ask yourself
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