Sanskrit
यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान् । कैर्मया सह योद्धव्यमस्मिन्रणसमुद्यमे ॥
yāvad etān nirīkṣe'haṃ yoddhukāmān avasthitān kair mayā saha yoddhavyam asmin raṇasamudyame
Translation
That I may behold these standing, longing for battle, with whom I must strive in this outbreaking war,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Arjuna’s stated reason for the request in verse 21 sounds entirely tactical: he wants to see who he’ll actually be fighting. Nothing here suggests the reaction that’s about to follow — the request reads like ordinary battlefield reconnaissance, which makes verses 26–30’s collapse land as a genuine reversal rather than something he saw coming.
Study deeper
Word by word
- yāvadयावद्
- long enough that
- etānएतान्
- these
- nirīkṣe'haṃनिरीक्षेऽहं
- I may look closely at
- yoddhu-kāmānयोद्धु-कामान्
- desiring to fight
- avasthitānअवस्थितान्
- standing here
- kair mayā sahaकैः मया सह
- with whom I
- yoddhavyamयोद्धव्यं
- must fight
- asminअस्मिन्
- in this
- raṇa-samudyameरण-समुद्यमे
- undertaking of war
Commentary
Site Commentary
Arjuna gives Krishna a perfectly reasonable tactical explanation for wanting a closer look — knowing your opponents is just good practice. Whether that’s genuinely the whole reason, or simply the version of the reason available to him before he’s actually looked, is something even he may not know yet. People routinely give the sensible-sounding reason for a request before the real one has even surfaced.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Notice when the reason you give yourself for a decision is the reasonable-sounding one rather than necessarily the complete one — the real reason sometimes only becomes clear after you've acted on the request.
Professional
- When you ask for more visibility into a project before committing — a demo, a walkthrough — the stated reason of due diligence may be covering a deeper uncertainty you haven't named yet; that's fine, just notice it.
Family & Social
- When you ask a family member for more information before making a decision, check whether the stated reason is the full one or a reasonable cover for a deeper uncertainty you haven't voiced yet.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.