Sanskrit
एवमुक्तो हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारत । सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम् ॥
evam ukto hṛṣīkeśo guḍākeśena bhārata senayor ubhayor madhye sthāpayitvā rathottamam
Translation
Sanjaya said: Thus addressed by Gudâkesha, Hrishîkesha, O Bhârata, having stayed that best of chariots in the midst, between the two armies,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Sanjaya’s narration resumes to report a simple fact: Krishna complies with Arjuna’s request without comment. The two names used for them here — Hrishîkesha (“lord of the senses”) for Krishna and Gudâkesha (“lord of sleep,” a title for one who has conquered drowsiness) for Arjuna — carry a quiet irony given what’s about to happen to Arjuna’s own composure.
Study deeper
Word by word
- evam uktoएवं उक्तो
- thus addressed
- hṛṣīkeśoहृषीकेशो
- Hṛṣīkeśa — Krishna
- guḍākeśenaगुडाकेशेन
- by Guḍākeśa — Arjuna, 'conqueror of sleep'
- bhārataभारत
- O descendant of Bharata
- senayor ubhayor madhyeसेनयोः उभयोः मध्ये
- between the two armies
- sthāpayitvāस्थापयित्वा
- having stationed
- rathottamamरथोत्तमं
- the finest of chariots
Commentary
Site Commentary
Krishna doesn’t question the request, doesn’t offer a counter-suggestion, doesn’t warn Arjuna about what he’s about to see — he simply does what was asked. That kind of unquestioning compliance, from someone the rest of the Gita shows sees exactly what’s coming, is itself a choice: sometimes the more respectful response is to let a person arrive at their own crisis rather than argue them out of the request that leads there.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When someone asks you for something you can tell will lead them somewhere hard, consider whether talking them out of it or simply honoring the request and staying present afterward is the more respectful response.
Professional
- When a team member asks for a hard truth — real metrics, honest feedback — that you know will be uncomfortable, giving it straight without hedging is often more useful than trying to soften the request itself.
Family & Social
- When someone close to you asks a question whose honest answer you know will be painful, resist the urge to deflect the request — answering it straight, then staying present for what follows, usually serves them better.
Ask yourself
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