Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 21
अर्जुन उवाच
हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते।
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत।।
हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते।
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत।।
arjuna uvāca
hṛṣīkeśaṁ tadā vākyam idam āha mahī-pate
senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṁ sthāpaya me 'cyuta
also searched as "hrishikesham tada vakyam idam aha mahipate"
Translation
And he spoke, O Lord of the Earth, these words to Sri Krishna: Arjuna said, “Draw up my chariot, O Krishna, between the two armies.
Vāṇi's rendering
Krishna, take my chariot and place it between the two armies.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अर्जुनarjuna | Arjuna |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| हृषीकेशम्hṛṣīkeśaṁ | to Hṛṣīkeśa, Krishna, lord of the senses |
| तदाtadā | then, at that moment |
| वाक्यम्vākyam | these words, this speech |
| इदम्idam | this |
| आहāha | he spoke |
| महीपतेmahī-pate | O lord of the earth (Sanjaya addressing Dhṛtarāṣṭra) |
| सेनयोःsenayoḥ | of the two armies |
| उभयोःubhayoḥ | of both |
| मध्येmadhye | in the middle |
| रथम्rathaṁ | the chariot |
| स्थापयsthāpaya | place, bring to a stand |
| मेme | my |
| अच्युतacyuta | O unfallen one, O Krishna — the initial a is elided in sandhi after me |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 21 mean?
Arjuna speaks for the first time, and what he asks for is position. Stop the chariot between the two armies. He is not fleeing and not attacking; he wants to stand where he can see both sides at once. Everything Krishna later teaches him grows out of that request to look before striking.
What does hrishikesham tada vakyam idam aha mahipate mean?
Sanjaya is telling a blind king what a seeing man said. Arjuna spoke these words to Hṛṣīkeśa — Krishna, master of the senses — asking him to halt the chariot midfield. The one who commands the senses is asked to steer, and he does exactly as he is asked.
Why does Arjuna call Krishna Acyuta in this verse?
Acyuta means the one who never slips, never falls from his own nature. Arjuna reaches for that name in the moment before his own collapse. It is the instinct of someone who senses he is about to give way and speaks to whatever in the world does not.
Is asking to stand between the two armies a sign of doubt or of courage?
Both, and they are not opposites here. Arjuna could have charged without looking; many do. He chooses instead to face what he is about to destroy. The grief that follows is the cost of that honesty. Courage often begins as the willingness to see clearly, and then to keep standing there.
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Commentary
Arjuna's first words in the Gītā are not a question about dharma. They are a driving instruction. Place me between — not behind the lines, not charging, but in the exact middle, where both armies are equally visible. He wants to see whom he must fight. The name he uses is Acyuta, the unfallen, and he is about to fall apart in front of him. Notice that the teaching begins because a man asked to be brought somewhere he could see clearly. You will ask the same thing, sooner or later, about a conflict you are already inside. Ask to be driven to the middle first.