Bhagavad Gita - Daily One Verse Brief Explanation - II 1:24 II

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II 1:24 II

 

sanjaya uvaca

 

evam ukto hrsikeso, gudaakesena bhaarata

senayor ubhayor madhye, sthaapayitvaa rathottamam (Gita 1:24)

 

Sanjaya said:

 

" O Bharata " (born in Bharata-family), thus requested by Gudakesa

(one who has conquered over sleep viz., Arjuna), Hrsikesa (the Lord

of the senses) having placed the magnificient chariot between the

two armies.

 

From Gita Prabodhani in Hindi pg. 10-11 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

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Chapter 1, Verse 24 is as follows;

 

Evam = thus

UktaH = addressed

HrusheekeshaH = Lord Shree Krishna

Gudaakeshen = by Arjuna

Bhaarat = O King!

SenayoH = of the armies

UbhayoH = of both

Madhye = in the middle

Sthaapayitvaa = having stationed

Rathottamam = best of chariot

 

English translation:-

 

Sanjaya said, " O Dhritarashtra, as requested by Arjuna, Krishna

placed the best of chariots in between the two armies. "

 

Gudakesha is one of the titles of Arjuna. It has two meanings. The

first meaning is a person with curly hair. Guda means curly and

Kesha means hair. The second meaning, that is more popular, is a

person who has conquered sleep. Gudaakaa means sleep that is based

on a type of Yoga-Mudra and Isha means one who has total control

of. Arjuna had a reputation for being ever active and alert. He was

never lethargic. Arjuna had a unique capability of going to sleep at

a momentary notice. When, where and how long to sleep were under the

sway of his own free will. Only one who can manipulate his mind as

he likes, under the constant control of his intellect, can gain

mastery over his sleep. A subtle hint is given here by Maharshee

Vyaasa that even a person of such a stellar reputation like Arjuna

was going to succumb very soon to a dramatically overwhelming

situation and uncontrollable outpouring of debilitating emotions.

 

In the recent history, King Napoleon of France had similar

capability of total mastery over sleep.

 

Hrusheekesha is one of the titles of Lord Shree Krishna. Hrusheeka

means various organs of a physical human body and Isha means one who

has total control of. Lord Krishna being the 10th incarnation of

Lord Vishnu had a unique capability of total mastery over his

physical body, mind and intellect as he was in total alignment with

the `Brahman' i.e. the Supreme Consciousness.

 

Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to position his magnificent and divine

chariot driven by four celestial white horses, in between the armies

of Kauravaas and Pandavaas; so that he can make a fair judgement of

their relative strengths and weaknesses and come up with alternative

strategies to overcome the perceived threats and challenges.

 

Thanks & Best Regards,

 

Shrikant Joshi.

---

 

Shree Hari

Ram Ram

Thank you Shri Shrikantji Joshi for taking the initiative to support

this divine work and to Mrs. K Asani for requesting shloka

explanation on a daily basis.

From Gita Talk Moderators

Ram Ram