BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:24

BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:24

sanjaya uvaca
evam ukto hrsikeso
gudakesena bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye
sthapayitva rathottamam

WORD FOR WORD

sanjayah uvaca--Sanjaya said; evam--thus; uktah--addressed;
hrsikesah--Lord Krsna; gudakesena--by Arjuna; bharata--O descendant of
Bharata; senayoh--of the armies; ubhayoh--both; madhye--in the midst;
sthapayitva--placing; ratha-uttamam--the finest chariot.

TRANSLATION

Sanjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by
Arjuna, Lord Krsna drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies
of both parties.

PURPORT

In this verse Arjuna is referred to as Gudakesa. Gudaka means sleep,
and one who conquers sleep is called gudakesa. Sleep also means
ignorance. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his
friendship with Krsna. As a great devotee of Krsna, he could not
forget Krsna even for a moment, because that is the nature of a
devotee. Either in waking or in sleep, a devotee of the Lord can never
be free from thinking of Krsna's name, form, qualities and pastimes.
Thus a devotee of Krsna can conquer both sleep and ignorance simply by
thinking of Krsna constantly. This is called Krsna consciousness, or
samadhi. As Hrsikesa, or the director of the senses and mind of every
living entity, Krsna could understand Arjuna's purpose in placing the
chariot in the midst of the armies. Thus He did so, and spoke as
follows.

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with
permission.