Shloka 20
अथ व्यवस्थितान् दृष्टवा धार्तराष्ट्रानू कपिध्वज: । प्रवृत्ते शस्त्रसम्पाते धनुरुद्यम्य पाण्डव:,हे राजन! इसके बाद कपिध्वज अर्जुनने मोर्चा बाँधकर डटे हुए धृतराष्ट्र- सम्बन्धियोंको देखकर, उस शस्त्र चलनेकी तैयारीके समय धनुष उठाकर हृषीकेश श्रीकृष्ण महाराजसे यह वचन कहा--'हे अच्युत! मेरे रथको दोनों सेनाओंके बीचमें खड़ा कीजिये
atha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā dhārtarāṣṭrān kapidhvajaḥ | pravṛtte śastra-sampāte dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Dann, als er die Söhne Dhṛtarāṣṭras in fester Schlachtordnung sah, hob Arjuna — dessen Banner das Zeichen Hanumans trug — in dem Augenblick, da der Waffenzusammenprall beginnen sollte, seinen Bogen und machte sich bereit, zu Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa) zu sprechen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
This verse sets the ethical stage: just as violence is about to begin, Arjuna pauses to look directly at those he must fight. The coming teaching arises from this confrontation between duty in war and the moral weight of harming one’s own kin.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna seeing the Kaurava forces arrayed for battle. As the exchange of weapons is about to start, Arjuna lifts his bow—signaling readiness—yet this moment leads into his request to Kṛṣṇa to position the chariot between the armies so he can observe them.