1.22 So that I may see Arjuna speaks
यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान्
कैर्मया सह योद्धव्यमस्मिन्रणसमुद्यमे
yāvadetān nirīkṣhe ’haṁ yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān
kairmayā saha yoddhavyam asmin raṇa-samudyame
so that I may see those standing here eager for battle, and know with whom I must fight in this undertaking of war.
Explanation
And know with whom I must fight.
The reason is stated as reconnaissance: to see those eager for battle, and know who they are.
It is a soldier's request, made in a soldier's language. What he gets is not tactical information but recognition — which is a different faculty, and it is not under his control.
Word by word
- yāvat
- as many as
- etān
- these
- nirīkṣhe
- look
- aham
- I
- yoddhu-kāmān
- for the battle
- avasthitān
- arrayed
- kaiḥ
- with whom
- mayā
- by me
- saha
- together
- yoddhavyam
- must fight
- asmin
- in this
- raṇa-samudyame
- great combat
Long-press or right-click the image to copy it. Nothing is uploaded — it is drawn here, on your device.