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Chapter 1: Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra

Bg 1.24
TEXT 24
sanjaya uvaca
evam ukto hrsikeso
gudakesena bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye
sthapayitva rathottamam
SYNONYMS
sanjayah—Sanjaya; uvaca—said; evam—thus; uktah—addressed; hrsikesah—Lord Krsna; gudakesena—by Arjuna; bharata—O descendant of Bharata; senayoh—of armies; ubhayoh—of both; madhye—in the midst of; sthapayitva—by placing; rathottamam—the finest chariot.
TRANSLATION
Sanjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, being thus 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, quality 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.

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Copyright (c) 1972 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada