Verse 1.23
Speaker: Sanjaya
Sanskrit
योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः | धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ||२३||
Transliteration (IAST)
yotsyamānānavekṣe'haṁ ya ete'tra samāgatāḥ | dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddheryuddhe priyacikīrṣavaḥ ||23||
Word-by-Word Meanings
योत्स्यमानान्-those who will fight
अवेक्षे-let me see
समागताः-assembled
दुर्बुद्धेः-of the evil-minded
प्रियचिकीर्षवः-wishing to please
Translation
Let me see those who have assembled here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded Duryodhana in this battle.
Commentary
Arjuna calls Duryodhana 'durbuddhi' (evil-minded), showing his moral clarity about the enemy's character. Yet this very clarity will paradoxically lead to his crisis - knowing his enemies are also his kin makes the moral situation unbearable.
Themes
dutydharma