Read a Lecture by Srila Prabhupada on this Verse
SaÅYa ovac
WvMau¢-ae ôzqke-Xaae Gau@ake-XaeNa >aarTa )
SaeNaYaaeå>aYaaeMaRDYae SQaaPaiYaTva rQaaetaMaMa( )) 24 ))
evam ukto håñékeço
guòäkeçena bhärata
senayor ubhayor madhye
sthäpayitvä rathottamam
SYNONYMS
saïjayaù uväca—Saïjaya said; evam—thus; uktaù—addressed; håñékeçaù—Lord Kåñëa; guòäkeçena—by Arjuna; bhärata—O descendant of Bharata; senayoù—of the armies; ubhayoù—both; madhye—in the midst; sthäpayitvä—placing; ratha-uttamam—the finest chariot.
TRANSLATION
Saïjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Kåñëa drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.
PURPORT
In this verse Arjuna is referred to as Guòäkeça. Guòäkä means sleep, and one who conquers sleep is called guòäkeça. Sleep also means ignorance. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his friendship with Kåñëa. As a great devotee of Kåñëa, he could not forget Kåñëa 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 Kåñëa’s name, form, qualities and pastimes. Thus a devotee of Kåñëa can conquer both sleep and ignorance simply by thinking of Kåñëa constantly. This is called Kåñëa consciousness, or samädhi. As Håñékeça, or the director of the senses and mind of every living entity, Kåñëa could understand Arjuna’s purpose in placing the chariot in the midst of the armies. Thus He did so, and spoke as follows.
