atha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā
dhārtarāṣṭrān kapi-dhvajaḥ
pravṛtte śastra-sampāte
dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ
hṛṣīkeśaḿ tadā vākyam
idam āha mahī-pate
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 1.20
At that time Arjuna, the son of Pandu, seated in the chariot bearing the flag marked with Hanuman, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows. O King, after looking at the sons of Dhritarashtra drawn in military array, Arjuna then spoke to Lord Krishna these words.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
The battle was just about to begin. It is understood from the above statement that the sons of Dhritarashtra were more or less disheartened by the unexpected arrangement of military force by the Pandavas, who were guided by the direct instructions of Lord Krishna on the battlefield. The emblem of Hanuman on the flag of Arjuna is another sign of victory because Hanuman cooperated with Lord Rama in the battle between Rama and Ravana, and Lord Rama emerged victorious. Now both Rama and Hanuman were present on the chariot of Arjuna to help him. Lord Krishna is Rama Himself, and wherever Lord Rama is, His eternal servitor Hanuman and His eternal consort Sita, the goddess of fortune, are present. Therefore, Arjuna had no cause to fear any enemies whatsoever. And above all, the Lord of the senses, Lord Krishna, was personally present to give him direction. Thus, all good counsel was available to Arjuna in the matter of executing the battle. In such auspicious conditions, arranged by the Lord for His eternal devotee, lay the signs of assured victory.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
No commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur.
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
1.20 – 1.25 Arjuna said — Sanjaya said — Thus, directed by him, Sri Krsna did immediately as He had been directed, while Bhisma, Drona and others and all the kings were looking on. Such is the prospect of victory for your men.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
At that very moment after appraising the army of the Kauravas, when the reverberations were at there culmination Arjuna addressed Lord Krishna as Hrsihekesh the master of the senses.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Sri Madhvacharya did not comment on this sloka.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
As the Kaurava army became fearful, to the contrary the Pandava army remained fearless and their boldness increased. This is shown by mentioning Arjunas flag which displays as its emblem that fearless hero Hanuman who diminishes the courage of the enemy. At the moment, at the very brink of battle when the clash of weapons was almost about to start, Arjuna held up his invincible bow named Gandiva which was given to him by Agni, the demigod of fire and calmly looked upon the well arrayed army of the Kauravas before him and spoke to the Lord Krishna addressing Him as Hrsikesa the master of the senses. The use of the vocative epithet mahi- pati meaning O lord of the earth in reference to Dhritarastra is sardonic indicating that his very ruler ship of the earth will be terminated due to a lack of righteousness.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
arya did not comment on this sloka. The commentary starts from 2.10
Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:
1.12 — 1.29 Sri Abhinavgupta did not comment upon this sloka.
Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:
atha vyavasthitan drstva
dhartarastran kapi-dhvajah
pravrtte sastra-sampate
dhanur udyamya pandavah
hrsikesam tada vakyam
idam aha mahi-pate
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
atha — thereupon; vyavasthitān — situated; dṛṣṭvā — looking upon; dhārtarāṣṭrān — the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra; kapi-dhvajaḥ — he whose flag was marked with Hanumān; pravṛtte — while about to engage; śastra-sampāte — in releasing his arrows; dhanuḥ — bow; udyamya — taking up; pāṇḍavaḥ — the son of Pāṇḍu (Arjuna); hṛṣīkeśam — unto Lord Kṛṣṇa; tadā — at that time; vākyam — words; idam — these; āha — said; mahī-pate — O King.
