yotsyamānān avekṣe ‘haḿ
ya ete ‘tra samāgatāḥ
dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher
yuddhe priya-cikīrṣavaḥ
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 1.23
Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
It was an open secret that Duryodhana wanted to usurp the kingdom of the Pandavas by evil plans, in collaboration with his father, Dhritarashtra. Therefore, all persons who had joined the side of Duryodhana must have been birds of the same feather. Arjuna wanted to see them on the battlefield before the fight was begun, just to learn who they were, but he had no intention of proposing peace negotiations with them. It was also a fact that he wanted to see them to make an estimate of the strength which he had to face, although he was quite confident of victory because Krishna was sitting by his side.
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:
But what was it Arjuna desired to see? He desired to see those of the opposing army gathered there desirous of doing what was agreeable to Duryodhana, this is the construction.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Sri Madhvacharya did not comment on this sloka.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
It could be asked of Arjuna, doesn’t he already know the worth of his opponents on the battlefield? Certainly Arjuna is fully cognizant of the worthiness of Bhishma and Drona as case in point as well as so many others. But in this verse this objection would be clarified by Arjuna’s reply that he wishes to see all those who are favouring the evil minded Duryodhana, the son of Dhritarastra.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
1.23 Sri Sankaracharya 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:
yotsyamanan avekse ‘ham
ya ete ‘tra samagatah
dhartarastrasya durbuddher
yuddhe priya-cikirsavah
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
yotsyamānān — those who will be fighting; avekṣe — let me see; aham — I; ye — who; ete — those; atra — here; samāgatāḥ — assembled; dhārtarāṣṭrasya — for the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra; durbuddheḥ — evil-minded; yuddhe — in the fight; priya — well; cikīrṣavaḥ — wishing.
