Devanagari
सञ्जय उवाच
एवमुक्तो हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारत ।
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम् ॥ २४ ॥
Verse text
saṣjaya uvāca
evam ukto hṛṣīkeśo
guḍākeśena bhārata
senayor ubhayor madhye
sthāpayitvā rathottamam
Synonyms
saṣjayaḥ uvāca
—
Saṣjaya said
;
evam
—
thus
;
uktaḥ
—
addressed
;
hṛṣīkeśaḥ
—
Lord Kṛṣṇa
;
guḍākeśena
—
by Arjuna
;
bhārata
—
O descendant of Bharata
;
senayoḥ
—
of the armies
;
ubhayoḥ
—
both
;
madhye
—
in the midst
;
sthāpayitvā
—
placing
;
ratha-uttamam
—
the finest chariot.
Translation
Saṣjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Kṛṣṇa drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
24-25. When Arjuna spoke to him thus, Hṛṣīkeśa, stationing the best of chariots between the two armies, in front of Bhīṣma, Droṇa and all the princes, spoke: See these Kurus gathered here.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
24-25. When Arjuna, Guḍakeśa, spoke to him thus, Hṛṣīkeśa, stationing the best of chariots between the two armies, in front of Bīṣma, Droṇa and all the princes, spoke: See these Kurus gathered here.
Translation (Bhurijana Dasa)
Sanjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Krsna drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.
(cn/DS) Another symbol is shown here: Arjuna's name is Gudakesa, the conquerer of sleep or ignorance. This shows that his next show of ignorance will soon be conquered by Krsna the Master of the senses.
Purport
In this verse Arjuna is referred to as Guḍākeśa. Guḍākā means sleep, and one who conquers sleep is called guḍākeśa. Sleep also means ignorance. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his friendship with Kṛṣṇa. As a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he could not forget Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities and pastimes. Thus a devotee of Kṛṣṇa can conquer both sleep and ignorance simply by thinking of Kṛṣṇa constantly. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or samādhi. As Hṛṣīkeśa, or the director of the senses and mind of every living entity, Kṛṣṇa could understand Arjuna’s purpose in placing the chariot in the midst of the armies. Thus He did so, and spoke as follows.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord, Hṛṣīkeśa, though Himself the controller of everyone’s senses, was thus ordered by Arjuna, controlled just by his words. See how the Lord is controlled by prema! This is the implication of calling the Lord Hṛṣīkeśa.
Here is the significance of the word Guḍākeśa. Ākeśa means Viṣṇu (ā), Brahmā (ka) and Śiva (īśa). Guḍākeśa means Arjuna who gives them (ākeśa) the experience of the sweetness of the Lord’s affection just as sugar (guḍā) gives the experience of sweetness. [Note: Literally the word would mean “He who is the sugar for Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva.”] Therefore, Guḍākeśa refers to he who, by bringing Kṛṣṇa under his control, gave Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Śiva the opportunity to experience Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness. Where the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, the crown jewel, source of all avatāras, being controlled by prema, followed the orders of His servant Arjuna, how could Viṣṇu, Brahmā and Śiva, His mere expansions as guṇa avatāras, show off any of their powers? Instead, they felt they had reached the pinnacle of perfection by manifesting affectionate feelings for the Lord themselves (inspired by Arjuna).
The lord of the spiritual sky (Mahāviṣṇu) said:
dvijātmamajā me yuvayor didṛkṣuṇā
I brought the brāhmaṇa’s sons here because I wanted to see the two of you.