Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1.24

sanjaya uvaca

evam ukto hrsikeso

gudakesena bharata

senayor ubhayor madhye

sthapayitva rathottamam

SYNONYMS

sanjayah uvaca -- Sanjaya said; evam -- thus; uktah -- addressed; hrsikesah -- Lord Krsna; gudakesena -- by Arjuna; bharata -- O descendant of Bharata; senayoh -- of the armies; ubhayoh -- both; madhye -- in the midst; sthapayitva -- placing; ratha-uttamam -- the finest chariot.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

In this verse Arjuna is referred to as Gudakesa. Gudaka means sleep, and one who conquers sleep is called gudakesa. Sleep also means ignorance. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his friendship with Krsna. As a great devotee of Krsna, he could not forget Krsna 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 Krsna's name, form, qualities and pastimes. Thus a devotee of Krsna can conquer both sleep and ignorance simply by thinking of Krsna constantly. This is called Krsna consciousness, or samadhi. As Hrsikesa, or the director of the senses and mind of every living entity, Krsna could understand Arjuna's purpose in placing the chariot in the midst of the armies. Thus He did so, and spoke as follows.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness