1.23
योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः ।
धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ॥
yotsyamānān avekṣe 'haṃ ya ete 'tra samāgatāḥ
dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher yuddhe priyacikīrṣavaḥ
Still Arjuna. He says the same request a second way, and names whose pleasure the enemy came to serve.
The verse
I want to see those who have assembled here about to fight, wishing in battle to please the evil-minded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (धृतराष्ट्र).
नेपालीमा
म यहाँ लड्न आएर जम्मा भएकाहरूलाई हेर्न चाहन्छु, जो युद्धमा धृतराष्ट्रका दुष्ट बुद्धि भएका छोरालाई खुसी पार्न चाहन्छन्।
Where it sits
durbuddheḥ (दुर्बुद्धेः) is Arjuna's judgment, still intact. Duryodhana is evil-minded. The men on that side came to please him. Nothing in this verse is grief. It is a clean warrior's contempt, and it is the last clean verse he speaks. Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) will answer the request by showing him Kurus, not villains.
Split: योत्स्यमानान् + अवेक्षे + अहम् + ये + एते + अत्र + समागताः + धार्तराष्ट्रस्य + दुर्बुद्धेः + युद्धे + प्रिय-चिकीर्षवः
yotsyamānān + avekṣe + aham + ye + ete + atra + samāgatāḥ + dhārtarāṣṭrasya + durbuddheḥ + yuddhe + priya-cikīrṣavaḥ
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| योत्स्यमानान् | yotsyamānān | accusative plural, future participle | those about to fight. From yudh (युध्), future middle participle. |
| अवेक्षे | avekṣe | present, 1st singular, middle | I look at. From ava-īkṣ (अव-ईक्ष्). |
| ये | ye | nominative plural | who. |
| एते | ete | nominative plural | these. |
| अत्र | atra | indeclinable | here. |
| समागताः | samāgatāḥ | nominative plural | come together, assembled. |
| धार्तराष्ट्रस्य | dhārtarāṣṭrasya | genitive | of the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (धृतराष्ट्र). Duryodhana. |
| दुर्बुद्धेः | durbuddheḥ | genitive | of the evil-minded one. dur- (दुर्-) "bad," buddhi (बुद्धि) "mind, judgment." |
| युद्धे | yuddhe | locative | in the fight. |
| प्रिय-चिकीर्षवः | priya-cikīrṣavaḥ | nominative plural | wanting to do what is dear, wishing to please. A desiderative. |
The phrases
योत्स्यमानान् अवेक्षे ऽहम् yotsyamānān avekṣe 'ham repeats the wish to look, with a sharper object. Not just men who like fighting. Men who are on the point of fighting.
ye ete 'tra samāgatāḥ (ये एते ऽत्र समागताः) is the relative. These who have assembled here. एते + अत्र ete + atra becomes ete 'tra (एते ऽत्र).
dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddheḥ (धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेः) is whose side. Of the evil-minded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (धृतराष्ट्र). Two genitives, one man. durbuddheḥ (दुर्बुद्धेः) before y (य्) becomes durbuddher (दुर्बुद्धेर्).
yuddhe priyacikīrṣavaḥ (युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः) says why those men came. Wanting, in this fight, to do what pleases him.
Sanskrit in this line
A future participle is "about to do, going to do." yotsyamāna (योत्स्यमान) is the middle future participle of yudh (युध्). The accusative plural yotsyamānān (योत्स्यमानान्) is the people he wants in his eye. It is different from yoddhukāmān (योद्धुकामान्) in 1.22, "wanting to fight," which is desire. This one is time. They are on the verge.
priyacikīrṣu (प्रियचिकीर्षु) is a desiderative, the same family as yuyutsu (युयुत्सु) in 1.1. The root kṛ (कृ) "do," run through the desiderative, means "want to do." priya (प्रिय) is the object packed in front: want to do what is dear, want to please. The nominative plural of a stem in --u (उ) is --avaḥ (अवः), which you already recited in yuyutsavaḥ (युयुत्सवः).
eḥ (एः) before a voiced consonant becomes er (एर्). durbuddheḥ yuddhe (दुर्बुद्धेः युद्धे) is durbuddher yuddhe (दुर्बुद्धेर् युद्धे).
Say it back
Whom does he want to see, and whose pleasure did they come to serve. Give durbuddheḥ (दुर्बुद्धेः) its real bite.