Verse 1.23

योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः ।

धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ॥

1.23

Transliteration

yotsyamānānavekṣe'haṃ ya ete'tra samāgatāḥ |

dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddheryuddhe priyacikīrṣavaḥ ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

For I desire to observe those who are assembled here to fight, wishing to please in battle the evil-minded Duryodhana (the son of Dhritarashtra).

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

those about to fight
let me see
I
who
these
here
have gathered

of the son of Dhritarashtra
evil-minded
in battle
wishing to please

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

Arjuna adds that he wants to see those who have come to fight for Duryodhana, whom he calls durbuddhi, of wicked understanding. At this point his view is clear and confident: the opposing army serves a wrongdoer, and he is ready to face them. The word buddhi, understanding, will become central to the teaching, and here it appears first in its corrupted form. The verse records Arjuna's state of mind just before the turn, when he still sees the conflict as right against wrong.