यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान्। कैर्मया सह योद्धव्यमस्मिन् रणसमुद्यमे॥
yāvad etān nirīkṣe 'haṃ yoddhukāmān avasthitān / kair mayā saha yoddhavyam asmin raṇasamudyame
Arjuna wants to see who he must fight — a leader unwilling to act blindly.
Word by word (6)
- yāvat etān nirīkṣe aham
- — until I have surveyed these
- yoddhu-kāmān
- — eager to fight / desirous of battle
- avasthitān
- — arrayed / standing there
- kaiḥ
- — with whom
- mayā saha yoddhavyam
- — I must fight / it is to be fought by me
- asmin raṇa-samudyame
- — in this battle-endeavour
'I want to scan those who are eager to fight here — I need to see with whom I will have to do battle in this great conflict.' (Arjuna's request continues from V21.)
A modern analogy
Before entering a legal negotiation, a skilled lawyer insists on knowing exactly who will be across the table. Not to be intimidated — to be fully present to the reality of what they are doing. Arjuna's 'know with whom I must fight' is this same seriousness about the stakes.
Take with you
- Acting without full awareness of who is involved and what is at stake is recklessness, not courage.
- Arjuna knows this battle matters — he wants to face it with his eyes open, not closed.
- The desire to see clearly before acting is a mark of maturity, not timidity.
Arjuna's question 'kair mayā saha yoddhavyam' — 'with whom must I fight?' — is a military question with a spiritual undertone. The Gita will eventually reveal that the primary battle is internal: with one's own desires, ego, and ignorance. At this moment Arjuna asks about external opponents; he will discover the deeper question is about internal ones.
Public-domain translations (2) compare all →
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Before fighting, Arjuna wants to see — a warrior who must look before he acts.
Arjuna calls Duryodhana evil-minded — the last moment of moral clarity before grief clouds everything.
Arise and win glory! These warriors are already slain by Me — be merely the instrument, O Savyasācin!
Duryodhana catalogues the Pandava heroes — naming his fears, one by one.
A grandfather blows his conch to lift a grandson's spirits — love and war entangled.
The sound of righteous forces pierces the hearts of those who know they are on the wrong side.