अथ व्यवस्थितान्दृष्ट्वा धार्तराष्ट्रान्कपिध्वजः।
प्रवृत्ते शस्त्रसम्पाते धनुरुद्यम्य पाण्डवः॥
हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते॥ १.२०॥
Transliterationatha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā dhārtarāṣṭrān kapi-dhvajaḥ
pravṛtte śastra-sampāte dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ
hṛṣīkeśaṃ tadā vākyam idam āha mahī-pate
Word meanings
athathen
vyavasthitānarrayed, standing in position
dṛṣṭvāseeing
dhārtarāṣṭrānthe sons of Dhritarashtra
kapi-dhvajaḥhe whose banner bears the monkey (Hanuman)
pravṛtteas it was about to begin
śastra-sampātethe clash of weapons
dhanuḥbow
udyamyaraising
pāṇḍavaḥthe son of Pandu (Arjuna)
hṛṣīkeśamto Hrishikesha (Krishna)
tadāthen
vākyam idamthese words
āhasaid
mahī-pateO king
Translation
Sanjaya said:
O King, seeing the sons of Dhritarashtra
standing in battle formation,
as the clash of weapons was beginning,
Arjuna, the son of Pandu,
whose banner bore Hanuman,
raised his bow
and spoke these words to Lord Krishna.
Detailed meaning
Arjuna now enters the story. Sanjaya introduces him as kapi-dhvaja, “he whose banner bears the monkey”. In the Mahabharata, Hanuman promised Bhima that he would sit on Arjuna’s flag during the war, and his presence there is a sign of strength and protection.
Weapons are about to clash. Arjuna raises his bow, fully ready, and turns to speak to Krishna. At this moment there is no hesitation in him at all. Hold on to this picture of a confident warrior with bow in hand, because the rest of the chapter shows how that confidence changes.
Note: in many editions, the last line of this verse is counted as the beginning of verse 1.21.
Reflection
What once felt distant
now stands before us.
And as the moment begins,
something in us has already moved to respond.
A moment can seem distant in our minds—until it suddenly stands before us.
In Bhagavad Gita Shloka 1.20, Arjuna sees the sons of Dhritarashtra standing in battle formation as the clash of weapons is beginning. He raises his bow and turns to speak to Lord Krishna.
What had been approaching is now happening before him.
As he turns to speak, his response has already begun.
And honestly... many of us experience this too.
We think about a situation beforehand.
We imagine how we might handle it.
We prepare ourselves for what could happen.
But when the moment actually arrives, it is no longer something we meet only in thought.
Attention sharpens.
A thought takes shape.
We prepare to speak or act.
This shloka reminds us
What once felt distant can suddenly become immediate.
The moment may only just have become real—but something in us has already moved to respond.
Ask yourself
What happens within you
when a moment suddenly becomes real?
The moment may have only just arrived—
but something within you
has already begun to respond.
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