Bhagavad-gita 1.24 – 1.25 Hrsikesa directs Arjuna’s mind

uvāca pārtha pasyaitān samavetān kurun iti

Lord Krishna spoke for the first time in the Bhagavad-gita showing Arjuna the presence of Bhisma, Drona and all the other chieftains of the world, under the Kurus assembled for the battle. As the Supersoul of all living entities, Lord Krishna could understand what was going on in the mind of Arjuna. As Hrsikesa or the director of the senses and mind of every living entity, Lord Krishna knew everything. He is the original controller of the senses, just as the king is the original controller of all the activities of the state, and the citizens are secondary controllers. The Lord, situated in the hearts of all living entities, directs their senses. Lord Krishna could understand Arjuna’s purpose in placing the chariot in the midst of the armies. On the Battlefield of Kurukshetra the Lord directly controls the transcendental senses of Arjuna. Hence He drew the chariot of Arjuna in the presence of Bhisma, Drona and the other chieftains on the world.

Arjuna is called gudakesa. gudaka means sleep and one who conquers sleep is call gudakesa. Sleep implies sense gratification, ignorance or darkness. So Arjuna conquered both sleep and ignorance because of his friendship with Krishna. As a great devotee of Krishna, he could not forget Krishna even for a moment, because that is the nature of a devotee. Either in walking or in sleep, a devotee of the Lord can never be free from thinking of Krishna’s name, form, qualities and pastimes. A devotee of Krishna can conquer both sleep and ignorance simply by thinking of Krishna constantly. This is called Krishna consciousness.

Lord Krishna also called His friend as Partha or the son of Kunti or Prtha, the sister of His own father Vasudeva. This is significant because as a friend and relative, He had agreed to be the charioteer of Arjuna. Now He did not expect the son of His aunt Prtha to stop the fight. He predicted the mind of Arjuna and hence in friendly joking He pointed out at the elderly Kurus leading the battlefield for war. In fact, Lord Krishna was directing His devotee, Arjuna’s mind to make way for Srimad Bhagavad-gita to appear.