Bhagavad Gita · Arjuna Vishada YogaChapter 1, Shloka 25 (1.25)

Krishna's first words — "behold". In the seven-hundred-shloka Gita, Krishna's first sentence is just this: "Partha, behold these Kurus gathered together." No teaching, no doctrine. One instruction — behold.

Where did he place the chariot? Arjuna had only said "between the two armies". Krishna placed the chariot right in front of Bhishma and Drona. Is this a coincidence? The shloka gives no reason. Many teachers see in it a deliberate step by Krishna — bringing Arjuna face to face with his most difficult relationships, so that the crisis hidden within would now come into the open. Madhusudana says that Krishna, the knower of everyone's hidden intentions, had understood that shoka (grief) and moha (delusion) had arisen in Arjuna.

"Kurūn" — the Kurus. Krishna says "behold these Kurus" — not "the Kauravas" or "the enemies". The Pandavas too belong to the Kuru line — both sides are of the same family. Many modern teachers see a hint in this choice of word: Krishna turns Arjuna's attention away from an "enemy army" towards a family. This is an interpretation; Madhusudana does not comment on this word separately.

Madhusudana's two interpretations of "Partha":

1. Reassurance: "Pritha (Kunti) is my father's (Vasudeva's) sister, and you are her son" — reminding him of this relationship, Krishna comforts Arjuna: "with me as your charioteer, be at ease, be fearless, and behold all the Kurus; as a charioteer I am extremely careful."
2. Light teasing (sopahāsam): Madhusudana says Krishna spoke to Arjuna with a touch of humour — with the address "Partha" he hinted, as it were, that grief and delusion had come over Arjuna just as over Pritha (Kunti). Note: in this interpretation Madhusudana links this to "the nature of women" — this is a notion of his time which today's readers may well not accept. We are recording his interpretation honestly here, not endorsing it.

Laying the ground for the teaching. Madhusudana's conclusion: had Krishna intended only to place the chariot, Sanjaya would simply have said "he placed the chariot in the middle". The sentence that goes on to "pashya" (behold) was spoken to strengthen Arjuna's courage.