हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते ।अर्जुन उवाच ।सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत ॥
hṛṣīkeśaṃ tadā vākyam idam āha mahīpate |arjuna uvāca |senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṃ sthāpaya me 'cyuta ||
- हृषीकेशम् · hṛṣīkeśam
- to Hrishikesha (Krishna)
- तदा · tadā
- then
- वाक्यम् · vākyam
- speech, words
- इदम् · idam
- this
- आह · āha
- said, spoke
- महीपते · mahīpate
- O lord of the earth (Dhritarashtra)
- अर्जुन · arjuna
- Arjuna
- उवाच · uvāca
- said
- सेनयोः · senayoḥ
- of the two armies
- उभयोः · ubhayoḥ
- of both
- मध्ये · madhye
- in the middle, between
- रथम् · ratham
- the chariot
- स्थापय · sthāpaya
- place, station, halt
- मे · me
- my, for me
- अच्युत · acyuta
- O Achyuta (the infallible — Krishna)
“…and spoke these words to Hrishikesha, O lord of the earth. Arjuna said: Halt my chariot between the two armies, O Achyuta.”
— Original plain-language translation
Arjuna commands his charioteer — the Lord himself — to drive him into no-man's-land. 'Achyuta' means the one who never falls: the irony is that Arjuna is about to fall apart, steadied only by the one who never does.
— Reader's notes (original)