1.2

Sanskrit

दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा । आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत् ॥

dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṃ vyūḍhaṃ duryodhanas tadā ācāryam upasaṅgamya rājā vacanam abravīt

Translation

Sanjaya said: Having seen arrayed the army of the Pândavas, the Prince Duryodhana approached his teacher, and spake these words:

Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain

Explanation

Sanjaya’s narration begins here, and the report opens not with Arjuna but with Duryodhana, surveying the Pândava army and going to his own teacher, Drona, before the fighting starts. The chapter’s structure is worth tracking: Duryodhana’s own anxious speech runs from here through verse 11, before the narrative returns to the armies at large.