Chapter I · Śloka 21
Arjuna uvāca
सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत |
यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान् ||
यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान् ||
senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṃ sthāpaya me 'cyuta |
yāvad etān nirīkṣe 'haṃ yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān ||
yāvad etān nirīkṣe 'haṃ yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān ||
O Achyuta, please place my chariot between the two armies so that I may observe those who are assembled here eager to fight.
Arjuna's request is tactical — survey the field before battle. He addresses Krishna as Acyuta, the infallible, the one who never falls. The title is ironic foreshadowing: Arjuna himself is about to fall into grief, and it will take the Unfailing to lift him.