At a point “facing Bhishma, Drona and all the rulers of the earth,” the Divine Charioteer pulled up the reins and brought the royal chariot to a halt. As a dutiful driver, Krishna says to Arjuna, “Behold, O Partha! All the Kauravas gathered together.” These are the only words that Krishna has spoken in the entire first chapter; and these represent the sparks that set fire to and brought down the egoistic edifice of false valuations which the great hero had built for himself as a splendid dwelling place for his personality. Hereafter, we shall find how Arjuna reacted to this great challenge and ultimately got his entire “within” wrecked and shattered.

Partha means ‘Son of Pritha’ — it is a name of Arjuna; ‘Pritha’ was another name of Kunti; the Sanskrit term Partha also carries a flavour of the term Parthiva meaning ‘clay-made,’ ‘earth-formed.’ The suggestive implication of this term is very striking inasmuch as it connotes that the Geeta is the Song of Truth sung by the Immortal to the mortal Arjuna, man’s all-time representative.

Sri Sankaracharya did not comment on this sloka. The commentary starts from 2.10.