"Confirm with your own eyes who you are fighting against."
Arjuna asked to have the chariot moved forward so that he could closely observe with whom he would be fighting. At this point, he was not trying to escape from the battle. He was carefully observing the enemy soldiers and determining who he would face.
However, seeing an army from a distance and seeing the faces of each individual up close are not the same thing. The calm assessment that Arjuna tried to make as a warrior eventually confronts him with the reality that his opponents were not just enemies, but also people he knew. This act of "seeing" becomes the gateway to a major change in Arjuna's heart.
Japanese Translation from the Geeta Press Edition - Chapter 1, Section 22: "With Whom Do I Fight?"
I observe the warriors, eager for battle. With whom shall I fight in this battlefield? || 22 ||
Vocabulary
"yāvat" means "during that time" or "until".
etān means "these people," and here, it refers to the warriors who are positioned as enemies.
"nirīkṣe" means "to observe carefully" or "to look at attentively."
"aham" means "I".
"yoddhukāmān avasthitān" means, "those who are positioned for battle."
kaiḥ is "with whom".
mayā saha yoddhavyam means,
"I must fight with."
asmin raṇasamudyame means,
"in this plan of battle,"
"in this combat."
Translation
"And, until I have carefully observed these warriors who are preparing to fight, please leave the tanks in place."
In this battle, I want to see who I have to fight against."
Annotative Translation
Arjuna, pleaded with Bhagavan Shri Krishna, saying:
Please move tanks between the two armies, and place them in the appropriate locations, for only the necessary amount of time.
If I do that, I will be able to see all of the warriors who are preparing for battle in their combat gear.
And we can observe them closely from a nearby location.
The purpose of this wish was to clearly know who I would personally be fighting against and who I would have to team up with in the terrifying battle that is about to begin.