Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and Abhimanyu sound the last conches in Sanjaya's roll-call of the Pandava side.
This verse names the final set of warriors blowing their conches, and notes that each one sounded his own horn separately rather than in a single combined blast. It is the closing entry in the list, the point at which the swelling sound becomes the signal that the war is about to begin.
Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, and the mighty-armed son of Subhadra: all of them, O king, blew their own conches.
Sanjaya has been telling the blind king Dhritarashtra, addressed here as lord of the earth, the roll of who blew their conches; this verse completes that roll on the Pandava side and turns the gathering sound toward the start of battle.
Where they agreethe convergence
Across schools and centuries the commentators come to the same ground. These are the points they share, and the voices that hold each one.
Drupada lifts his conch; so do the five young sons of Draupadi, and Abhimanyu too, the mighty-armed son of Subhadra and Arjuna, each one sounding his own.
Across Bhakti, Śuddhādvaita, Advaita, and the modern voicesŚrīdhara · Puruṣottama · Dhanapati · TilakIn Śrīdhara, Puruṣottama, and 2 others’ words
The verse names the last set of conch-blowers in Sanjaya's roll-call of the Pandava side. King Drupada blows his conch, as do the sons of Draupadi (the five young princes born to her), and so does Saubhadra, that is, Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and Arjuna, who is called 'mighty-armed' (maha-bahu). The commentators simply identify these warriors and confirm that each one sounded his own conch.
Hear them severally: each warrior raises his own conch, not one blended blast but many distinct horns sounding one upon another, swelling into the army's full roar.
Across Bhakti, Śuddhādvaita, and the modern voicesŚrīdhara · Puruṣottama · TilakIn Śrīdhara, Puruṣottama, and 1 others’ words
The phrase 'prithak prithak' means 'severally' or 'each one separately': every warrior blew his own conch as an individual act, not in a single combined blast. The commentators preserve this sense of many distinct horns sounding one after another, building the full din of the army.
Spread the praise across them all: each lofty title here, great bowman and the rest, settles on every one of these warriors and not on any single name alone.
Across AdvaitaĀnandagiri · DhanapatiIn Ānandagiri and Dhanapati’s words
Several brief grammatical glosses note that the four descriptive qualifications carried in this stretch of verses (such as 'great bowman' and the rest) are to be applied distributively, that is, each qualifier attaches to each warrior named, so that the praise is spread across all of them rather than fixed to one.
Sanjaya speaks now to the blind king, calling him lord of the earth; and in that name he asks the anxious one to steady himself and listen closely to what comes.
Across Śuddhādvaita, Advaita, and the modern voicesPuruṣottama · Dhanapati · Tilak · RamsukhdasIn Puruṣottama, Dhanapati, and 2 others’ words
The verse is spoken by Sanjaya to the blind king Dhritarashtra, who is addressed here as 'Earth-lord' (prithivi-pati, lord of the earth). Some commentators read this form of address as Sanjaya urging the anxious king to steady himself and listen closely to what is coming.
This sounding of the conches opens the war; the swelling roar is the signal that battle now begins, tearing at the hearts of your sons and making sky and earth resound.
Across Bhedābheda, and the modern voicesSivananda · Bhāskara · RamsukhdasIn Sivananda, Bhāskara, and 1 others’ words
This conch-blowing marks the formal commencement of the battle; the swelling sound is the signal that the war is about to begin, and other commentators add that the same roar tore at the hearts of Dhritarashtra's sons and made sky and earth resound, which is the effect taken up in the verse that follows.
This is the shared ground; it can be carried as it is. Below is where they differ.
Where they differthe divergence
Advaita Vedānta, in their fuller words
This commentator gives a specific reading of the address 'Earth-lord': it is Sanjaya speaking to the blind king Dhritarashtra, and some take it to mean 'O Earth-lord, become firm and hear,' that is, a gentle command to the king to compose himself before the report continues. The grammatical point is also stressed, that each of the four qualifiers connects with each warrior named.
A modern reading, in their fuller words
These voices look beyond the bare list to the meaning of the scene. One notes a further warrior, Satyaki, called 'unconquered,' that is, never beaten in battle, and carries forward the consequence of the noise: that din rent the hearts of Dhritarashtra's sons and made both sky and earth resound. The other dwells at length on who is named and who is not, observing that in the conch-blowing Sanjaya names only Bhishma from the Kaurava side but names eighteen heroes on the Pandava side; from this he reads that Sanjaya has no honor in his heart for the side of adharma (unrighteousness) and so will not describe it at length, while he reveres the side of dharma (righteousness), Krishna and the Pandavas, and takes joy in describing them more fully. (Note: the label 'Bhaskara' here marks the source key; this passage is non-sectarian narrative comment, not a Bhedabheda doctrinal reading.)
A few questions to carry
These ask for understanding, not recall; each answer is settled by the commentary itself.
Carry this with youwhat stays
Return to this verse over the coming days. Read once, it stays a phrase; sat with, it begins to settle.
Notice how a great account pauses to name each one and let each sound separately, so that no warrior is folded namelessly into the crowd.
Read deeper
Everything a full study holds, folded below.
Word by word
All the commentary, woven together
The commentary, woven together
machine-assisted draft, pending review
Convergence
he verse names the last set of conch-blowers in Sanjaya's roll-call of the Pandava side. King Drupada blows his conch, as do the sons of Draupadi (the five young princes born to her), and so does Saubhadra, that is, Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and Arjuna, who is called 'mighty-armed' (maha-bahu). The commentators simply identify these warriors and confirm that each one sounded his own conch.
Śrīdhara Svāmī · Śrī Puruṣottama · Dhanapati Sūri · Lokmanya Tilak
The phrase 'prithak prithak' means 'severally' or 'each one separately': every warrior blew his own conch as an individual act, not in a single combined blast. The commentators preserve this sense of many distinct horns sounding one after another, building the full din of the army.
Śrīdhara Svāmī · Śrī Puruṣottama · Lokmanya Tilak
Several brief grammatical glosses note that the four descriptive qualifications carried in this stretch of verses (such as 'great bowman' and the rest) are to be applied distributively, that is, each qualifier attaches to each warrior named, so that the praise is spread across all of them rather than fixed to one.
Śrī Ānandagiri · Dhanapati Sūri
The verse is spoken by Sanjaya to the blind king Dhritarashtra, who is addressed here as 'Earth-lord' (prithivi-pati, lord of the earth). Some commentators read this form of address as Sanjaya urging the anxious king to steady himself and listen closely to what is coming.
Śrī Puruṣottama · Dhanapati Sūri · Lokmanya Tilak · Swami Ramsukhdas
This conch-blowing marks the formal commencement of the battle; the swelling sound is the signal that the war is about to begin, and other commentators add that the same roar tore at the hearts of Dhritarashtra's sons and made sky and earth resound, which is the effect taken up in the verse that follows.
Swami Sivananda · Śrī Bhāskara · Swami Ramsukhdas
Divergence
Advaita Vedānta
This commentator gives a specific reading of the address 'Earth-lord': it is Sanjaya speaking to the blind king Dhritarashtra, and some take it to mean 'O Earth-lord, become firm and hear,' that is, a gentle command to the king to compose himself before the report continues. The grammatical point is also stressed, that each of the four qualifiers connects with each warrior named.
Dhanapati Sūri
Modern
These voices look beyond the bare list to the meaning of the scene. One notes a further warrior, Satyaki, called 'unconquered,' that is, never beaten in battle, and carries forward the consequence of the noise: that din rent the hearts of Dhritarashtra's sons and made both sky and earth resound. The other dwells at length on who is named and who is not, observing that in the conch-blowing Sanjaya names only Bhishma from the Kaurava side but names eighteen heroes on the Pandava side; from this he reads that Sanjaya has no honor in his heart for the side of adharma (unrighteousness) and so will not describe it at length, while he reveres the side of dharma (righteousness), Krishna and the Pandavas, and takes joy in describing them more fully. (Note: the label 'Bhaskara' here marks the source key; this passage is non-sectarian narrative comment, not a Bhedabheda doctrinal reading.)
Śrī Bhāskara · Swami Ramsukhdas
A Seeker Asks
Why does the Gita spend whole verses simply listing warriors and their conches before any teaching begins?
The list is not idle. These verses set the scene of the battlefield with care, naming the great warriors of the Pandava side one by one and showing each sounding his own conch, so that the formal start of the war is felt as a real and weighty event before a word of the teaching is spoken.
Śrīdhara Svāmī · Śrī Puruṣottama · Swami Sivananda
The naming is also pointed. One commentator observes that Sanjaya names only one Kaurava hero but eighteen on the Pandava side, including Krishna, Arjuna, and Bhima, and reads in this Sanjaya's own heart: he has no reverence for the side of unrighteousness and will not dwell on it, but he honors the side of righteousness and finds joy in describing it fully. So even a list of names can quietly carry where the speaker's devotion lies.
Swami Ramsukhdas
And the scene is building toward its effect. The swelling roar of these conches is the signal that the battle has begun, a sound that, as the next verse tells, tore at the hearts of the opposing side and shook sky and earth; the long list is the in-breath before that thunder.
Swami Sivananda · Śrī Bhāskara · Swami Ramsukhdas
All the translations and commentary
Pull up a chair.
You have come to sit with this verse. When you are ready to hear the translators and the commentators in full, tap a name in The seating.