Duryodhana sweeps the rest of his army into the count: many more heroes, variously armed, all skilled in war and ready to die for him.
After naming his great champions, Duryodhana adds the words "and others" to gather up everyone left uncounted. The verse is not a teaching but an inventory; it shows a king reciting the full weight of his strength aloud.
And there are many other heroes ready to give up their lives for my sake, armed with various weapons, all skilled in battle.
Duryodhana is still speaking to his teacher Drona, and having listed his named champions he now reaches past the list to fold the whole remaining host into the picture.
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.
Still speaking to his teacher, he says 'and others,' and with that one phrase folds in every warrior the named list left uncounted; his strength is too great to recite one by one.
Across Advaita, Śuddhādvaita, Bhakti, and the modern voicesĀnandagiri · Dhanapati · Nīlakaṇṭha · Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara · Tilak · RamsukhdasIn Ānandagiri, Dhanapati, and 5 others’ words
Duryodhana is still speaking to his teacher Drona, and with the words 'and others' (anye cha) he sweeps the rest of his army into the picture. The named list of champions was not meant to be complete; this phrase gathers up everyone left uncounted. The commentators fill in sample names to show how large that remainder is: Shalya and Kritavarma, or Bahlika, Shalya, Bhagadatta and Jayadratha. The point is that the king's strength is too vast to recite one by one.
These many have given up their lives for his sake; they hold him dearer than their own breath, ready to die for his victory and not turn back from the fight.
Across Advaita, Śuddhādvaita, Bhakti, Bhedābheda, and the modern voicesĀnandagiri · Dhanapati · Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara · Tilak · Ramsukhdas · BhāskaraIn Ānandagiri, Dhanapati, and 5 others’ words
These many heroes have given up their lives for Duryodhana's sake. The Sanskrit is 'tyakta-jivitah', literally 'life-renounced', and it carries the sense that they have entered his army holding him dearer than their own lives. They are ready to die for his victory and will not turn back from the fight. One commentator draws a small inference from this: if these others will drop their lives for the king, then surely every warrior on his side is equally committed.
They carry every kind of arm: blades that cut and maces that strike, weapons gripped in the hand and missiles cast from it, the sheer variety of the army on display.
Across Advaita, Bhedābheda, and the modern voicesNīlakaṇṭha · Ramsukhdas · Bhāskara · Dhanapati · ĀnandagiriIn Nīlakaṇṭha, Ramsukhdas, and 3 others’ words
They are armed with many kinds of weapons. The compound 'nana-shastra-praharanah' is read as two classes of arms. 'Shastra' names the cutting or splitting weapons, the sword and its like; 'praharana' names the implements meant only for striking, the mace and its like. Some commentators sort the same line a second way, as weapons held in the hand (sword, mace, trident) versus missiles cast from the hand (arrows, javelins, spears), and the lists offered include the discus, sword, mace and club. Either way the verse is stressing the sheer variety of the army's arms.
And all of them are skilled in war; weapons are fruitless without the craft of using them, so he names their mastery of every manoeuvre, of fighting from elephant, chariot and horse.
Across Advaita, Bhedābheda, Śuddhādvaita, Bhakti, and the modern voicesĀnandagiri · Dhanapati · Ramsukhdas · Bhāskara · Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara · TilakIn Ānandagiri, Dhanapati, and 5 others’ words
Finally, all of them are skilled in war ('sarve yuddha-visharadah'). One commentator points out why this clause matters: however many weapons a soldier carries, they are fruitless without skill in using them, so the verse closes by affirming that skill. The skill named is not only handling each weapon but the whole craft of battle: how to fight, with what stratagem and manoeuvre, how to array the troops, including combat with elephants, chariots and horses.
This is the shared ground; it can be carried as it is.
A few questions to carry
These ask for understanding, not recall; each answer is settled by the commentary itself.
Carry this with youwhat stays
Notice the turn at the end of Duryodhana's speech. After counting champion upon champion, he does not sound triumphant; he asks his teacher, 'How am I to express my gratitude to them in your presence?' A man with this much force on his side is still reaching for reassurance, still tallying his strength out loud. That is worth sitting with. The mind that keeps listing its advantages is often the mind that is quietly uneasy, and no inventory of weapons or allies finally settles it. Watch for that motion in yourself: the urge to recite your defenses can be a sign of the very anxiety it tries to cover.
Notice how the man with the most force on his side is still tallying it out loud; when you find yourself reciting your own defenses, sit with the unease that the inventory is trying to cover.
Read deeper
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Word by word
All the commentary, woven together
The commentary, woven together
machine-assisted draft, pending review
Convergence
uryodhana is still speaking to his teacher Drona, and with the words 'and others' (anye cha) he sweeps the rest of his army into the picture. The named list of champions was not meant to be complete; this phrase gathers up everyone left uncounted. The commentators fill in sample names to show how large that remainder is: Shalya and Kritavarma, or Bahlika, Shalya, Bhagadatta and Jayadratha. The point is that the king's strength is too vast to recite one by one.
Braided from 7 commentators
Śrī Ānandagiri · Dhanapati Sūri · Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī · Lokmanya Tilak · Swami Ramsukhdas
These many heroes have given up their lives for Duryodhana's sake. The Sanskrit is 'tyakta-jivitah', literally 'life-renounced', and it carries the sense that they have entered his army holding him dearer than their own lives. They are ready to die for his victory and will not turn back from the fight. One commentator draws a small inference from this: if these others will drop their lives for the king, then surely every warrior on his side is equally committed.
Braided from 7 commentators
Śrī Ānandagiri · Dhanapati Sūri · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī · Lokmanya Tilak · Swami Ramsukhdas · Śrī Bhāskara
They are armed with many kinds of weapons. The compound 'nana-shastra-praharanah' is read as two classes of arms. 'Shastra' names the cutting or splitting weapons, the sword and its like; 'praharana' names the implements meant only for striking, the mace and its like. Some commentators sort the same line a second way, as weapons held in the hand (sword, mace, trident) versus missiles cast from the hand (arrows, javelins, spears), and the lists offered include the discus, sword, mace and club. Either way the verse is stressing the sheer variety of the army's arms.
Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha · Swami Ramsukhdas · Śrī Bhāskara · Dhanapati Sūri · Śrī Ānandagiri
Finally, all of them are skilled in war ('sarve yuddha-visharadah'). One commentator points out why this clause matters: however many weapons a soldier carries, they are fruitless without skill in using them, so the verse closes by affirming that skill. The skill named is not only handling each weapon but the whole craft of battle: how to fight, with what stratagem and manoeuvre, how to array the troops, including combat with elephants, chariots and horses.
Braided from 7 commentators
Śrī Ānandagiri · Dhanapati Sūri · Swami Ramsukhdas · Śrī Bhāskara · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī · Lokmanya Tilak
Divergence
Here the commentators are of one mind.
A Seeker Asks
Why does a scripture about the inner life open with a long roll-call of warriors and weapons, and what is a reader meant to take from it?
On the surface this verse is doing exactly what it appears to do: Duryodhana, surveying the battlefield to his teacher, sweeps in all the warriors he has not yet named, notes that they are ready to die for his cause, and stresses both their varied weapons and their skill in war. The commentators read it plainly as the king taking stock of his own side's strength.
Braided from 6 commentators
Śrī Ānandagiri · Dhanapati Sūri · Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī · Lokmanya Tilak
But the human texture is the point. This is a man counting his forces and, in the same breath, asking how he can ever thank them, which lets us watch a powerful figure who is outwardly formidable and inwardly unsettled. The roll-call is not spiritual instruction in itself; it sets the stage for the crisis that follows, showing the mind that trusts in numbers, arms and skill just before all of that is called into question.
Swami Ramsukhdas
Contemplation
Notice the turn at the end of Duryodhana's speech. After counting champion upon champion, he does not sound triumphant; he asks his teacher, 'How am I to express my gratitude to them in your presence?' A man with this much force on his side is still reaching for reassurance, still tallying his strength out loud. That is worth sitting with. The mind that keeps listing its advantages is often the mind that is quietly uneasy, and no inventory of weapons or allies finally settles it. Watch for that motion in yourself: the urge to recite your defenses can be a sign of the very anxiety it tries to cover.
Sit with this · 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.