Bg. 1.16-18 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

अनन्तविजयं राजा कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिरः । नकुलः सहदेवश्च सुघोषमणिपुष्पकौ ॥ १६ ॥ काश्यश्च परमेष्वास: शिखण्डी च महारथ: । धृष्टद्युम्न‍ो विराटश्च सात्यकिश्‍चापराजित: ॥ १७ ॥ द्रुपदो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्वश: पृथिवीपते । सौभद्रश्च महाबाहु: शङ्खान्दध्मु: पृथक्पृथक् ॥ १८ ॥

Verse text

anantavijayaṁ rājā kuntī-putro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca sughoṣa-maṇipuṣpakau kāśyaś ca parameṣv-āsaḥ śikhaṇḍī ca mahā-rathaḥ dhṛṣṭadyumno virāṭaś ca sātyakiś cāparājitaḥ drupado draupadeyāś ca sarvaśaḥ pṛthivī-pate saubhadraś ca mahā-bāhuḥ śaṅkhān dadhmuḥ pṛthak pṛthak

Synonyms

ananta-vijayam — the conch named Ananta-vijaya ; rājā — the king ; kuntī-putraḥ — the son of Kuntī ; yudhiṣṭhiraḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira ; nakulaḥ — Nakula ; sahadevaḥ — Sahadeva ; ca — and ; sughoṣa-maṇipuṣpakau — the conches named Sughoṣa and Maṇipuṣpaka ; kāśyaḥ — the King of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) ; ca — and ; parama-iṣu-āsaḥ — the great archer ; śikhaṇḍī — Śikhaṇḍī ; ca — also ; mahā-rathaḥ — one who can fight alone against thousands ; dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ — Dhṛṣṭadyumna (the son of King Drupada) ; virāṭaḥ — Virāṭa (the prince who gave shelter to the Pāṇḍavas while they were in disguise) ; ca — also ; sātyakiḥ — Sātyaki (the same as Yuyudhāna, the charioteer of Lord Kṛṣṇa) ; ca — and ; aparājitaḥ — who had never been vanquished ; drupadaḥ — Drupada, the King of Pāṣcāla ; draupadeyāḥ — the sons of Draupadī ; ca — also ; sarvaśaḥ — all ; pṛthivī-pate — O King ; saubhadraḥ — Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadrā ; ca — also ; mahā-bāhuḥ — mighty-armed ; śaṅkhān — conchshells ; dadhmuḥ — blew ; pṛthak pṛthak — each separately.

Translation

King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Kuntī, blew his conchshell, the Ananta-vijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughoṣa and Maṇipuṣpaka. That great archer the King of Kāśī, the great fighter Śikhaṇḍī, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Virāṭa, the unconquerable Sātyaki, Drupada, the sons of Draupadī, and others, O King, such as the mighty-armed son of Subhadrā, all blew their respective conchshells.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

15-16. Kṛṣṇa blew Pāṣcajanya, Arjuna blew Devadatta, and Bhīma of fearful deeds blew the great conch Pauṇḍra. Yudhiṣṭhira, son of Kuntī, blew Anantavijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew their conches Sughoṣa and Manipuṣpaka. 17-18. Then the king of Kāśī, the greatest archer, Śikhaṇḍī, a mahā-ratha, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Virāṭa and Sātyaki, who could not be defeated, Drupada, the sons of Draupadī, and mighty-armed Abhimanyu blew their conches one after the other.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

15-16. Kṛṣṇa blew Paṣcajanya, Arjuna blew Devadatta, and Bhīma of fearful deeds blew the great conch Pauṇḍra. Yudhiṣṭhira, son of Kuntī, blew Anantavijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew their conches Sughoṣa and Manipuṣpaka. 17-18. Then the king of Kāṣī, who was the greatest archer, the mahāratha Śikhaṇḍi, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Virāṭa and Sātyaki, who shone with his bow, Drupada, the sons of Draupadī, and mighty-armed Ahimanyu blew their conches one after the other, O lord of the earth.

Translation (Bhurijana Dasa)

King Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conchshell, the Ananta‑vijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosa and Manipuspaka. That great archer the King of Kasi, the great fighter Sikhandi, Dhrstadyumna, Virata, the unconquerable Satyaki, Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and the others, O King, such as the mighty‑armed son of Subhadra, all blew their respective conchshells. (cn/DS) All these conchshells had very significant importance. Only all these warriors whose conchshells had names, survived the battlefield. Except the unconquerable Satyaki who also survived.

Purport

Saṣjaya informed King Dhṛtarāṣṭra very tactfully that his unwise policy of deceiving the sons of Pāṇḍu and endeavoring to enthrone his own sons on the seat of the kingdom was not very laudable. The signs already clearly indicated that the whole Kuru dynasty would be killed in that great battle. Beginning with the grandsire, Bhīṣma, down to the grandsons like Abhimanyu and others – including kings from many states of the world – all were present there, and all were doomed. The whole catastrophe was due to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, because he encouraged the policy followed by his sons.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The names of the conch shells are listed here, starting with Kṛṣṇa’s Pāṣcajanya. The word aparājitaḥ means unconquerable. However, it can be read cāpa rājitaḥ, by including the previous ca as part of the word instead a separate word meaning “and”, in which case it means “equipped with a bow.”

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

The names of the conches starting with Kṛṣṇa’s Paṅcajanya are listed. The word hṛṣikeśa (master of the senses) used in describing the Lord indicates that the Lord would help this army (He would help by directing their senses skilfully). Mentioning the names of the conches indicates that these persons had many conches of divine nature. The word rājā indicates that Yudhiṣṭhira had performed the rājāsūya sacrifice. [Note: He was not recognized as king until after the battle.] The word bhīma karma (man of ferocious actions) indicates that Bhīma had killed many demons such as Hiḍimbā. The word dhanaṣjaya indicates that Arjuna had gathered unlimited treasures when he went out to conquer the directions. Thus the outstanding nature of the Pāṇḍava army is indicated. The opposing army, not having these descriptive names, was therefore inferior. Kāśya indicates the king of Kāśi, who was a great archer (parameṣvāsaḥ). Sātyaki was shining with his bow (cāpa rājitaḥ). “O Dhṛtarāṣṭra, lord of the earth (pṛthivī pate), your bad advice has brought about this calamity in the form of the destruction of the dynasty.” That is the suggestion of addressing the king as “lord of the earth.”