Chapter 1 ; Verse 16 - 18 ; Bhagavad Gita

TEXT 16-18

anantavijayam raja 
kunti-putro yudhisthirah 
nakulah sahadevas ca 
sughosa-manipuspakau

kasyas ca paramesv-asah 
sikhandi ca maha-rathah 
dhrstadyumno viratas ca 
satyakis caparajitah

drupado draupadeyas ca 
sarvasah prthivi-pate 
saubhadras ca maha-bahuh 
sankhan dadhmuh prthak prthak

SYNONYMS

ananta-vijayam--the conch named Ananta-vijaya; raja--the king;kunti-putrah--the son of Kunti; yudhisthirah--Yudhisthira; nakulah--Nakula; sahadevah--Sahadeva; ca--and; sughosa-manipuspakau--the conches named Sughosa and Manipuspaka; kasyah--the King of Kasi (Varanasi); ca--and; parama-isu-asah--the great archer; sikhandi--Sikhandi; ca--also; maha-rathah--one who can fight alone against thousands; dhrstadyumnah--Dhrstadyumna (the son of King Drupada);viratah--Virata (the prince who gave shelter to the Pandavas while they were in disguise); ca--also; satyakih--Satyaki (the same as Yuyudhana, the charioteer of Lord Krsna); ca--and; aparajitah--who were never vanquished before; drupadah--Drupada, the King of Pancala;draupadeyah--the sons of Draupadi; ca--also; sarvasah--all; prthivi-pate--O King; saubhadrah--the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu); ca--also;maha-bahuh--mighty-armed; sankhan--conchshells; dadhmuh--blew;prthak prthak--each separately.

TRANSLATION

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 and the unconquerable Satyaki, Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and the others, O King, such as the son of Subhadra, greatly armed, all blew their respective conchshells.

PURPORT

   Sanjaya informed King Dhrtarastra very tactfully that his unwise policy of deceiving the sons of Pandu 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, Bhisma, 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 Dhrtarastra, because he encouraged the policy followed by his sons.