Sanskrit
तस्य सञ्जनयन्हर्षं कुरुवृद्धः पितामहः । सिंहनादं विनद्योच्चैः शङ्खं दध्मौ प्रतापवान् ॥
tasya sañjanayan harṣaṃ kuruvṛddhaḥ pitāmahaḥ siṃhanādaṃ vinadyoccaiḥ śaṅkhaṃ dadhmau pratāpavān
Translation
To enhearten him, the Ancient of the Kurus, the Grandsire, the glorious, blew his conch, sounding on high a lion's roar.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The narrative shifts back to Sanjaya’s third-person account: Bhîshma responds to Duryodhana’s anxious speech not with words but with a deliberate act of encouragement, sounding a conch like a lion’s roar. It opens the famous conch-blowing sequence that runs through verse 19, the ceremonial overture to the battle proper.
Study deeper
Word by word
- tasyaतस्य
- his — Duryodhana's
- sañjanayanसञ्जनयन्
- kindling
- harṣaṃहर्षं
- cheer
- kuru-vṛddhaḥकुरु-वृद्धः
- the Kuru elder
- pitāmahaḥपितामहः
- the grandsire — Bhīṣma
- siṃha-nādaṃसिंह-नादं
- a lion's roar
- vinadyoccaiḥविनद्योच्चैः
- having roared aloud
- śaṅkhaṃशङ्खं
- his conch
- dadhmauदध्मौ
- blew
- pratāpavānप्रतापवान्
- the glorious one
Commentary
Site Commentary
Bhîshma doesn’t answer Duryodhana’s anxious speech with words of reassurance at all — he answers with a sound, deliberate and loud enough to register as an act rather than a sentiment. Some reassurance lands harder as a demonstrated action than any spoken promise ever could.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When someone close to you is anxious, consider showing up in a concrete, visible way rather than reaching first for words of comfort — a demonstrated act often reassures more than a promise does.
Professional
- Before a nervous team's big launch, a senior leader's visible, confident action — shipping alongside them, showing up in the room — often reassures more than a pep-talk email ever will.
Family & Social
- When reassuring a worried family member, pair your words with a concrete visible action — showing up, doing the thing — rather than relying on comfort spoken from a distance.
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