Sanskrit
ततः श्वेतैर्हयैर्युक्ते महति स्यन्दने स्थितौ । माधवः पाण्डवश्चैव दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतुः ॥
tataḥ śvetair hayair yukte mahati syandane sthitau mādhavaḥ pāṇḍavaś caiva divyau śaṅkhau pradadhmatuḥ
Translation
Then, stationed in their great war-chariot, yoked to white horses, Mâdhava and the son of Pându blew their divine conches.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna (“Mâdhava”) and Arjuna answer from their own chariot, set apart from the general din by the word “divine” (divyau) attached to their conches specifically. It’s the first time in the chapter these two are named together as a pair, sharing one chariot — the vantage point from which the rest of the scene, and the rest of the Gita, unfolds.
Study deeper
Word by word
- tataḥततः
- then
- śvetair hayairश्वेतैः हयैः
- with white horses
- yukteयुक्ते
- yoked
- mahati syandaneमहति स्यन्दने
- in the great chariot
- sthitauस्थितौ
- the two seated there
- mādhavaḥमाधवः
- Mādhava — Krishna
- pāṇḍavaś caivaपाण्डवश् चैव
- and the son of Pāṇḍu — Arjuna
- divyau śaṅkhauदिव्यौ शङ्खौ
- their two divine conches
- pradadhmatuḥप्रदध्मतुः
- the two blew
Commentary
Site Commentary
Of all the conches sounding across two armies, only this pair’s are called “divine” — and only here does the verse pause to note two people sharing a single chariot. Everything the Gita goes on to say happens from this one shared vantage point, and the fact that it’s shared, not solitary, matters as much as who occupies it.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Notice how much of a hard experience becomes bearable simply because you're not viewing it alone — who shares your vantage point changes what you're actually able to see and say.
Professional
- Choosing the right person to sit beside you on a hard project — a peer, a mentor — changes the vantage point from which you end up making decisions; choose that seat deliberately, not by default.
Family & Social
- Sharing the same physical vantage point with someone — sitting beside them, not just discussing the problem remotely — changes the quality of a hard conversation more than the words themselves do.
Ask yourself
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