Sanskrit
काश्यश्च परमेष्वासः शिखण्डी च महारथः । धृष्टद्युम्नो विराटश्च सात्यकिश्चापराजितः ॥
kāśyaś ca parameṣvāsaḥ śikhaṇḍī ca mahārathaḥ dhṛṣṭadyumno virāṭaś ca sātyakiś cāparājitaḥ
Translation
And Kâshya, of the great bow and Shikhandî, the mighty car-warrior, Dhrishtadyumna and Virâta and Sâtyaki, the unconquered.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The allied commanders sound their conches too, among them Dhrishtadyumna — the same Drona-trained general Duryodhana pointed out with unease back in verse 3. His conch is now part of the very din that, in verse 19, will be said to rend the hearts of the Kaurava side.
Study deeper
Word by word
- kāśyaś caकाश्यश् च
- and the king of Kāśī
- parameṣvāsaḥपरमेष्वासः
- the supreme archer
- śikhaṇḍī caशिखण्डी च
- and Śikhaṇḍī
- mahārathaḥमहारथः
- great chariot-warrior
- dhṛṣṭadyumnoधृष्टद्युंनो
- Dhṛṣṭadyumna
- virāṭaś caविराटश् च
- and Virāṭa
- sātyakiśसात्यकिश्
- Sātyaki
- cāparājitaḥचापराजितः
- and the unconquered
Commentary
Site Commentary
What was a quiet, private unease in verse 3 — Duryodhana noting his own teacher’s former student now commanding the other side — is, three verses later, literally the loudest sound on the field. A worry once voiced only as a private aside doesn’t stay contained; eventually it shows up as fact, at full volume.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- A quiet worry you named to yourself early tends to reappear later as an undeniable, louder fact — don't dismiss the early quiet version of a concern as paranoia.
Professional
- A risk flagged quietly in a planning meeting and waved off often resurfaces later as a loud, undeniable incident — take the quiet version seriously the first time it's raised.
Family & Social
- A small tension named quietly early in a relationship often resurfaces later as a much louder conflict — address the quiet version while it's still quiet.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.