Sanskrit
द्रुपदो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्वशः पृथिवीपते । सौभद्रश्च महाबाहुः शङ्खान्दध्मुः पृथक्पृथक् ॥
drupado draupadeyāś ca sarvaśaḥ pṛthivīpate saubhadraś ca mahābāhuḥ śaṅkhān dadhmuḥ pṛthak pṛthak
Translation
Drupada and the Draupadeyas, O Lord of earth, and Saubhadra, the mighty-armed, on all sides their several conches blew.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Sanjaya, still addressing the blind king Dhritarâshtra directly (“O Lord of earth”), closes the conch-blowing roll call: Drupada, his sons, and Abhimanyu, each sounding their own instrument, “on all sides.” The entire Pândava side has now answered in full.
Study deeper
Word by word
- drupadoद्रुपदो
- Drupada
- draupadeyāś caद्रौपदेयाश् च
- and Draupadī's sons
- sarvaśaḥसर्वशः
- on all sides
- pṛthivī-pateपृथिवी-पते
- O lord of the earth
- saubhadraś caसौभद्रश् च
- and Subhadrā's son — Abhimanyu
- mahā-bāhuḥमहा-बाहुः
- the mighty-armed
- śaṅkhānशङ्खान्
- conches
- dadhmuḥदध्मुः
- they blew
- pṛthak pṛthakपृथक् पृथक्
- each one separately
Commentary
Site Commentary
In the middle of reporting a battlefield already in motion, Sanjaya still pauses to address Dhritarâshtra by title — “O Lord of earth” — a small courtesy that keeps resurfacing through the account. Even inside an urgent, moving report, the reporter doesn’t forget who he’s actually speaking to.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you're deep in telling a complicated story, periodically check back in with who you're actually speaking to, not just the content — it keeps the account grounded in the listener, not just the events.
Professional
- In a long incident report or briefing, periodically re-anchor to the actual audience and their concerns rather than just narrating the raw sequence of events — it keeps the report useful, not merely complete.
Family & Social
- When explaining something complicated to a family member, keep addressing them directly rather than getting lost in the story for its own sake — it keeps it a conversation, not a monologue.
Ask yourself
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