Sanskrit
भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम् । उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरूनिति ॥
bhīṣmadroṇapramukhataḥ sarveṣāṃ ca mahīkṣitām uvāca pārtha paśyaitān samavetān kurūn iti
Translation
Over against Bhîshma, Drona and all the rulers of the world, said: "O Pârtha, behold these Kurus gathered together."
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna positions the chariot directly facing Bhîshma and Drona — the two senior figures whose presence on the enemy side will matter most to Arjuna — and says only a plain, almost neutral sentence: “behold these Kurus gathered together.” The line is devastating precisely because of what it doesn’t editorialize; it just makes the scene visible.
Study deeper
Word by word
- bhīṣma-droṇa-pramukhataḥभीष्म-द्रोण-प्रमुखतः
- in front of Bhīṣma and Droṇa
- sarveṣāṃ ca mahī-kṣitāmसर्वेषां च मही-क्षितां
- and of all the rulers of the earth
- uvācaउवाच
- he said
- pārthaपार्थ
- O Pārtha — son of Pṛthā
- paśyaitānपश्यैतान्
- behold these
- samavetānसमवेतान्
- assembled
- kurūnकुरून्
- Kurus
- itiइति
- — so he said
Commentary
Site Commentary
Krishna’s line here carries no argument and no warning — just an imperative to look and a plain noun, “Kurus,” naming everyone gathered without dividing them into sides. He doesn’t tell Arjuna what he’ll feel when he looks; he only arranges the look itself. Everything that follows in this chapter is what happens when a bare instruction to see meets a mind that can’t help but interpret what it sees.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Before you form an opinion about a hard situation, try simply describing what's actually there — the people, the facts — without editorializing first. Naming plainly, the way Krishna does here, often surfaces the real weight of a thing faster than any argument about it would.
Professional
- When you need a team to grasp the stakes of a decision, sometimes the most effective move is simply laying out who and what is involved — without spin — and letting the facts register on their own, rather than opening with your conclusion.
Family & Social
- If you want someone to understand the gravity of a family situation, try describing what's actually happening plainly before you offer your opinion on it — recognition often lands harder than argument.
Ask yourself
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