Bhagavad Gita 1.2
Spoken by Sanjaya · Verse 2 of 47
सञ्जय उवाच: दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा। आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत्॥
sañjaya uvāca: dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṃ vyūḍhaṃ duryodhanas tadā / ācāryam upasaṃgamya rājā vacanam abravīt
Seeing the opposing army, a worried prince rushes to his teacher for reassurance.
Word by word (9)
- dṛṣṭvā
- — having seen / upon seeing
- pāṇḍava-anīkam
- — the army of the Pandavas
- vyūḍham
- — arrayed / arranged in battle formation
- duryodhanaḥ
- — Duryodhana (the eldest Kaurava prince) · Name means 'difficult to conquer in battle' — he lives up to it militarily but is ultimately defeated by his own dharma-blindness.
- tadā
- — then / at that time
- ācāryam
- — to his teacher (Drona)
- upasaṃgamya
- — having approached / going up to
- rājā
- — the king (Duryodhana)
- vacanam abravīt
- — spoke these words
Sanjaya begins his report: 'When Duryodhana, the Kaurava king, saw the Pandava army arranged in full battle formation, he immediately went to his teacher Drona and spoke.'
A modern analogy
A CEO walks into the boardroom, sees a competing team's polished presentation on the screen, and immediately pulls aside his senior advisor to whisper: 'We might be in trouble. Look at that lineup.' Duryodhana's impulse — seek counsel when afraid — is entirely human.
Take with you
- When facing a challenge, our first instinct is often to take stock and seek counsel — this is wisdom, not weakness.
- Notice that Duryodhana goes to his teacher first — the bond with the guru holds even in crisis.
- Duryodhana is the aggressor who started this war, yet he now surveys the opposition with anxiety — the initiator of conflict is rarely as confident as they appear.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Sanjaya said: Then Duryodhana, the king, seeing the army of the Pandavas arrayed in military order, approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words. [4]
Sanjaya said: Then Duryodhana the Prince, seeing the Pandava army arrayed for battle, approached Drona his teacher and spoke. [6]
Sanjaya: Then Duryodhana, the Prince, seeing his battle set, drew near to Drona and spake a word: [7]
Sanjaya said: Then Duryodhana, seeing the army of the Pandus standing in battle-array, approached his teacher and spoke. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Duryodhana points to the enemy army and subtly reminds his teacher of a painful irony.
Cast off this petty weakness of heart — rise. This is not who you are.
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
More daivī qualities: ahiṃsā, satya, akrodha, tyāga, śānti, apaiśuna, dayā, aloluptva, mārdava, hrī, acāpala.
Sāttvic jñāna: seeing ONE imperishable being in ALL — undivided among the divided.
Your own mind is your best friend when mastered; your worst enemy when not.
Verse 2 of 47 · back to Chapter 1