Bhagavad Gita 1.6
Spoken by Sanjaya · Verse 6 of 47
युधामन्युश्च विक्रान्त उत्तमौजाश्च वीर्यवान्। सौभद्रो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्व एव महारथाः॥
yudhāmanyuś ca vikrānta uttamaujāś ca vīryavān / saubhadro draupadeyāś ca sarva eva mahārathāḥ
Even Arjuna's own sons are in this army — the personal stakes deepen.
Word by word (4)
- yudhāmanyuḥ ca vikrāntaḥ
- — the valiant Yudhamanyu
- uttamaujāḥ ca vīryavān
- — and the powerful Uttamauja
- saubhadraḥ draupadeyāḥ ca
- — the son of Subhadra (Abhimanyu) and the sons of Draupadi · 'Saubhadra' — son of Subhadra, Arjuna's own son Abhimanyu, who will die heroically. His presence here makes Arjuna's grief more poignant.
- sarve eva mahā-rathāḥ
- — all of them great chariot-warriors · 'Mahā-ratha' — a warrior capable of fighting 10,000 simultaneously. The Pandava side is not weak; this is a matched contest.
Also here are Yudhamanyu (the brave), Uttamaujas (the powerful), Abhimanyu (son of Arjuna and Subhadra), and the five sons of Draupadi — all great chariot warriors.
A modern analogy
Duryodhana realizes the opposing team includes not just rivals but the next generation — Arjuna's own son fights on the same side. This means the stakes extend beyond this moment into the future.
Take with you
- What we build or destroy today has consequences for those who come after us — Arjuna's son is in this battle.
- The personal dimension of any conflict adds layers of meaning that pure strategy cannot contain.
Public-domain translations (2) compare all →
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
He looked — and saw everyone he has ever loved, lined up to kill or be killed.
What is a kingdom for, if all those you wanted to share it with are dead?
Even the fathers-in-law and dearest friends — on both sides. No one is safely 'other.'
In the new birth, one recovers the former body's intelligence — and strives even more than before toward perfection.
Past practice carries the yogi forward involuntarily — even the yoga-inquirer surpasses the Vedic ritualist.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Verse 6 of 47 · back to Chapter 1