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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 1.14
ततः श्वेतैर्हयैर्युक्ते महति स्यन्दने स्थितौ ।
माधवः पाण्डवश्चैव दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतुः ॥ १४ ॥
tataḥ śvetair hayair yukte
mahati syandane sthitau
mādhavaḥ pāṇḍavaś caiva
divyau śaṅkhau pradadhmatuḥ
On the other side, both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, stationed on a great chariot drawn by white horses, sounded their transcendental conchshells.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna sounded their transcendental conchshells, unlike Bhīṣmadeva’s, from a great chariot drawn by white horses.
Their sound showed that the other side had no hope of victory, because Kṛṣṇa was with the Pāṇḍavas.
Victory and fortune awaited Arjuna, for wherever Kṛṣṇa is present, the goddess of fortune is also present.
These notes cover verses 1.13–18
All Pandavas blew conchshells and all other instruments that made a tumultuous sound
NAMES OF DIFFERENT CONCHSHELLS:
S. No Warriors Conchshell
Krishna Panchajanya
Arjuna Devadatta
Yudhishtara Anantavijaya
Bhima Paundra
Nakula Sughosa
Sahadeva Manipushpaka
Text 1.14 purport is covered under the main theme ‘Signs of Victory of Pandavas’ above. Purports for Texts 1.15 to 1.18 are presented in the ‘Focus of Learning’ sections below
Message announced by conchshells — Blowing of conchshells announced the message that Kauravas were predestined to lose the battle
Importance of names
Hrsikesha
Owner of all senses / senses of living entities are part and parcels of His senses
Impersonalists cannot account for the senses of the living entities and they are always anxious to describe the living entities as sense-less or impersonal
Lord as Paramatma directs the senses according to the surrender of the living entity
Directly controls transcendental senses of a pure devotee like Arjuna
Govinda – Pleasure-giver to cows and senses
Dhananjaya – Arjuna helped elder brother to fetch wealth for different sacrifices
Vrkodara – Eat as voraciously as he could do herculean tasks (Bhima)
Few other names explained – Madhusudana / Vasudeva / Devaki-nandana / Yasoda- nandana / Partha-sarthy (Read 1.15 purport) FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORTS 1.16 — 1.18
Sanjaya very tactfully informed King Dhrtarashtra of the following points through all the above mentioned verses:
His unwise policy of deceiving the sons of Pandu and endeavoring to enthrone his own sons was not very laudable
All the signs indicate that the whole Kuru dynasty would be killed
From the grandsire Bhisma to the grandson Abhimanyu, and all the kings of all states were doomed
And Dhrtarashtra was the cause of the whole catastrophe because he encouraged the policy followed by his sons
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 1.14 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?
Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.