Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 19
स घोषो धार्तराष्ट्राणां हृदयानि व्यदारयत्।
नभश्च पृथिवीं चैव तुमुलो व्यनुनादयन्।।
नभश्च पृथिवीं चैव तुमुलो व्यनुनादयन्।।
sa ghoṣo dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṁ hṛdayāni vyadārayat
nabhaśca pṛthivīṁ caiva tumulo nunādayan
also searched as "sa ghosho dhartarashtranam hridayani vyadarayat"
Translation
And that tumultuous uproar, reverberating through heaven and earth, rent the hearts of Dhrtarastra's sons.
Vāṇi's rendering
That roar filled sky and earth — and it tore through the hearts of Dhritarashtra's sons.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सःsa | that |
| घोषःghoṣaḥ | roar, uproar of sound (written ghoṣo before the next word) |
| धार्तराष्ट्राणाम्dhārtarāṣṭrāṇām | of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra |
| हृदयानिhṛdayāni | the hearts |
| व्यदारयत्vyadārayat | tore open, split apart |
| नभःnabhaḥ | the sky (becomes nabhaś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| पृथिवीम्pṛthivīm | the earth |
| चca | and (joined as caiva with eva) |
| एवeva | indeed, both alike |
| तुमुलःtumulaḥ | tumultuous, overwhelming (written tumulo before the next word) |
| व्यनुनादयन्vyanunādayan | making everything resound, echoing back and forth |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 19 mean?
It means the battle is decided in the ears before it is decided by arms. The conches of the Pāṇḍavas fill sky and earth, and the hearts of Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons tear at the sound. Nothing has been struck. The sound simply tells them what they have long refused to hear about their own position.
What does sa ghosho dhartarashtranam hridayani vyadarayat mean?
That roar tore through the hearts of Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons. Ghoṣa is not music; it is a wall of sound, tumula, filling nabhas and pṛthivī alike. Vyadārayat is a violent word — it rends, it splits. Sanjaya chooses it deliberately, describing to a blind father what his sons' faces must have looked like.
Why were the Kauravas' hearts torn if no fighting had started?
Because conviction carries in sound. Their own conches had been loud; this was louder, and it came from a side that had Krishna on its chariot. A man who is unsure of his cause hears strength on the other side as a verdict. The noise did not create their fear. It uncovered it.
What can I take from this verse in my own life?
Notice how much of your dread arrives before anything actually happens — in a ringing phone, a tone of voice, a name on a screen. That is the roar reaching you. It tears only where something is already unsettled. Steady the ground you stand on, and the same sound will pass through without splitting anything.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
No arrow has been loosed yet. Sound alone has done the damage. The conches fill sky and earth, and Dhritarashtra's sons feel their hearts split open — not from a wound but from hearing. Sanjaya is telling a blind king that his sons already know. Fear arrives before the fight; the body reads the odds long before the mind will admit them. Krishna's conch is in that roar too — the same sound that shatters one man steadies another. You have felt this. The phone rings and you know. What the sound does to you depends on what you have already decided.