Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 2
सञ्जय उवाच
दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा।
आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत्।।
दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा।
आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत्।।
sañjaya uvāca
dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanastadā
ācāryamupasaṅgamya rājā vacanamabravīt
also searched as "drishtva tu pandavanikam vyudham duryodhanastada"
Translation
Sanjaya said: King Duryodhana, upon seeing the Pandava army in battle array, approached his teacher Drona and said these words.
Vāṇi's rendering
Seeing the Pandava army in formation, Duryodhana went to his teacher Drona and spoke.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सञ्जयःsañjayaḥ | Sanjaya, the one given sight of the field |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| दृष्ट्वाdṛṣṭvā | having seen |
| तुtu | but — a small turn, marking that something changed in him |
| पाण्डव-अनीकम्pāṇḍava-anīkaṁ | the army of the Pandavas (sandhi: pāṇḍava + anīkaṁ) |
| व्यूढम्vyūḍhaṁ | drawn up, arranged in battle formation |
| दुर्योधनःduryodhanaḥ | Duryodhana (the s of duryodhanas joins tadā in sandhi) |
| तदाtadā | then, at that moment |
| आचार्यम्ācāryam | the teacher — Drona |
| उपसङ्गम्यupasaṅgamya | having gone near, approached |
| राजाrājā | the king |
| वचनम्vacanam | speech, these words (vacanam joins abravīt in sandhi) |
| अब्रवीत्abravīt | spoke |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 2 mean?
Duryodhana sees the Pandava army standing in formation and immediately walks to Drona, his old teacher, to speak. He is king and he has the larger force, yet he needs a listener. The verse records a movement of the feet that reveals a movement of the heart.
What does 'drishtva tu pandavanikam vyudham duryodhanastada' mean?
It means: but then, having seen the Pandava army drawn up in formation. The whole weight rests on tu — but. Sanjaya could have said simply that Duryodhana saw. Instead he marks a turn, and the blind king listening would have heard it: his son was shaken.
Why did Duryodhana go to Drona instead of his commander-in-chief?
Bhishma commanded the army; Drona only taught it. A king with a battle question goes to his general. Duryodhana went to the man who had also trained Arjuna. He was not asking for strategy. He was checking whether the teacher's heart was still on his side.
Is Duryodhana afraid in this verse?
He never says so, and he would deny it. But he counts his warriors aloud in the verses that follow, and men who feel secure do not recite their own strength to a teacher. Fear here wears the costume of confidence. Watch for that costume in yourself.
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Commentary
Duryodhana has eleven armies and the field is his. He walks to his teacher anyway. Sanjaya slips in one small word — tu, but — and it carries everything: the king saw, and something in him moved. Not to his commander. To Drona, who taught him and taught them, and whose loyalty he needs to test out loud. Fear rarely announces itself. It arrives as the sudden need to speak, to count your strength in front of someone who might reassure you. Notice the next time you go to a person not for counsel but for comfort dressed as counsel. Notice which formation you just saw.