Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 25
भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम्।
उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरूनिति।।
उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरूनिति।।
bhīṣma-droṇa-pramukhataḥ sarveṣāṁ ca mahī-kṣitām
uvāca pārtha paśyaitān samavetān kurūn iti
also searched as "bhishma drona pramukhatah sarvesham cha mahikshitam"
Translation
In front of Bhishma, Drona, and all the kings of the earth, Sri Krishna said, "O Partha, behold these assembled Kurus."
Vāṇi's rendering
Facing Bhishma, Drona, and all the kings, he said: behold these Kurus, gathered.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतःbhīṣma-droṇa-pramukhataḥ | in front of Bhishma and Drona, facing them directly |
| सर्वेषाम्sarveṣām | of all |
| चca | and |
| महीक्षिताम्mahī-kṣitām | of the rulers of the earth, the kings |
| उवाचuvāca | he said |
| पार्थpārtha | O Partha, son of Pritha |
| पश्यpaśya | behold, look (sandhi: paśya + etān = paśyaitān) |
| एतान्etān | these |
| समवेतान्samavetān | gathered together, assembled |
| कुरून्kurūn | the Kurus |
| इतिiti | thus (closing the words spoken) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 25 mean?
Krishna halts the chariot in front of Bhishma, Drona and the assembled kings, and tells Arjuna to behold the Kurus gathered there. It is a single instruction — look. Everything that follows, Arjuna's trembling, his dropped bow, his long argument against fighting, begins from this act of being made to see clearly.
What does bhishma drona pramukhatah sarvesham cha mahikshitam mean?
It means facing Bhishma, Drona, and all the rulers of the earth. Krishna does not stop the chariot at a safe distance. He places Arjuna exactly opposite the grandfather who raised him and the teacher who trained him, so that the war has faces before it has arrows.
Why does Krishna call them Kurus instead of enemies?
Because that is what they are. Krishna refuses the word that would make killing easy. Dhṛtarāṣṭra divided the field into my sons and Pandu's; Krishna undoes the division with one word. Arjuna must see kinsmen, not a side. The grief that follows is honest grief, and Krishna wanted it honest.
Why does Krishna make Arjuna look if it causes his collapse?
Nothing is healed by being avoided. Arjuna's steadiness before this moment was the steadiness of a man who had not yet looked. Krishna lets it break, because a courage that depends on not seeing is not courage. What you can bear to look at fully is the only thing you can truly act on.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
He parks the chariot at the worst possible place — directly before Bhishma and Drona, the two men Arjuna loves most on that field — and says: look. Krishna does not spare him. He calls them kurūn, the family name, not enemies, not the other side. Arjuna asked to be driven out to see who had come to fight; Krishna gives him exactly that, and the seeing breaks him. The despair of the next chapter begins with an instruction to look. What you keep not looking at is usually the thing you are about to be asked to see.