Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 26
तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितृ़नथ पितामहान्।
आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातृ़न्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा।।
आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातृ़न्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा।।
tatrāpaśyat sthitān pārthaḥ pitṝn atha pitāmahān
ācāryān mātulān bhrātṝn putrān pautrān sakhīṁs tathā
also searched as "tatrapashyat sthitan parthah pitrin atha pitamahan"
Translation
Then, as Arjuna looked on, he saw standing there fathers, grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, and comrades.
Vāṇi's rendering
Arjuna looked, and saw in both armies fathers, grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तत्रtatra | there, on that field |
| अपश्यत्apaśyat | he saw (sandhi: tatra + apaśyat) |
| स्थितान्sthitān | standing, stationed |
| पार्थःpārthaḥ | Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| पितृ़न्pitṝn | fathers, elders of the father's line |
| अथatha | and then |
| पितामहान्pitāmahān | grandfathers |
| आचार्यान्ācāryān | teachers |
| मातुलान्mātulān | mother's brothers, maternal uncles |
| भ्रातृ़न्bhrātṝn | brothers and cousins |
| पुत्रान्putrān | sons |
| पौत्रान्pautrān | grandsons |
| सखीन्sakhīn | friends, companions |
| तथाtathā | likewise (sandhi: sakhīn + tathā) |
| श्वशुरान्śvaśurān | fathers-in-law |
| सुहृदःsuhṛdaḥ | well-wishers, good hearts |
| चca | and (sandhi: suhṛdaḥ + ca) |
| एवeva | indeed (sandhi: ca + eva) |
| सेनयोःsenayoḥ | of the armies |
| उभयोःubhayoḥ | of both |
| अपिapi | even, as well |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 26 mean?
Arjuna, placed between the two armies, finally looks — and sees not enemies but relations. Fathers, teachers, uncles, sons, friends, standing on both sides. The verse spends itself entirely on that list. It is the moment the war stops being a war and becomes a family standing in two halves.
What is the meaning of tatrapashyat sthitan parthah pitrin atha pitamahan?
Tatra apaśyat — there he saw. Sthitān — standing. The Sanskrit lingers over every kinship word rather than summarising them, because Arjuna's grief is built from particulars. Not 'the Kauravas' but this teacher, that uncle, those grandsons. Grief has always been specific. That is what makes it unbearable.
Why does the verse list so many relatives one by one?
Because a category can be fought and a face cannot. As long as Arjuna held the word 'enemy', he could draw the bow. The list dissolves the word. Every name he recognises subtracts something from his resolve, and by the last one — friends — there is nothing left to shoot with.
Why is Arjuna's grief in this verse important for me?
You carry your own lists. The people you have decided are on the other side of something — an argument, an inheritance, a silence. Arjuna's collapse begins with honest seeing, not with weakness. Look long enough at anyone you have written off, and the same softening comes for you.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Count them. Fathers, grandfathers, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends — the verse does not hurry, and neither should you. Sanskrit gives each relation its own word, and Arjuna's eyes go over them one at a time, the way you would read a list of names looking for one you know. Nothing has happened yet. No arrow, no wound. He has only looked properly, at both armies, and the looking undoes him. He came to fight an enemy and found a family. Whatever you are steeling yourself against — look at it closely enough, and the word 'enemy' will start to come apart in your mouth.