Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 26
अमी च त्वां धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्राः
सर्वे सहैवावनिपालसङ्घैः।
भीष्मो द्रोणः सूतपुत्रस्तथाऽसौ
सहास्मदीयैरपि योधमुख्यैः।।
सर्वे सहैवावनिपालसङ्घैः।
भीष्मो द्रोणः सूतपुत्रस्तथाऽसौ
सहास्मदीयैरपि योधमुख्यैः।।
amī ca tvāṁ dhṛtarāśtrasya putrāḥ
sarve sahaivāvani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ
bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūta-putras tathāsau
sahāsmadīyair api yodha-mukhyaiḥ
also searched as "ami cha tvam dhritarashtrasya putrah"
Translation
All these sons of Dhrtarastra, together with the hosts of monarchs, Bhisma, Drona, and Karna, along with the leading warriors of our side,
Vāṇi's rendering
I see Dhritarashtra's sons with all their kings — Bhishma, Drona, Karna — and our own best warriors with them.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अमीamī | these ones, over there |
| चca | and |
| त्वाम्tvām | into you |
| धृतराष्ट्रस्यdhṛtarāṣṭrasya | of Dhritarashtra |
| पुत्राःputrāḥ | the sons |
| सर्वेsarve | all of them |
| सहsaha | along with (sandhi: sahaiva) |
| एवeva | indeed, every last one |
| अवनिपालसङ्घैःavani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ | with the throngs of earth-guarding kings |
| भीष्मःbhīṣmaḥ | Bhishma |
| द्रोणःdroṇaḥ | Drona |
| सूतपुत्रःsūta-putraḥ | the charioteer's son — Karna |
| तथाtathā | likewise (sandhi: tathāsau) |
| असौasau | that one there |
| सहsaha | together with (sandhi: sahāsmadīyaiḥ) |
| अस्मदीयैःasmadīyaiḥ | with those who are ours |
| अपिapi | also, even |
| योधमुख्यैःyodha-mukhyaiḥ | with the foremost fighters |
| वक्त्राणिvaktrāṇi | the mouths |
| तेte | your |
| त्वरमाणाःtvaramāṇāḥ | rushing, in great haste |
| विशन्तिviśanti | they enter |
| दंष्ट्राकरालानिdaṁṣṭrā-karālāni | gaping with terrible tusks |
| भयानकानिbhayānakāni | dreadful to look at |
| केचित्kecit | some of them |
| विलग्नाःvilagnāḥ | caught, stuck fast |
| दशनान्तरेषुdaśana-antareṣu | in the gaps between the teeth |
| सन्दृश्यन्तेsandṛśyante | are seen |
| चूर्णितैःcūrṇitaiḥ | with crushed, powdered |
| उत्तमाङ्गैःuttama-aṅgaiḥ | heads — the highest limb |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 26 mean?
Arjuna, seeing Krishna's vast form, names who is rushing into it: Dhritarashtra's sons, the assembled kings, Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa — and then, unbearably, our own best warriors. The vision does not respect his sides. Both armies are already moving toward the same end, and he is watching it happen before the first arrow flies.
What does the line 'ami cha tvam dhritarashtrasya putrah' say?
It says these — these very sons of Dhritarashtra, with all their kings — are entering you. The word tvām, into you, is the hinge. Arjuna is not describing a battlefield anymore. He is describing a mouth, and everyone he has ever fought beside or against is walking into it.
Why does Arjuna mention his own warriors too?
Because that is what breaks him open. Until now his grief had a shape: my people must not die. Here his people are dying in the same vision as the enemy, at the same speed. Victory stops being a rescue. What is left to him is the doing of his work, not the saving of a side.
How is this verse about courage?
Courage here is not confidence in the outcome — Arjuna has just seen the outcome and it swallows everyone. Courage is standing up inside that knowledge and still lifting the bow. You will not outlive the people you love by cleverness or by caution. You can only choose how you act among them while there is time.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna looks for his enemies and finds his friends there too. Bhishma, Drona, Karna — the names he could not bear to kill — and beside them our own best warriors, moving toward the same mouth. The line he drew down the field does not hold here. Time takes both armies. His fear now changes shape: he is no longer afraid of winning at the cost of the beloved dead, because the dead are already counted, on both sides. What remains is not the courage to survive. It is the courage to act among people who are all going — the only courage you have ever had.