Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 74
सञ्जय उवाचइत्यहं वासुदेवस्य पार्थस्य च महात्मनः।संवादमिममश्रौषमद्भुतं रोमहर्षणम्।।
sañjaya uvāca
ity ahaṁ vāsudevasya pārthasya ca mahātmanaḥ
saṁvādam imam aśrauṣam adbhutaṁ roma-harṣaṇam
also searched as "ity aham vasudevasya parthasya ca mahatmanah"
Translation
Sanjaya said, Thus I have heard this wondrous dialogue between Vasudeva and the great-minded Arjuna, which makes my hair stand on end.
Vāṇi's rendering
So I heard this dialogue of Krishna and the great-souled Arjuna — a wonder that makes the hair stand on end.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सञ्जयःsañjayaḥ | Sanjaya, the charioteer-narrator |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| इतिity | thus, in this way (iti, joined to the next word by sandhi) |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I |
| वासुदेवस्यvāsudevasya | of Krishna, the son of Vasudeva |
| पार्थस्यpārthasya | of Arjuna, the son of Pṛthā |
| चca | and |
| महात्मनःmahātmanaḥ | of the great-souled one |
| संवादम्saṁvādam | conversation, dialogue |
| इमम्imam | this |
| अश्रौषम्aśrauṣam | I heard |
| अद्भुतम्adbhutaṁ | wondrous, astonishing |
| रोमहर्षणम्roma-harṣaṇam | making the hair of the body stand up |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 74 mean?
Sanjaya closes the frame he opened. He tells Dhṛtarāṣṭra that he has heard the whole exchange between Krishna and Arjuna, and that hearing it raised the hair on his body. The teaching is finished; what remains is the effect of it on someone who was only listening.
What does 'ity aham vasudevasya parthasya ca mahatmanah' mean?
Thus have I heard this dialogue of Krishna and the great-souled Arjuna. Sanjaya names both speakers with respect — Vāsudeva and Pārtha — and then names himself, the third presence nobody asked about. The Gītā's last witness is not a warrior but a hearer.
Why does Sanjaya say his hair stood on end?
Because roma-harṣaṇam is bodily, not intellectual. He does not say the dialogue convinced him or clarified his position. He says his skin responded. Some things are recognised before they are understood, and the recognition arrives in the body first — as it may have arrived in yours.
Why does the Gita end with Sanjaya speaking instead of Krishna?
Because someone had to carry it out of the chariot. Krishna's last word to Arjuna was already spoken; Arjuna's doubt was already gone. Sanjaya's task is to hand the whole thing over to a king who cannot see, and through him, to everyone since who has only heard.
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Commentary
Sanjaya speaks again, and the field vanishes. For seventeen chapters he has been a voice reporting to a blind king who asked what was happening; now he says something about himself — I heard this, and my hair stood up. He is not the one being taught. He is the one who overheard, and the overhearing shook his body. That is Arjuna's mirror turned toward you. You were never on the chariot either; you have been listening in, as Sanjaya was. And what he offers as proof is not an argument. It is the skin.