BG 1.7 — Arjuna Vishada Yoga
BG 1.7📚 Go to Chapter 1
अस्माकंतुविशिष्टायेतान्निबोधद्विजोत्तम|नायकाममसैन्यस्यसंज्ञार्थंतान्ब्रवीमिते||१-७||
asmākaṃ tu viśiṣṭā ye tānnibodha dvijottama . nāyakā mama sainyasya saṃjñārthaṃ tānbravīmi te ||1-7||
अस्माकं: ours | तु: also | विशिष्टा: the best | ये: who (those) | तान्निबोध: them | द्विजोत्तम: (O) best among the twice-born ones | नायका: the leaders | मम: my | सैन्यस्य: of the army | संज्ञार्थं: for information | तान्ब्रवीमि: them | ते: to thee
Swami Sivananda Translation
1.7. "Know also, O best among the twice-born! the names of those who are the most distinguished amongst ourselves, the leaders of my army; these I name to thee for thy information.
Sri Abhinav Gupta Commentary (English)
1.2 1.9 Why this exhaustive counting? The reality of things is this:
English
Swami Gambirananda
Swami Adidevananda
Hindi
Swami Ramsukhdas
Sanskrit
Sri Ramanuja
Sri Madhavacharya
Sri Anandgiri
Sri Jayatirtha
Sri Abhinav Gupta
Sri Madhusudan Saraswati
Sri Sridhara Swami
Sri Dhanpati
Vedantadeshikacharya Venkatanatha
Sri Purushottamji
Sri Neelkanth
Sri Vallabhacharya
Detailed Commentary
**1.7** "O best of the twice-born! Please also take note of those who are distinguished on our side. To remind you, I am naming the leaders of my army." **Commentary:** 'Asmākam tu viśiṣṭā ye tān nibodha dvijottama' — Duryodhana says to Dronacharya, "O foremost among the twice-born! Just as there are excellent great warriors in the Pandavas' army, similarly, in our army too, there are great warriors who are no less distinguished; rather, they possess even greater distinction compared to the great warriors of their army. Please understand them as well." The intent behind using the verb 'paśya' (see) in the third verse and 'nibodha' (take note of) here is that the Pandava army is standing in front, so to see it, Duryodhana uses the verb 'paśya'. However, his own army is not in front, meaning Dronacharya's back is towards his army, so instead of saying to look at it, Duryodhana uses the verb 'nibodha' to ask for his attention to be given to it. 'Nāyakā mama sainyasya sañjñārthaṁ tān bravīmi te' — "The distinguished commanders, the leaders, the great warriors in my army, I am naming them only to remind you, only to draw your attention there." The meaning of the word 'sañjñārtham' is that we have many army commanders; how can I possibly name them all? Therefore, I am merely indicating them; for you know them all anyway. In this verse, Duryodhana's sentiment appears to be that our side is in no way weak. However, according to statecraft, even if the enemy side is very weak and one's own side is very strong, even in such a situation, the enemy should not be considered weak, and not even a trace of negligence or indifference should be allowed to arise within oneself. Therefore, as a precaution, I spoke about their army, and now I speak about our army. The second sentiment is that upon seeing the Pandava army, Duryodhana was greatly affected, and some fear also arose in his mind. The reason is that despite being fewer in number, the Pandava side had many righteous men and the Lord Himself. The side where dharma and the Lord reside has a great impact on everyone. It impacts even the most sinful, the most wicked person. Not only that, it impacts animals, birds, trees, plants, etc. The reason is that dharma and the Lord are eternal. However high material powers may be, they are all impermanent. Therefore, the Pandava army had a great effect on Duryodhana. But since his faith in material strength was primary, he says to reassure Dronacharya that the distinction present on our side is not present in the Pandava army. Therefore, we can easily conquer them.