Commentary
Bhishma understood the mental agony of Duryodhana. In order to cheer him up he roared like a lion and blew his conch which was misunderstood as a signal for commencement of war. The Kaurava army blared forth their various conches and martial musical instruments signifying the declaration of war from the side of Kauravas.
In these verses Sanjaya had given the reaction of Pandavas to the war-cry raised from the opposite side and the names of various conches blown by the respective heroes. The most famous among them is the conch `Panchajanya’ blown by Krishna. The uproar seemed to penetrate the hearts of Kauravas deeply and abnormally because of their guilty conscience.
Metaphorically, the chariot represents the human gross body, the horses are the senses and their reins are the mind that controls the senses. The charioteer is the guiding spirit or the Self or Atman in the human beings. Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the divine charioteer, is the Self in all of us.
By addressing Dhritarashtra as the lord of the earth (Verse 18) and hinting about the superiority of the Pandava side Sanjaya implied that as the ruling monarch he would take a decision even at that catastrophic moment to preserve the integrity of the country from the impending ruinous warfare. But that was not to be.
ARJUNA’S DESIRE TO SURVEY THE TWO ARMIES
Swami Chinmayananda Commentary
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Adi Sankara Commentary
Adi Shankaracharya’s commentary begins from Chapter 2 – Verse 10
The Bhagavad Gita with the commentary of Sri Sankaracharya – Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastry
Holy Geeta – Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda
The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran – Best selling translation of the Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita – Translation and Commentary by Swami Sivananda
Bhagavad Gita – Translation and Commentary by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabupadha
Srimad Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 – Verse 13 – 1.13 tatah shankhashcha – All Bhagavad Gita (Geeta) Verses in Sanskrit, English, Transliteration, Word Meaning, Translation, Audio, Shankara Bhashya, Adi Sankaracharya Commentary and Links to Videos by Swami Chinmayananda and others – 13-Jan

