Chapter1 Verse - 14

 

Verse-14

तत: श्वेतैर्हयैर्युक्ते महति स्यन्दने स्थितौ |

माधव: पाण्डवश्चैव दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतु: || 14||

Transliteration:

tataH shvethairhayairyukte mahati syandane sthitau.

mAdhavaH pANDavashcaiva divyau shankau pradadhmatuH..14..

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Word-by-word meaning:

तत: - then; श्वेतै: - (with)white; र्हयै: - (with)horses; र्युक्ते – equipped with; महति – (in) great; स्यन्दने – chariot; स्थितौ – being ; माधव: - MAdhava; पाण्डव: - pAndavaH; श्चैव – and; दिव्यौ – divine; शङ्खौ – Conch-shells; प्रदध्मतु: - blew;

Meaning:

Then, MAdhava(Krishna) and PAndava(Arjuna), who are in the great chariot yoked with white horses, blew their divine conch-shells.

Significance:

                             On the other side of the battle field, is Lord Krishna and Arjuna, who on hearing the tumultuous sound of the instruments of the opposite army, blew their conch-shells. The adjective here used is ‘दिव्यौ -which means divine’, they did not produce violent sounds, but blew the conch-shells, which are still used to invoke religious rituals. The postitivity produced by the sound of Conch-shells marked the beginning of the path to their victory.

                       Lord Krishna, here is mentioned as ‘MAdhava- which means ‘ one who bears the Goddess of fortune in his heart’. Here it is subtly indicated that the Goddess of fortune is on the side of PAndavas, i.e, on the side of Dharma. The word ‘स्थितौ – has many meanings like – standing, seated, established, leading, etc with respect to the context. Here it is used in the sense of Perseverance on the right path.

          पाण्डव – can be used for all the five sons of Pandu, here in this verse the word is used for Arjuna. The usage of the words  “स्थितौ  , दिव्यौ , शङ्खौ are in dual, which means they denote two persons. One is Krishna, which is mentioned as MAdhava, and the other is to be Arjuna. Shri Krishna agreed to be on the side of the PAndava-s, unarmed, and he also agreed to be the charioteer of Arjuna. The chariot of Arjuna was gifted by Agni deva, which was built by Vishwakarma. The chariot is meant to conquer the three worlds, thus this chariot is mentioned specifically , to mark that their victory is eminent.