Bhagavatgita a detailed study-chapter1

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14.Thathah Svethaih hayaiH yukthaih mahathi syandhane

sThithou

maaDhavah Paandavah chaiva dhivyou Sankhou

pradhaDhmathuH

 

Then Krishna and Arjuna stationed in their great chariot drawn with white horses blew their divine conches.

 

The chariot of Arjuna was divine and given by the god of fire Agni, when he burnt the kaandavavanam as an offering to Agnideva. The four white horses were given to him by Chithraratha , king of Gandharvas out of his ever replenished stock of 100 and both the chariot and the horses are capable of traveling on earth and in the sky. Krishna as the charioteer of Arjuna blew his conch and Arjuna also did likewise.

 

Both DhuryoDhana and Arjuna went to see Krishna before the war to enlist his help and Krishna gave them a choice. He said that he will be on one side without fighting and he will send his army to the other side. Duryodhana opted for the latter while Arjuna chose Krishna himself . When Duryodhana left, Arjuna said that without the help of Krishna what was the use of army and he requested Krishna to become his charioteer so that when Krishna is in forefront victory would be his. This is how the Lord became the Parthasarathy.

 

svethaiH hayaiH- by white horses

 

mahathi syandhane sThithou- the two on the great chariot.

 

maaDhavah- This name means the consort of Lakshmi , maayaaH Dhavah, signifying prosperity to Arjuna.

 

PaandavaH means Arjuna. Though this word means all the sons of Pandu, here it is Arjuna who is with Krishna in the chariot.

 

15. Panchajanyam hrsheekea dhevdhattham DhananjayaH

poundram dhaDhmou mahaaSanKham bheemakarma

vrkodharaH

 

Krishna sounded his conch Panchajanya, Arjuna blew his conch Dhevadhatta and Bheema of fierce actions sounded the big conch, Poundra.

 

Panchajnayam HrsheekesaH- The Lord is called Hrsheekesa meaning `one who has the senses under his control,' hrsheekaaNaam eeSaH. He is the one who controls the senses and make them function being he inner-self of all.

 

The word can be split in two ways, namely, hrsheeka+eeSa or hrshi +kesa. In the latter form it means that He gives joy, Hrshi with His rays, kesa, that envelop the whole world. Kesa also means hair and hence it refers to Krishna who has abundant hair.

 

Panchajanyam- Krishna killed the asura Panchajana and made him into a conch and hence it is called Panchajanyam.

 

Dhananjaya- The name of Arjuna because he collecr ted a lot of wealth for Yudhishtira when he did Rajasuyayaga, by conquering all the kings . Dhanam jayathi ithi DhanajayaH

 

Dhevadhattham- the conch of Arjuna was called Dhevadhattham because it was given to him by Indra, dhevena dhattham.

 

Bheemakarmaa vrkodharah- refers to Bheema who was called vrkodhara because he used to eat a lot and digest the same like a wolf. Vrkasya udharam iva udharam yasay saH, one who has a stomach like that of a wolf.he is also referred to as bheemakarma because his actions were terrifying to his enemies. The word Bheema means fearful.

The conch of Bheema was known as Poundra and it was described as mahaaSankham as it was big in size and also in sound.

 

Panchajanyam Hrishikesah- Lord Krishna sounded his conch which was music to His followers but sounded the death knell to His foes. The one who played the flute in Brindavan enchanting the whole world with His music, blew His conch in Kurukshetra, stunning the Kaurava forces into silence.

 

Panchajanya, the conch of the Lord, is pranavasvarupa, represents Omkaara, and hence synonymous with nadhabrahmam, as pranava, the syllable OM is the source of all sound. Om ityekaksharam brahma, Brahman the Absolute Reality synonymous with syllable OM, says the sruti. When the Lord touched the face of the boy Dhruva with the Panchajanya he became eloquent. Such was the power of Panchajanya.