Srimad BhagavadGita

Sañjaya's reply to Dhṛtarāṣṭra's enquiry begins with this śloka and continues till the end of the Bhagawad Gītā.

Out of the 700 ślokas, in 574 of them Sañjaya quoted Bhagawān Sri Kṛṣṇa's words and in 84 he quoted Arjuna. In the remaining 41 ślokas either Sañjaya spoke about his own observations or quoted about the other participants of the war to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. The words of this particular śloka are Sañjaya's response to Dhṛtarāṣṭra's enquiry.

Sañjaya said, "When Duryodhana saw the Pāṇḍava army arranged in a military formation suitable for battle, he grew anxious. The King then went up to his teacher Droṇācārya and spoke the following words."​

duryodhanaḥ The name Duryodhana means 'one who fights the battle by unfair means'. Possessor of this name, the eldest among the 100 sons of Dhṛtarāṣtra, Duryodhana was wicked and envious. He disliked the Pāṇḍavas since childhood and resorted to all possible cruel means to eliminate them. He knew that eliminating them was the only way for him to gain sovereignty over the Kingdom of Hastināpura.

pāṇḍavānīkaṃ vyūḍhaṃ dṛṣṭvā tu Sañjaya first addressed Dhṛtarāṣṭra's concern about the commencement of the war, by informing him that the Pāṇḍava army was in a battle formation displaying their readiness to begin the war. He further went on to describe what happened when Duryodhana saw the expertly arranged army of the Pāṇḍavas.

​ tu The term 'tu' when coupled with dṛṣṭvā as 'dṛṣṭvā tu' gives the meaning 'as soon as he saw'. This depicts the change in Duryodhana's state of mind upon seeing the arrangement of the Pāṇḍava army. The 'tu' when

coupled with pāṇḍavānīkaṃ as 'pāṇḍavānīkaṃ tu' gives the meaning 'This Pāṇḍava army, after all',

suggesting that the Kaurava army was very powerful and the Pāṇḍava army was after all nothing compared

to them. This interpretation does not fit into the context of the succeeding ślokas, therefore it is not to be

taken.

​vyūḍhaṃ The arrangement of troops in a particular formation on the battlefield is called vyūḍhaṃ. The

Mahābhārata mentions that the Pāṇḍava army was arranged in Vajra formation on the first day of the battle. Some other well known battle formations are Padmavyūha (a formation that looks like a blooming lotus),

Śakaṭavyūha (Disposition of an army in the shape of a cart) and Suchivyūha (needle shaped formation).

ācāryam upasaṇgamya rājā vacanam abravīt Duryodhana had under-estimated the Pāṇḍava army and hence the sight of their impressive army formation gave rise to fear and anxiety in him. Unable to contain his anxiety, King Duryodhana went up to his teacher Droṇācārya and spoke the following words.

ācāryam The word ācārya refers to Droṇācārya. He was the son of Rishi Bharadwāja and was trained by

Paraśurāma in marshal arts. He was invincible and had the boon of death at his own will. After a fallout with

his childhood friend Drupada, due to extreme poverty, Droṇa took employment in the Kaurava court as the

ācārya of both Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas.

rājā As his father Dhṛtarāṣṭra was blind, it was Duryodhana who practically ruled Hastināpura, hence

Sañjaya refers to Duryodhana as rājā (king) here.