BG 1.5 — Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 1.5Chapter 1 · Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga · Arjuna → Krishna · anuṣṭubh

धृष्टकेतुश् चेकितानः काशिराजश् च वीर्यवान् ।

पुरुजित् कुन्तिभोजश् च शैब्यश् च नरपुंगवः ॥

dhṛṣṭaketuś cekitānaḥ kāśirājaś ca vīryavān

purujit kuntibhojaś ca śaibyaś ca nara-puṃgavaḥ

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Dhṛṣṭaketu, Cekitāna, the mighty king of Kāśī, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Śaibya, foremost among men, stood ready on the Pāṇḍava side.

ekras · bhāṣya

Duryodhana keeps the list going. "Dhrishtaketu, Cekitana, the mighty king of Kashi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Saibya, foremost among men." Drona would have known each of these men, and what each one means. Dhrishtaketu — dhrishta is "bold," ketu is "banner" — the bold banner. He is the son of Shishupala.

Krishna killed Shishupala for insulting him at Yudhishthira's coronation, but the son still chose the Pandava side; Krishna's killing did not turn the family. Cekitana is a Yadava warrior; the Yadavas as a clan are with the Pandavas. Kashiraja is the king of Kashi, Varanasi — the holy city of Shiva, with the Pandavas. Purujit and Kuntibhoja are the brothers of Kunti, mother of the three older Pandavas; they are watching their own nephews go to war and standing with the nephews. Kuntibhoja in particular adopted Kunti as a daughter — that is how she got her name — so the marriage-Pandavas trace through him. Saibya is the king of the Sibis, father-in-law of Yudhishthira through Devika; the marriage-side too is on the Pandavas. Drona is hearing the family system. The wider clan, the maternal uncles, the holy city, the marriage-relations — every kind of tie that holds society together has tilted toward the Pandavas.

Context

where

Chapter 1 · Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Arjuna → Krishna

preceded by — BG 1.4

Here stand heroes with mighty bows, each a match for Bhīma and Arjuna in battle: Yuyudhāna, Virāṭa, and Drupada the great chariot-warrior.

What's going on

Dhṛṣṭaketu, Cekitāna, the mighty king of Kāśī, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Śaibya, foremost among men, stood ready on the Pāṇḍava side.

Sūtras through this verse (99)

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

1.1Means and end set out as one paired axis.───→here1.5───→2.39Wisdom closes, action opens. Same axis.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-ruleapproach

───→here1.5───→2.12Every soul named here is a real distinct self.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)approach

───→here1.5───→2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.

show all 99

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbaapproach · other

───→here1.5───→2.18Image perishes, source endures

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closeapproach

───→here1.5───→2.18The mirror breaks but the sun is unhurt.

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesapproach

───→here1.5───→2.23Even great gods are unequal in their glory.

MadhvaclassicalT4

Liberation is bliss in body — not absorptionapproach

───→here1.5───→2.50Release is embodied, blissful, never merging.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksapproach

───→here1.5───→2.18The image perishes, but the source endures.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadapproach

───→here1.5───→2.23Nāradīya names what reason cannot prove.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39The two paths name one practice, one fruit.

MadhvaclassicalT8

Direct vision — the only proximate causeapproach

───→here1.5───→2.46Scripture is a small well when the flood arrives.

MadhvaclassicalT9

Devotion and grace — what knowledge cannot do aloneapproach

───→here1.5───→2.23Without worship of Hari no one ever crosses.

MadhvaclassicalT11

Only revealed scripture decides — reason alone cannotapproach

───→here1.5───→2.13Self-survival is settled by śruti, not by reason.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoireapproach

───→here1.5───→2.55'Self' here means mind — a single word redirects.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here1.5───→

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actapproach

───→here1.5───→2.47Only a human body can do new action.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionapproach

───→here1.5───→2.55Drop desire, and the sense of doing falls.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workapproach

───→here1.5───→2.45Rise above the modes, said in chapter two.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipapproach

───→here1.5───→2.31A warrior's own duty is the war he faces.

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterapproach

───→here1.5───→2.41A one-pointed mind is the seeker's mark.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingapproach

───→here1.5───→2.14Bear pleasure and pain as a passing season.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roomapproach

───→here1.5───→2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsapproach

───→here1.5───→3.37The enemy is desire turning into anger.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursapproach

───→here1.5───→3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.

ĀnandagiriclassicalE

Pūrvapakṣa via nanu / āśaṅkyabetween

1.1Dialectical chain present from line one.───→here1.5───→2.39Nanu… tatrāha: one pair, named.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstbetween

1.2Same form repeats on the next verse.───→here1.5───→2.10Word-fit holds even at the dialogue's pivot.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathapproach · v2

───→here1.5───→2.47Right to action

Ekrasmodernend_of_life

End of life — the threshold tourapproach · v2

───→here1.5───→2.13Bodies pass, the dehī does not

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterapproach · v2

───→here1.5───→1.29The body fails

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentapproach · v2

───→here1.5───→2.55Sthitaprajna defined

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionapproach · v2

───→here1.5───→3.20Janaka, lokasangraha

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesapproach · v2

───→here1.5───→2.41Single-pointed buddhi

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvaapproach · v2

───→here1.5───→3.27Modes act, ego claims

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementapproach · other

───→here1.5───→2.62Brooding breeds attachment

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictapproach · other

───→here1.5───→1.31Bad omens

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthaapproach · other

───→here1.5───→2.10Thesis flat

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseaseapproach

───→here1.5───→2.10Sorrow and delusion are the seed of saṁsāra.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downapproach

───→here1.5───→2.10First lay down all action, then knowledge frees.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youapproach

───→here1.5───→2.10Some say: combine knowledge with rites.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39So far for the seeker of the real; now hear yoga.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemyapproach

───→here1.5───→2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldapproach

───→here1.5───→3.20Janaka acted only to hold the world together.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimapproach

───→here1.5───→2.10Pāṇḍitya is knowing the Self — Bṛhadāraṇyaka.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedapproach

───→here1.5───→2.72Standing in this state, one reaches Brahman..

ĀnandagiriclassicalB

Three hexads = tat tvam asiapproach

───→here1.5───→2.1First hexad opens, tvam-pada implicit.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledapproach

───→here1.5───→2.47Primary fitness needs ripened conditions.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsapproach

───→here1.5───→3.1Buddhi-vyākulatva named the seed.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologyapproach

───→here1.5───→2.47No-fruit ≠ no-karma: kāmya-tyāga ≠ nitya-tyāga.

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyateapproach

───→here1.5───→2.55A description, not a command. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhiapproach

───→here1.5───→2.47Action stays; the wish for fruit goes.

ĀnandagiriclassicalK

Upasaṃhāra — recap as instrumentapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39Wisdom section wound up here.

JayatīrthaclassicalA

Body and embodied — the inference runs on the dehī sideapproach

───→here1.5───→2.13Same I as a child is now in this body.

JayatīrthaclassicalB

Pañcabheda — the five distinctions enforced verse by verseapproach

───→here1.5───→2.12Plurals block monistic absorption.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedapproach

───→here1.5───→2.13One-self-many-bodies runs out of grammar.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyaapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39Wrap prior section, then announce next.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsapproach

───→here1.5───→3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

Citation as proof — śruti, smṛti, MB, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pañcarātraapproach

───→here1.5───→2.13Pratyabhijñā backed by śruti citation.

JayatīrthaclassicalH

Pūrva-pakṣa explicit — nanu / iti cet / ity ata āhaapproach

───→here1.5───→2.13Two objections, three pādas glossed.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availableapproach

───→here1.5───→2.13Recognition is literal across bodies.

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥapproach

───→here1.5───→2.11Madhva first speaks, Jayatīrtha supplies.

MadhusūdanaclassicalK

Arjuna's grief has two roots, not onebetween

1.1Discrimination overrun by grief and confusion.───→here1.5───→2.1Pity and despair treated as guests, not host.

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanaapproach · other

───→here1.5───→2.47Fruit-free action cannot bind

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningapproach

───→here1.5───→2.62'Dhyayato vishayan pumsah sangas teshupajayate, sangat sanjayate kamah.' The out

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaapproach

───→here1.5───→1.28Arjuna at the edge: 'Drishtvemam svajanam Krishna yuyutsum samupasthitam, sidant

Gauravmodernheart_leadership

Heart Leadershipapproach

───→here1.5───→2.48'Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva Dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handapproach

───→here1.5───→2.47Middle finger. Nishkama karma plus the failure-gym. 'Karmany evadhikaras te, ma

Gauravmodernmemorial_pastoral

Memorial Pastoralapproach

───→here1.5───→2.13The memorial-register anchor. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, ta

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101approach

───→here1.5───→2.13Reincarnation pillar. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, tatha deha

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidapproach

───→here1.5───→3.3'Loke'smin dvi-vidha nishtha pura prokta mayanagha, jnana-yogena samkhyanam karm

Gauravmodernwitness_self_neti_neti

Witness Self Neti Netiapproach

───→here1.5───→2.13Body changes. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara.' Gaurav opens the

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

Three groups of six: you, the Lord, the joiningapproach

───→here1.5───→3.1The whole map laid out at chapter three's door.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39Two minds, two paths, never one rule for all.

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39Pure mind for knowing, impure mind for acting.

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingapproach

───→here1.5───→2.47Action offered, fruit-free, cannot bear bondage.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39Like light and dark, they cannot share a place.

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runapproach

───→here1.5───→3.1The architecture ends in living-liberation, then bodily.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalJ

Sañjaya's frame — evidentiary, not ornamentalbetween

1.2Dṛṣṭvā tu — Sañjaya speaks to be heard later.───→here1.5───→11.50Sañjaya names the viśva-rūpa as witness.

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesbetween

1.1See Viṭṭhaleśa's hand for chapter one's gloss.───→here1.5───→1.31The despondency catalogue goes to Viṭṭhaleśa.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketapproach

───→here1.5───→2.10The teaching opens at the carama-bracket.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentapproach

───→here1.5───→3.30'Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi': read as antaryāmin.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalE

Pūrva-pakṣa — name the rival, close the doorapproach

───→here1.5───→2.12Plurals refute the unitary-self read.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39What chapter 3 will resolve, named here.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39Sāṅkhya and yoga: not two roads.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefapproach

───→here1.5───→2.10Krishna smiles before the first mā-śucaḥ.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedapproach

───→here1.5───→3.1Drop something inside the act, not the act.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesapproach

───→here1.5───→2.1Six-verse prelude lays out the whole map.

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39The yoga-mind is just the sāṅkhya-mind, retold.

VallabhaclassicalF

Soul as part of the highest Personapproach

───→here1.5───→2.12The eternal among the eternal, conscious among the conscious.

VallabhaclassicalH

Stilling the mind — into the Lordapproach

───→here1.5───→2.48Yoga itself is just sameness of mind.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridapproach

───→here1.5───→2.11Vallabha quotes his own Nibandha at verse two.

ŚrīdharaclassicalA

The Gītā as raft across griefbetween

1.1A raft of teaching crosses the grief-sea.───→here1.5───→2.7I am sunk in pity; ask, do not order.

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

1.1The first epithet: supremely compassionate.───→here1.5───→4.7When right wanes, I take a body.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingapproach

───→here1.5───→2.39Work polishes the inner instrument first.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerapproach

───→here1.5───→3.30Lay every act in Me; I move within.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerapproach

───→here1.5───→2.24The self is one unbroken awareness.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalF

Three guṇas: contractions of one consciousnessapproach

───→here1.5───→2.45Exit the modes — not better modes are the goal.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesapproach

───→here1.5───→2.20Cit alone — the self cannot be destroyed.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)approach

───→here1.5───→2.10Bracket opens here.

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)approach

───→here1.5───→2.47Act, but not for the fruit of acting.

Śabda · lemmas (11 unique · 13 occurrences)

च ca ×3 — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
धृष्टकेतुः dhṛṣṭaketu — Dhṛṣṭaketu (a Pāṇḍava ally, king of the Cedis) · nominative masculine singular noun · also at 1.4, 1.6

show all 11

चेकितानः cekitāna — Cekitāna (a Pāṇḍava warrior) · nominative masculine singular noun · also at 1.4, 1.6
काशि kāśi — the king of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) · compound
राजः rāja — king (from √rāj) · nominative masculine singular noun
वीर्यवान् vīryavat — (vīrya + -vat: valor) · nominative masculine singular noun
पुरुजित् purujit — Purujit (a Pāṇḍava ally) · nominative masculine singular noun
कुन्तिभोजः kuntibhoja — Kuntibhoja (Kuntī's adoptive father, Pāṇḍava ally) · nominative masculine singular noun
शैब्यः śaibya — Śaibya (a Pāṇḍava ally king) · nominative masculine singular noun
नर nara — man, human · compound
पुंगवः puṃgava — bull, foremost ('bull-like'); '-best of' · nominative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01Why does the Gītā open with a census of warriors rather than with philosophical argument — what does the specificity of named heroes accomplish that abstraction cannot?
02Madhusūdana's bhāṣya defines mahāratha technically (ten thousand archers, śastra-śāstra-pravīṇa). What does it mean for a sacred text to embed military-technical precision alongside spiritual teaching — are these in tension or mutually reinforcing?

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03Both Rāmānuja and Vallabha read Duryodhana's viṣāda (dejection upon surveying the armies) as spiritually significant before Arjuna's viṣāda even begins. How does the tradition's habit of finding inner meaning in military psychology shape the Gītā's ethical stakes?
04Śaṅkara and Madhva bhāṣyas are absent for this verse. What does it reveal about a school's interpretive priorities when it skips the opening chapters — is the battlefield a distraction from doctrine, or essential to it?
05The epithet nara-puṃgava ('bull among men') is applied to Śaibya here and to Arjuna elsewhere. Does a shared epithet create resonance — or ironic distance — between warriors on opposite sides?
06Each name in this verse carries a meaning: Dhṛṣṭaketu ('Bold-Banner'), Purujit ('Many-Conqueror'), Kuntibhoja ('Nourisher of the Kuntis'). When the tradition reads these as spiritually charged rather than merely historical, what theory of language — śabda as action, not merely label — is operating?
07Madhusūdana insists all seventeen listed warriors are mahārathās with no ratha ('chariot-fighter') or ardha-ratha ('half-fighter') among them. What is at stake — militarily, narratively, and spiritually — in establishing that Arjuna's army is composed entirely of the highest grade of warrior?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you face a demanding project and feel the weight of naming all the people, resources, and obstacles involved — recognise that the act of enumeration is itself māyā's grip. The Advaita move is not to dismiss practical inventory, but to hold it lightly: catalogue what is needed, then act without being captured by the catalogue. The names on Duryodhana's mental list neither add to nor subtract from the underlying unity; your to-do list is equally provisional.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In team leadership or collaborative service, Rāmānuja's frame asks: do you see your colleagues as instruments of Bhagavān's purpose (kainkarya) or merely as heads-counted for a project? Naming each person's specific contribution — as Duryodhana names each warrior — becomes an act of devotion when done with the recognition that every capacity present in the team is ultimately Sarvéśvara's provision. This transforms staff meetings into a kind of liturgy of acknowledgment.

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Dvaita

Madhva's reading warns against confusing borrowed strength for self-generated power. In any domain — professional, athletic, creative — the Dvaita practitioner habitually asks: whose śakti is actually moving through me here? Crediting Hari's agency rather than inflating personal vīrya (heroic energy) is not false modesty; it is accurate perception of the jīva's ontological status. The daily practice is to complete work with full effort while mentally dedicating the capacity itself back to its source.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's frame of līlā-prasāda transforms competitive calculation — the kind Duryodhana performs as he tallies forces — into an invitation to receive rather than control. In daily life: when you are about to evaluate whether your resources are 'sufficient' for a challenge, notice the grasping quality in that calculation. Puṣṭi-mārga practice suggests resting in the sufficiency that Kṛṣṇa's grace has already arranged, while still engaging fully with the task in front of you.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's economy of commentary — name, gloss, move on — models a devotional relationship with people: see each person clearly (nara-śreṣṭha, the best in this person), name their quality precisely, and let the recognition itself be the act of reverence. In parenting, teaching, or mentorship this means resisting the impulse to over-explain or over-analyse someone's gifts; a well-chosen epithet given sincerely does more than a paragraph of praise.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's insistence that every warrior in Arjuna's army is a mahāratha — none a ratha, none an ardha-ratha — translates into a discipline of refusing to underestimate the people around you. In everyday practice this means: before dismissing a colleague's contribution as marginal, apply the mahāratha test (are they capable of sustained, skilled engagement with real difficulty?). Madhusūdana's synthesis suggests that seeing the full śakti distributed in each person is both an Advaita recognition (one ground) and a bhakti act (honoring Kṛṣṇa's presence in each form).

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 1, Verse 5: Arjuna to Krishna — Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga