BG 1.8 — Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 1.8Chapter 1 · Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga · Arjuna → Krishna · anuṣṭubh

भवान् भीष्मश् च कर्णश् च कृपश् च समितिंजयः ।

अश्वत्थामा विकर्णश् च सौमदत्तिर् जयद्रथः ॥

bhavān bhīṣmaś ca karṇaś ca kṛpaś ca samitiṃjayaḥ

aśvatthāmā vikarṇaś ca saumadattir jayadrathaḥ

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

meaning

There on your side stand Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Karṇa, and Kṛpa the battle-proven, with Aśvatthāmā, Vikarṇa, Saumadatti, and Jayadratha.

ekras · bhāṣya

Duryodhana names his own. "You and Bhishma, Karna, Kripa the battle-proven, Ashvatthama, Vikarna, Saumadatti, and Jayadratha." Drona and Bhishma are the unmatched two — no one in the three worlds can stand against either of them at full strength. Bhishma has the boon of iccha-mrityu: he can only die when he chooses. Ashvatthama is Drona's son, a chiranjivi. Kripa is also a chiranjivi. Three immortals on this side, plus Drona and Bhishma. The Kaurava list has the unkillable men. But there's a tell. By elder-respect Duryodhana should have said "you and Bhishma, then Kripa, then Karna" — Kripa is older, an acarya, while Karna is a king and not in the senior teacher-class. Duryodhana names Karna right after Bhishma, before Kripa.

Ramsukhdas Maharaj reads this as the heart speaking ahead of the protocol. Duryodhana trusts Karna more than he trusts Kripa. He believes Karna alone can defeat the entire Pandava army, including Arjuna. To soften the breach of order, he gives Kripa the epithet samitimjaya — battle-victorious. The list shows where the trust actually sits. Even with the unkillable men around him, Duryodhana's confidence rests on the one mortal he believes in most.

Context

where

Chapter 1 · Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Arjuna → Krishna

preceded by — BG 1.7

Know them well, O best among the twice-born: I name the outstanding commanders of my army so you have a clear picture of our forces.

What's going on

There on your side stand Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Karṇa, and Kṛpa the battle-proven, with Aśvatthāmā, Vikarṇa, Saumadatti, and Jayadratha.

Sūtras through this verse (99)

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

1.1Means and end set out as one paired axis.───→here1.8───→2.39Wisdom closes, action opens. Same axis.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-ruleapproach

───→here1.8───→2.12Every soul named here is a real distinct self.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)approach

───→here1.8───→2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.

show all 99

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbaapproach · other

───→here1.8───→2.18Image perishes, source endures

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closeapproach

───→here1.8───→2.18The mirror breaks but the sun is unhurt.

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesapproach

───→here1.8───→2.23Even great gods are unequal in their glory.

MadhvaclassicalT4

Liberation is bliss in body — not absorptionapproach

───→here1.8───→2.50Release is embodied, blissful, never merging.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksapproach

───→here1.8───→2.18The image perishes, but the source endures.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadapproach

───→here1.8───→2.23Nāradīya names what reason cannot prove.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39The two paths name one practice, one fruit.

MadhvaclassicalT8

Direct vision — the only proximate causeapproach

───→here1.8───→2.46Scripture is a small well when the flood arrives.

MadhvaclassicalT9

Devotion and grace — what knowledge cannot do aloneapproach

───→here1.8───→2.23Without worship of Hari no one ever crosses.

MadhvaclassicalT11

Only revealed scripture decides — reason alone cannotapproach

───→here1.8───→2.13Self-survival is settled by śruti, not by reason.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoireapproach

───→here1.8───→2.55'Self' here means mind — a single word redirects.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here1.8───→

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actapproach

───→here1.8───→2.47Only a human body can do new action.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionapproach

───→here1.8───→2.55Drop desire, and the sense of doing falls.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

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

───→here1.8───→2.45Rise above the modes, said in chapter two.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipapproach

───→here1.8───→2.31A warrior's own duty is the war he faces.

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterapproach

───→here1.8───→2.41A one-pointed mind is the seeker's mark.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingapproach

───→here1.8───→2.14Bear pleasure and pain as a passing season.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roomapproach

───→here1.8───→2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsapproach

───→here1.8───→3.37The enemy is desire turning into anger.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursapproach

───→here1.8───→3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.

ĀnandagiriclassicalE

Pūrvapakṣa via nanu / āśaṅkyabetween

1.1Dialectical chain present from line one.───→here1.8───→2.39Nanu… tatrāha: one pair, named.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstbetween

1.2Same form repeats on the next verse.───→here1.8───→2.10Word-fit holds even at the dialogue's pivot.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathapproach · v2

───→here1.8───→2.47Right to action

Ekrasmodernend_of_life

End of life — the threshold tourapproach · v2

───→here1.8───→2.13Bodies pass, the dehī does not

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterapproach · v2

───→here1.8───→1.29The body fails

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentapproach · v2

───→here1.8───→2.55Sthitaprajna defined

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionapproach · v2

───→here1.8───→3.20Janaka, lokasangraha

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesapproach · v2

───→here1.8───→2.41Single-pointed buddhi

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvaapproach · v2

───→here1.8───→3.27Modes act, ego claims

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementapproach · other

───→here1.8───→2.62Brooding breeds attachment

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictapproach · other

───→here1.8───→1.31Bad omens

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthaapproach · other

───→here1.8───→2.10Thesis flat

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseaseapproach

───→here1.8───→2.10Sorrow and delusion are the seed of saṁsāra.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downapproach

───→here1.8───→2.10First lay down all action, then knowledge frees.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youapproach

───→here1.8───→2.10Some say: combine knowledge with rites.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39So far for the seeker of the real; now hear yoga.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemyapproach

───→here1.8───→2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldapproach

───→here1.8───→3.20Janaka acted only to hold the world together.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimapproach

───→here1.8───→2.10Pāṇḍitya is knowing the Self — Bṛhadāraṇyaka.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedapproach

───→here1.8───→2.72Standing in this state, one reaches Brahman..

ĀnandagiriclassicalB

Three hexads = tat tvam asiapproach

───→here1.8───→2.1First hexad opens, tvam-pada implicit.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledapproach

───→here1.8───→2.47Primary fitness needs ripened conditions.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsapproach

───→here1.8───→3.1Buddhi-vyākulatva named the seed.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologyapproach

───→here1.8───→2.47No-fruit ≠ no-karma: kāmya-tyāga ≠ nitya-tyāga.

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyateapproach

───→here1.8───→2.55A description, not a command. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhiapproach

───→here1.8───→2.47Action stays; the wish for fruit goes.

ĀnandagiriclassicalK

Upasaṃhāra — recap as instrumentapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39Wisdom section wound up here.

JayatīrthaclassicalA

Body and embodied — the inference runs on the dehī sideapproach

───→here1.8───→2.13Same I as a child is now in this body.

JayatīrthaclassicalB

Pañcabheda — the five distinctions enforced verse by verseapproach

───→here1.8───→2.12Plurals block monistic absorption.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedapproach

───→here1.8───→2.13One-self-many-bodies runs out of grammar.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyaapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39Wrap prior section, then announce next.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsapproach

───→here1.8───→3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

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

───→here1.8───→2.13Pratyabhijñā backed by śruti citation.

JayatīrthaclassicalH

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

───→here1.8───→2.13Two objections, three pādas glossed.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availableapproach

───→here1.8───→2.13Recognition is literal across bodies.

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥapproach

───→here1.8───→2.11Madhva first speaks, Jayatīrtha supplies.

MadhusūdanaclassicalK

Arjuna's grief has two roots, not onebetween

1.1Discrimination overrun by grief and confusion.───→here1.8───→2.1Pity and despair treated as guests, not host.

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanaapproach · other

───→here1.8───→2.47Fruit-free action cannot bind

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningapproach

───→here1.8───→2.62'Dhyayato vishayan pumsah sangas teshupajayate, sangat sanjayate kamah.' The out

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaapproach

───→here1.8───→1.28Arjuna at the edge: 'Drishtvemam svajanam Krishna yuyutsum samupasthitam, sidant

Gauravmodernheart_leadership

Heart Leadershipapproach

───→here1.8───→2.48'Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva Dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handapproach

───→here1.8───→2.47Middle finger. Nishkama karma plus the failure-gym. 'Karmany evadhikaras te, ma

Gauravmodernmemorial_pastoral

Memorial Pastoralapproach

───→here1.8───→2.13The memorial-register anchor. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, ta

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101approach

───→here1.8───→2.13Reincarnation pillar. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, tatha deha

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidapproach

───→here1.8───→3.3'Loke'smin dvi-vidha nishtha pura prokta mayanagha, jnana-yogena samkhyanam karm

Gauravmodernwitness_self_neti_neti

Witness Self Neti Netiapproach

───→here1.8───→2.13Body changes. 'Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara.' Gaurav opens the

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

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

───→here1.8───→3.1The whole map laid out at chapter three's door.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39Two minds, two paths, never one rule for all.

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39Pure mind for knowing, impure mind for acting.

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingapproach

───→here1.8───→2.47Action offered, fruit-free, cannot bear bondage.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39Like light and dark, they cannot share a place.

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runapproach

───→here1.8───→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.───→here1.8───→11.50Sañjaya names the viśva-rūpa as witness.

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesbetween

1.1See Viṭṭhaleśa's hand for chapter one's gloss.───→here1.8───→1.31The despondency catalogue goes to Viṭṭhaleśa.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketapproach

───→here1.8───→2.10The teaching opens at the carama-bracket.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentapproach

───→here1.8───→3.30'Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi': read as antaryāmin.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalE

Pūrva-pakṣa — name the rival, close the doorapproach

───→here1.8───→2.12Plurals refute the unitary-self read.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39What chapter 3 will resolve, named here.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39Sāṅkhya and yoga: not two roads.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefapproach

───→here1.8───→2.10Krishna smiles before the first mā-śucaḥ.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedapproach

───→here1.8───→3.1Drop something inside the act, not the act.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesapproach

───→here1.8───→2.1Six-verse prelude lays out the whole map.

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39The yoga-mind is just the sāṅkhya-mind, retold.

VallabhaclassicalF

Soul as part of the highest Personapproach

───→here1.8───→2.12The eternal among the eternal, conscious among the conscious.

VallabhaclassicalH

Stilling the mind — into the Lordapproach

───→here1.8───→2.48Yoga itself is just sameness of mind.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridapproach

───→here1.8───→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.───→here1.8───→2.7I am sunk in pity; ask, do not order.

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

1.1The first epithet: supremely compassionate.───→here1.8───→4.7When right wanes, I take a body.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingapproach

───→here1.8───→2.39Work polishes the inner instrument first.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerapproach

───→here1.8───→3.30Lay every act in Me; I move within.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerapproach

───→here1.8───→2.24The self is one unbroken awareness.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalF

Three guṇas: contractions of one consciousnessapproach

───→here1.8───→2.45Exit the modes — not better modes are the goal.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesapproach

───→here1.8───→2.20Cit alone — the self cannot be destroyed.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)approach

───→here1.8───→2.10Bracket opens here.

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)approach

───→here1.8───→2.47Act, but not for the fruit of acting.

Śabda · lemmas (10 unique · 13 occurrences)

भवान् bhavat — you (respectful 2nd-person pronoun); also: present participle of √bhū · nominative masculine singular noun
अश्वत्थामा aśvatthāman — Aśvatthāman (son of Droṇa, a Kaurava warrior) · nominative masculine singular noun
जयद्रथः jayadratha — Jayadratha (king of Sindhu, Kaurava ally) · nominative masculine singular noun

show all 10

च ca ×4 — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
भीष्मः bhīṣma — Bhīṣma (the Kuru patriarch); also: terrible, frightful · nominative masculine singular noun
कर्णः karṇa — Karṇa (the half-brother of the Pāṇḍavas); also: ear · nominative masculine singular noun
कृपः kṛpa — Kṛpa (a war-elder); also: pity, compassion · nominative masculine singular noun
समितिंजयः samitiṃjaya — victorious in battle (samiti + jaya) · nominative masculine singular noun
विकर्णः vikarṇa — (vi- + karṇa: Karṇa) · nominative masculine singular noun
सौमदत्तिः saumadatti — son of Somadatta · nominative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01Why does Duryodhana enumerate warriors by name rather than by number or formation? What does the choice of nāma-kīrtana (name-recitation) as a rhetorical mode reveal about how Sanskrit epic tradition constructs authority and morale?
02Madhusūdana identifies the concealment of inner fear (antarutpanna-bhaya) behind Duryodhana's bold recitation. In what situations do we perform confidence inventories — listing our assets aloud — not to inform others but to suppress our own doubt? Is such self-reassurance skillful or a sign of misalignment?

show all 7

03The epithet 'samitijaya' (conqueror in assembly or in battle-gathering) is given specifically to Kṛpa, not to Bhīṣma or Droṇa. What does the tradition signal by marking out this particular virtue — victory in the assembled field of conflict — as the one worth naming?
04Śaṅkara's commentary begins only at 2.10. What does the silence of the jñāna tradition on the first chapter's warrior-catalogue suggest about which portions of the Gītā carry philosophical weight versus narrative scaffolding?
05The verse lists eight named warriors where the Mahābhārata knows hundreds. What is the logic of a canonical short-list — who gets named, who disappears — and how does that selection shape what a tradition remembers about a conflict?
06Rāmānuja and Vallabha both read this section as prefiguring Kṛṣṇa's sovereignty (sarvaiśvarya). If even the recounting of enemy forces becomes a theophanic moment, what is the interpretive move that accomplishes that transformation — and when is that move legitimate versus evasive?
07Madhusūdana notes that Aśvatthāmā, Droṇa's son, is listed first among the nāyakas — ahead of Vikarṇa — as a gesture toward the ācārya's paternal pride. How does flattery embedded in enumeration differ from honest assessment, and what are the downstream consequences of loyalty secured through ego-management?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you find yourself reciting your advantages — your credentials, your allies, your resources — before a high-stakes meeting, notice what the recitation is doing. From an Advaita vantage: the list is real at the vyāvahārika (transactional) level but not at the pāramārthika (ultimate) level. Use the moment of enumeration as a practice: after listing what you have, ask once, 'Who is the one who has these things?' The warrior-catalogue dissolves; the inquiry sharpens.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Before a consequential action, it is natural to take stock of your team — who stands with you, what each person brings. The Viśiṣṭādvaita practice is to hold the team not as your possession but as Bhagavān's vibhūti (manifest glory) placed at your disposal. Name each person with inner gratitude; your inventory becomes an act of kainkarya (service-acknowledging the Lord's gifts). The result is steadiness rather than the brittle bravado of self-reliance.

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Dvaita

Dvaita insists on tāratamya — the irreducible hierarchy and differentiation among jīvas. In practice: do not flatten your team into interchangeable resources. Each collaborator has a distinct competence given by Hari's dispensation; treating them as equivalent is both inaccurate and disrespectful. Map roles with precision, assign work according to genuine capacity, and acknowledge the hierarchy openly rather than pretending equality where it does not exist.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's Puṣṭi-mārga holds that every inventory, every planning session, every pre-battle roll-call is already Kṛṣṇa's līlā unfolding. The everyday application: enter your next team review or resource assessment with the interior gesture that you are not the author of this plan — you are the instrument. List your assets not to claim credit but to offer the list back as prasāda. The anxiety that normally attends 'do I have enough?' dissolves when the questioner recognizes they are themselves being offered.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's terse philological restraint is itself a practice-model: say what is true, say it precisely, and stop. When briefing a team or writing a status report, resist the temptation to amplify or editorialize. Identify each contributor by their specific, warranted epithet — not inflated praise, not false modesty. Kṛpa is samitijaya, conqueror in the field of assembly: that is the accurate word. Find the accurate word for each person and use only that.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's reading foregrounds the psychology of flattery-as-strategy. In leadership contexts, notice when you are listing someone's contributions primarily to recruit their loyalty to your agenda. The practice is not to abandon acknowledgment but to audit its motivation: am I naming this person's strength because it is true, or because I need them on my side? The distinction between genuine recognition and instrumental praise is thin but crucial — and dharmic action requires keeping it visible.

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 8: Arjuna to Krishna — Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga