Chapter 1 · Verse 17 · Arjuna Visada Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 1.17
Sanskrit
काश्यश्च परमेष्वासः शिखण्डी च महारथः। धृष्टद्युम्नो विराटश्च सात्यकिश्चापराजितः।।1.17।।
Transliteration
kāśhyaśhcha parameṣhvāsaḥ śhikhaṇḍī cha mahā-rathaḥ dhṛiṣhṭadyumno virāṭaśhcha sātyakiśh chāparājitaḥ
In plain words
You may have looked at your resources—your skills, your support system, your credentials—and felt it still isn't enough to face what's coming. The lesson for you: enumeration of your strength is not the same as alignment with your purpose, and that alignment is what steadies you when everything else feels thin. Stop measuring yourself against the task; measure yourself against the truth of who you're meant to become.
हिंदी अर्थ
काशी के राजा परमेष्वासु, शिखंडी, धृष्टद्युम्न, विराट और अपराजेय सात्यकि - ये सभी महान योद्धा पांडव पक्ष में हैं। इन सभी महारथियों के होने से पांडवों की सेना बहुत शक्तिशाली बन गई है।
Word by Word
Here Sanjaya names the great warriors of the Pandava army—each a master of their craft, each invincible in their own right. Yet this enumeration of power, skill, and prowess serves a deeper purpose: to show Arjuna that external strength and allies, though real, cannot quiet the voice of dharma calling from within.
When we face our own battles today, we must learn this truth—that listing our resources, our support systems, our competencies can comfort us temporarily, but only alignment with our deeper purpose brings true steadiness.
Listen
Bhagavad Gita 1.17 — BG 1.17
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