Shloka 18
Arjuna Vishada Yoga — The Yoga of Arjuna's Despondency
द्रुपदो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्वशः पृथिवीपते । सौभद्रश्च महाबाहुः शङ्खान्दध्मुः पृथक्पृथक् ॥ १.१८ ॥
drupado draupadeyāś ca sarvaśaḥ pṛthivī-pate | saubhadraś ca mahā-bāhuḥ śaṅkhān dadhmuḥ pṛthak-pṛthak || 1.18 ||
O lord of the earth! Drupada, the sons of Draupadī, and the mighty-armed son of Subhadrā (Abhimanyu)—all of them, each in his own way, blew their conches separately.
“हे पृथ्वीपते! द्रुपद, द्रौपदी के पुत्र तथा महाबाहु सौभद्र (अभिमन्यु) — इन सबने अलग-अलग शंख बजाए।”
“Drupada and the sons of Draupadī, all of them, O lord of the earth; and Saubhadra of mighty arms—blew their conches, each separately.”
‘पृथिवीपते’ सम्बोधन धृतराष्ट्र के लिए है। ‘पृथक्पृथक्’ समूह के भीतर बहुलता/स्वतंत्र संकेत को दिखाता है—एक संयुक्त ध्वनि-परिवेश के भीतर व्यक्तिगत पहचान भी बनी रहती है।
FAQs
“Each separately” indicates both individuality and coordination—an image of many agents acting in parallel toward a shared objective.
As allegory, it can suggest that diverse faculties of the person (thought, will, emotion) must each ‘sound’ clearly while remaining integrated; the text itself remains descriptive.
Completes the list begun in 1.17 and emphasizes the breadth of the Pāṇḍava coalition through named participants and collective signaling.
Useful as a model for distributed leadership: multiple contributors communicate readiness in their own domains while aligning to a common mission.