तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः
पितॄनथ पितामहान्।
आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा।
श्वशुरान्सुहृदश्चैव सेनयोरुभयोरपि॥ १.२६॥
Transliterationtatrāpaśyat sthitān pārthaḥ pitṝn atha pitāmahān
ācāryān mātulān bhrātṝn putrān pautrān sakhīṃs tathā
śvaśurān suhṛdaś caiva senayor ubhayor api
Word meanings
tatrathere
apaśyatsaw
sthitānstanding
pārthaḥPartha (Arjuna)
pitṝnfathers (elders of the father’s generation)
athathen
pitāmahāngrandfathers
ācāryānteachers
mātulānmaternal uncles
bhrātṝnbrothers
putrānsons
pautrāngrandsons
sakhīnfriends
tathāalso
śvaśurānfathers-in-law
suhṛdaḥwell-wishers
ca evaand also
senayoḥ ubhayoḥ apiin both armies
Translation
Sanjaya said:
There, Arjuna, the son of Pritha,
saw standing in both armies
fathers, grandfathers,
teachers, maternal uncles and brothers,
sons, grandsons and friends,
as well as fathers-in-law
and well-wishers.
Detailed meaning
Now Arjuna looks, and the list Sanjaya gives is not of warriors but of relationships: fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, fathers-in-law and well-wishers.
Earlier, Duryodhana counted the armies by strength and rank. Arjuna sees the very same people as family. The phrase senayor ubhayor api, “in both armies”, matters: his loved ones stand on his own side too. In this war, whoever wins, the people he cares about will be on both sides of the arrows.
Note: in many editions, the last line of this verse is counted as the beginning of verse 1.27.
Reflection
A situation changes
when opposing sides become personal.
What first appears as a larger conflict
begins to fill with relationships we recognise.
A situation changes when opposing sides become personal.
In Bhagavad Gita Shloka 1.26, Sanjaya says that Arjuna sees standing in both armies fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, fathers-in-law and well-wishers.
What had appeared as two opposing sides now contains familiar relationships.
And honestly... difficult situations can change for us in this way too.
At first, we may understand a conflict through positions, groups or opposing sides.
Then we recognise the people within it.
Names become familiar.
Relationships become visible.
The circumstances may remain the same.
But once we recognise who is involved, the situation is no longer impersonal.
This shloka reminds us
Opposing sides can appear clear from a distance.
Recognition changes what the moment begins to mean.
What first appears as a larger conflict can begin to fill with relationships we recognise.
Ask yourself
When has a situation changed for you
because you suddenly recognised
who was involved?
Sometimes the circumstances remain the same.
But familiar relationships
change what the moment begins to mean.
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