Bhagwat Geeta : Chapter 1 Shlok 15

chapter-1-shlok-15

पाञ्चजन्यं हृषीकेशो देवदत्तं धनञ्जयः |
पौण्ड्रं दध्मौ महाशङ्खं भीमकर्मा वृकोदरः ||


Meaning

Hrishikesha blew his conch, the Panchajanya and Arjuna blew his conch, the Devadatta and Bhima (the wolf-bellied), the doer of great deeds, blew the great conch Paundra.

Word to Word Meaning

पाञ्चजन्यं – Conch shell of Lord Krishna
हृषीकेशो – Another name of Lord Krishna
देवदत्तं – Conch shell of Arjun
धनञ्जयः – Another name of Arjun
पौण्ड्रं – Conch shell of Bhima
दध्मौ – blew
महाशङ्खं – great conch shell
भीमकर्मा – the doer of great deeds
वृकोदरः – one who is wolf bellied, refers to Bhima


Widely Accepted Interpretations

  • Hrishikesha(Lord Krishna), Arjun and Bhima(Vrikodar-one who is wolf bellied, Bhimkarma-doer of great deeds) blew their conches named Panchjanya, Devdatta and Paundra respectively.
  • Name of each warrior and its significance:
    1- Hrishikesh : It means controller of senses.
    2- Dhananjay : It means the conqueror of wealth. Arjun earned this name after he went on a campaign to accumulate gold to perform Rajasuya Yajna for Yudhisthira. In this campaign he defeated multiple kings.
    3- Bhimakarma : Doer of great deeds.
  • Name of conch of each warrior with significance:
    1- Panchjanya : This represents five basic elements that can create anything. Its sound represents primeval sound of creation when blown.
    2- Devdatta : Devdatta means ‘God-given’, its called Devdatta because it was gifted to Arjun by Varuna. It represents human effort, focus and mastery of skills.
    3- Bhimakarma : It means loud, resounding and powerful sound. It is a representation of Bhima’s raw strength.
  • Lord Krishna is called Hrishikesha here which means controller of senses. This shows that it is very important to control senses when facing adversities.
  • Hrishikesha, Dhananjay, Bhimakarma mentioned here represent controlling ones senses, being skillful, being powerful. All these three are very important to win any battle.
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