Chapter 1Verse 5 of 47

Bhagavad Gita 1.5

धृष्टकेतुश्चेकितानः काशिराजश्च वीर्यवान् । पुरुजित्कुन्तिभोजश्च शैब्यश्च नरपुङ्गवः ॥

dhṛṣṭaketuś cekitānaḥ kāśirājaś ca vīryavān | purujit kuntibhojaś ca śaibyaś ca nara-puṅgavaḥ ||

Translation

Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, and the valiant King of Kashi; Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya, a bull among men.

Duryodhana keeps going. Another six names. The roster builds, and the building is the point. He is not informing Drona, who already knows every name. He is making the case to himself. Nobody interrupts him. No one editorializes. He is allowed to talk until the talking is the evidence. This is the texture of a mind under pressure: the second pass over the same argument, slightly louder, addressed nominally to someone else.

Reflection

Who is the silent listener the second argument is for?

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter One

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