Chapter 1Verse 13 of 47

Bhagavad Gita 1.13

ततः शङ्खाश्च भेर्यश्च पणवानकगोमुखाः । सहसैवाभ्यहन्यन्त स शब्दस्तुमुलोऽभवत् ॥

tataḥ śaṅkhāś ca bheryaś ca paṇavānaka-gomukhāḥ | sahasaivābhyahanyanta sa śabdas tumulo 'bhavat ||

Translation

Then conches and kettledrums, tabors, drums, and trumpets were suddenly sounded; and the sound was a tumult.

Six instruments named in one breath. The text could have summarized. It does not. It catalogs the sound the way Duryodhana cataloged the names, and for the same reason: a thing too big to hold in one image is held by listing its parts. After this verse, no individual chooses anything for a while. The sound has begun. The thing that was a question one minute ago is now an event. Most large wrongs in a life cross the same threshold: there is a moment after which the noise is too loud to argue inside.

Reflection

When did something in your life stop being a question and start just happening?

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter One

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