A story moment · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“The war announces itself before the first blow.”
Then conches, kettledrums, drums, and trumpets burst forth at once. Their sound became thunderous.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallythen · conches · and · kettledrums · and · small drums and trumpets · all at once · were struck · that · sound · tumultuous · became
Conches, drums, and trumpets all sounded together, and the noise became overwhelming.
Sanjaya speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Arjuna Vishada Yoga" (The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair).
Verse 13 sits in Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita — Arjuna Vishada Yoga, "The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
A room goes silent before a hard meeting starts, then every phone buzzes at once. The moment of pressure arrives before a single word is spoken.
Did you like this verse?
It turns the scene from preparation into full confrontation.
What this verse means
Conches, drums, and trumpets all sounded together, and the noise became overwhelming.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, after Bhishma's conch, the Kaurava side answers with a sudden roar of instruments. The battlefield fills with noise before the first arrows fly, building the tension that leads into Krishna and Arjuna sounding their own conches.
Why this verse still matters
A room goes silent before a hard meeting starts, then every phone buzzes at once. The moment of pressure arrives before a single word is spoken.
“The battlefield is no longer quiet. The clash of war has begun to announce itself.”
Explore related themes: kurukshetra (95 verses)