Bhagavad Gita · Arjuna Vishada YogaChapter 1, Shloka 10 (1.10)

One word, two worlds. This shloka is a beautiful example of how a single Sanskrit word can turn the whole meaning upside down.

Reading A — Duryodhana's anxiety. Shridhara Svami says: our army, even protected by Bhishma, seems incapable of fighting them; and he gives the reason — Bhishma has affection for both sides (ubhaya-pakṣapātitvāt), whereas Bhima belongs only to the Pandava side (eka-pakṣapātitvāt). In other words, Duryodhana fears that his commander's heart is not fully with him. Ramanuja too says in his summary of the story that Duryodhana told the teacher of the sufficiency of the Pandava army for victory and the insufficiency of his own, and inwardly fell into vishada (despair). In the next shloka, Bhishma's lion-roar "to awaken his joy" (1.12) fits well with this reading — because joy needs awakening only when there is gloom in the mind.

Reading B — Duryodhana's pride. Madhusudana Sarasvati gives this as the first meaning: our army is eleven akshauhinis — endless/unlimited; and protected by the subtle-minded Bhishma. The Pandavas' army is seven akshauhinis — limited; and (in Madhusudana's words) protected by Bhima of "extremely fickle intellect". Therefore "victory will be ours." Madhusudana also gives an alternative meaning based on grammar, which reaches the same conclusion (we have no need to fear).

What should we accept? Both readings are possible in Sanskrit, and both have respected commentators behind them. Some points of context lean towards Reading A — Duryodhana's detailed description of the Pandava army (1.3–1.6), his hiding of fear with the word "tu" (Madhusudana himself says this on 1.7), and Bhishma's "awakening of joy" (1.12). But Reading B also fits Duryodhana's arrogant nature. It is possible that Duryodhana's words hold both — pride on top, anxiety within. In this book we honestly keep both.

Why Bhima? The commander of the Pandava army was Dhrishtadyumna, not Bhima. Yet Duryodhana says "protected by Bhima". One possible reason: for Duryodhana, Bhima was the greatest personal threat — Bhima had vowed to kill Duryodhana and his brothers (a famous story of the Mahabharata). In Duryodhana's anxiety, Bhima's name comes first.

A hint from the Kashmiri text: Reading Abhinavagupta's commentary (which is based on the Kashmiri textual tradition) suggests that in his text Bhima and Bhishma may have swapped places — he calls "the Pandava army protected by Bhimasena" "impossible for us to defeat". Without seeing his original text we cannot say this for certain. Our base text is the vulgate, and both witness texts keep the same word order.