Verse 13
" Then (following Bhishma) conches and kettle-drums, tabors, drums and cow-horns blared forth quite
suddenly and the sound was tremendous. All the commanders were no doubt in high tension and
as soon as they heard the Marshall’s bugle, individually each one of them took up his instrument and
sounded the battle cry. "
Analysis:
Thus, conches and kettledrums, tabors and trumpets, bugles and cow-horns, all burst forth into a challenging war-call (from the side of Kurus), which Sanjaya half-heartedly describes as “tremendous”. Later on, we shall find that when this challenge was replied to by the Pandavas, the sound was described by Sanjaya as terrific, “resounding throughout heaven and earth, and rending the hearts of the Kauravas”. This indicates that Sanjaya was evidently a moral objector of the war-aim of Duryodhana.
Taking this event as an allegory, this stanza (that is sounding of conchs from the Kauravas) describes gross physical vibrations emanating from the sense tendencies that incite sensory and bodily activities that pull the consciousness towards the body. Later stanzas (that is sounding of conchs from the Pandavas) in contrast describe the spiritual experiences and divine uplifting vibrations emanating from the soul.
Verse 13 contributed by Uday Aladangady
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