Bhagavad Gita 1.26: meaning and translation
Chapter 1: Arjuna Vishada Yoga. Sanjaya says
Sanjaya: There Arjuna sees who is standing in the two armies: elders of his father's generation, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and friends.
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Bhagavad Gita 1.26
तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान् ।आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा ॥
Tatrapashyatsthitanparthah pitrinatha pitamahanAcharyanmatulanbhratrinputranpautransakhinstatha
tatrāpaśyatsthitānpārthaḥ pitṝnatha pitāmahān |ācāryānmātulānbhrātṝnputrānpautrānsakhīṃstathā ||
Our explanation There Arjuna sees who is standing in the two armies: elders of his father's generation, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and friends. Telang's footnote says each word covers all relatives of that kind, so "brothers" includes cousins.
हिंदी अर्थ वहाँ अर्जुन देखते हैं कि दोनों सेनाओं में कौन खड़ा है: पिता की पीढ़ी के बड़े, पितामह, गुरु, मामा, भाई, पुत्र, पौत्र और मित्र। तेलंग की टिप्पणी के अनुसार हर शब्द में उस तरह के सभी संबंधी आते हैं, जैसे “भाई” में चचेरे भाई भी।
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Word by word
- तत्र tatra · there (indeclinable) Dictionary: tatra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 433, col. 2 “in that, therein, in that case”
- अपश्यत् apaśyat · saw (imperfect, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. paś, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 611, col. 2 “behold, look at, observe, perceive, notice”
- स्थितान् sthitān · standing (past participle (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: sthita, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1264, col. 1 “standing, staying, situated, resting or abiding or remaining in”
- पार्थः pārthaḥ · Partha (Arjuna) (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: 2. pārtha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 621, col. 3 “metron. of Yudhi-shṭhira or Bhīma-sena or Arjuna”
- पितॄन् pitṝn · fathers (elders) (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: pitṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 626, col. 2 “the fathers, forefathers, ancestors, (esp.) the Pitṛis or deceased ancestors”
- अथ atha · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: atha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 17, col. 3 “now; then; moreover; rather; certainly”
- पितामहान् pitāmahān · grandfathers (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: pitā-maha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 627, col. 1 “a paternal grandfather”
- आचार्यान् ācāryān · teachers (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: ācārya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 131, col. 3
- मातुलान् mātulān · maternal uncles (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: mātula, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 807, col. 3 “a maternal uncle”
- भ्रातॄन् bhrātṝn · brothers (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: bhrātṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 770, col. 2 “a brother”
- पुत्रान् putrān · sons (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: putra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 632, col. 3 “a son, child”
- पौत्रान् pautrān · grandsons (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: 1. pautra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 651, col. 1 “a son's son, grandson”
- सखीन् sakhīn · friends (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: sakhi, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1130, col. 2 “a friend, assistant, companion”
- तथा tathā · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: tathā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 433, col. 3 “in that manner, so, thus”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 40.
There the son of Prithâ saw in both armies, fathers and grandfathers, preceptors, maternal uncles, brothers, sons1, grandsons, companions,
This sentence goes on in 1.27.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - The words in this list include all standing in similar relationships to those directly signified. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 40.
There the son of Prithâ saw in both armies, fathers and grandfathers, preceptors, maternal uncles, brothers, sons1, grandsons, companions,
This sentence goes on in 1.27.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - The words in this list include all standing in similar relationships to those directly signified. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 19.
Then saw Pârtha standing there uncles and grandfathers, teachers, mother's brothers, cousins, their sons and grandsons, comrades,
This sentence goes on in 1.27.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 13; 57.
Then saw Pàrtha stationed there in both the armies, grandfathers, fathers-in-law and uncles, brothers and cousins, his own and their sons and grandsons, and comrades, teachers, and other friends as well. Then he, the son of Kunti, seeing all those kinsmen stationed in their ranks,
This sentence covers verses 1.26 to 1.27.
This sentence goes on in 1.28.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 40. Bhagavad Gita 1.26.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 19. Bhagavad Gita 1.26.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 13; 57. Bhagavad Gita 1.26–27.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 1.26: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/26/
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Bhagavad Gita 1.26
तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान् ।
आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा ॥
“There the son of Prithâ saw in both armies, fathers and grandfathers, preceptors, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, companions,”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 40, public domain)
This sentence goes on in 1.27.
“Then saw Pârtha standing there uncles and grandfathers, teachers, mother's brothers, cousins, their sons and grandsons, comrades,”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 19, public domain)
This sentence goes on in 1.27.
“Then saw Pàrtha stationed there in both the armies, grandfathers, fathers-in-law and uncles, brothers and cousins, his own and their sons and grandsons, and comrades, teachers, and other friends as well. Then he, the son of Kunti, seeing all those kinsmen stationed in their ranks,”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 13; 57, public domain)
This sentence covers verses 1.26 to 1.27. This sentence goes on in 1.28.
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/26/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 1.26?
Sanjaya speaks this verse, in chapter 1 (Arjuna Vishada Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026