Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 1, Verse 13: Arjuna to Krishna — Arjuna-Viṣāda-Yoga

Bhāṣyakāra purports

• Śaṅkaraadvaita

  Then, as from a single signal, conches, kettledrums, tabors, trumpets, and cow-horned horns were beaten all at once — and the tumultuous uproar that arose from them filled the field. The ācārya is silent here: this is the world's noise before the teaching begins, the roar of saṃsāra (the turning wheel of conditioned existence) that the jñānin (knower) must pass through before the stillness of 2.10 is reached.

  divergence: ABSENT — Śaṅkarācārya's commentary on the Gītā begins at 2.10. No bhāṣya exists for 1.13.

• Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

  Beholding Duryodhana's dejection, Bhīṣma — the grandsire whose grace flows from Bhagavān's own resolve — set in motion a sound of triumph: conches, kettledrums, tabors, and cow-horns all cried out at once, their tumult a single proclamation of victory. In the Viśiṣṭādvaita (qualified non-dual) vision, this reverberant roar is kainkarya (loving service-act) offered by Bhīṣma to sustain the courage of those dependent on him — yet it is already shadowed by the knowledge that the sarvēśvarēśvara (lord of all lords), Kṛṣṇa himself, stands on the opposing chariot, and that sound will soon be answered by Pāñcajanya.

  divergence: Rāmānuja: 'tasya harṣaṃ janayituṃ siṃhanādaṃ śaṅkhādhyānaṃ ca kṛtvā śaṅkhabhērīninādaiś ca vijayābhiśaṃsinaṃ ghoṣaṃ ca akārayat' — 'To generate joy in him [Duryodhana], Bhīṣma made a lion-roar and blew his conch, and caused to be sounded battle-drums and conches that proclaimed victory.'

• Madhvadvaita

  The drums and conches of the Kaurava host burst forth together, shattering the air with a clamor that sought to overwhelm. In the Dvaita (dualist) frame, even this martial noise belongs to the sovereignty of Hari alone: Bhīṣma, Duryodhana, every player is a jīva (individual soul) utterly dependent (paratantra) on the Independent Lord. The noise is real; its actors are genuinely distinct from Brahman; and the tumult only underlines that no finite will — not Bhīṣma's lion-roar, not Duryodhana's anxiety — can alter the outcome that Hari has ordained.

  divergence: ABSENT — Madhvācārya's bhāṣya text for 1.13 is not present in the supplied payload.

• Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

  Seeing Duryodhana's sorrow, Bhīṣma poured forth the lion-roar of his joy and set every drum and horn resounding — a tumult that declared: victory is ours. In the Puṣṭi-mārga (path of grace-nourishment), this entire scene is Kṛṣṇa's līlā (divine play-pastime): the very grief, the very jubilation, the clashing instruments are all prasāda (grace-gift) flowing from Śrī Kṛṣṇa's will. One watches even the Kaurava uproar with wonder, not dread, for it is the Lord arranging the stage of His own delight.

  divergence: Vallabhācārya (on 1.12-1.13 combined): 'tatas tad viṣādam avalokya bhīṣmas tasya harṣaṃ janayituṃ siṃhanādaṃ śaṅkhanādaṃ ca kṛtvā śaṅkhabhērīninādair vijayābhiśaṃsakaṃ ghoṣaṃ cākārayat' — 'Then, seeing that grief, Bhīṣma, in order to produce joy in him, made a lion-roar and conch-blast and caused a sound proclaiming victory through drums and conches.'

• Śrīdharabhakti

  The moment Bhīṣma's war-signal rang out, the whole Kaurava host answered: tabors (paṇava), kettledrums (ānaka), cow-horns (gomukha), and conches were beaten and blown at once, and the combined roar swelled into a tumult (tumula — massive uproar) that engulfed the field. Śrīdhara's note is precise and devotionally plain: the instant (tatkṣaṇam eva) matters — this was not a gradual crescendo but a single unleashed wave of sound, announcing that the army of Dhṛtarāṣṭra had committed itself fully to the battle it had itself provoked.

  divergence: Śrīdhara Svāmī: 'pañavā ānakāḥ gomukhaś ca vādyaviśeṣāḥ. sahasaiva tatkṣaṇam evābhyahanyanta vāditāḥ. sa ca śaṅkhādiśabdas tumulo mahān abhavat' — 'Tabors, kettledrums, and cow-horns — these specific instruments — were played all at once, that very instant. And that sound of conches and the rest became a great tumult.'

• Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

  Right on the heels of Bhīṣma's action, the instruments — paṇava, ānaka, gomukha — were sounded all at once, and that sound became a vast tumult. Madhusūdana's synthesizing insight cuts deep: the Kaurava noise was meant to unsettle, but it failed — the Pāṇḍavas were not shaken (na kṣobhaḥ). For the sādhaka (practitioner) who walks the advaita-bhakti path, this signals that devotion to Kṛṣṇa is itself the equanimity; the roar of the world cannot disturb the one whose inner ground rests in the Lord.

  divergence: Madhusūdana Sarasvatī: 'tato bhīṣmasya senāpateḥ pravṛttyananataraṃ paṇavā ānakā gomukhaś ca vādyaviśeṣāḥ sahasā tatkṣaṇam evābhyahanyanta vāditāḥ ... tathāpi na pāṇḍavānāṃ kṣobho jāta iti abhiprāyaḥ' — 'Immediately after Bhīṣma the commander moved [into action], tabors, kettledrums, and cow-horns were played all at once ... yet the import is that no agitation arose among the Pāṇḍavas.'