The sound of conchshells declares battle readiness and breaks the enemy's heart through superior strength and divine arrangement.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Bhagavad-gītā 1.16–19 — July 16, 1973, London 730716BG-LONDON [22:54 Minutes] Bg-01.16–19_730716BG-LONDON Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse] anantavijayaṁ rājā kuntī-putro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca sughoṣa-maṇipuṣpakau kāśyaś ca parameṣvāsaḥ śikhaṇḍi ca mahā-rathaḥ dhṛṣṭadyumno virāṭaś ca sātyakiś cāparājitaḥ drupado draupadeyāś ca sarvaśaḥ pṛthivī-pate saubhadraś ca mahā-bāhuḥ śaṅkhān dadhmuḥ pṛthak pṛthak [Bg. 1.16-18] [break]
Prabhupāda: Word meaning. Pradyumna: [leads chanting of synonyms] ananta-vijayam—the conch named Ananta-vijaya; rājā—the king; kuntī-putraḥ—the son of Kuntī; yudhiṣṭhiraḥ—Yudhiṣṭhira; nakulaḥ—Nakula; sahadevaḥ—Sahadeva; ca—and; sughoṣa-maṇipuṣpakau—the conches named Sughoṣa and Maṇipuṣpaka; kāśyaḥ—the King of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī); ca—and; parama-iṣu-āsaḥ—the great archer; śikhaṇḍī—Śikhaṇḍī; ca—also; mahā-rathaḥ—one who can fight alone against thousands; dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ—Dhṛṣṭadyumna (the son of King Drupada); virāṭaḥ—Virāṭa (the prince who gave shelter to the Pāṇḍavas while they were in disguise); ca—also; sātyakiḥ—Sātyaki (the same as Yuyudhāna, the charioteer of Lord Kṛṣṇa); ca—and; aparājitaḥ—who had never been vanquished before; drupadaḥ—Drupada, the King of Pāñcāla; draupadeyāḥ—the sons of Draupadī; ca—also; sarvaśaḥ—all; pṛthivī-pate—O King; saubhadraḥ—the son of Subhadrā (Abhimanyu); ca—also; mahā-bāhuḥ—greatly-armed; śaṅkhān—conchshells; dadhmuḥ—blew; pṛthak pṛthak—each separately. [06:38] Translation: "King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Kuntī, blew his conchshell, the Anantavijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughoṣa and Maṇipuṣpaka. That great archer the King of Kāśī, the great fighter Śikhaṇḍi, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Virāṭa and the unconquerable Sātyaki, Drupada, the sons of Draupadī, and the others, O King, such as the son of Subhadrā, greatly armed, all blew their respective conchshells." Prabhupāda: So here Dhṛtarāṣṭra is addressed as pṛthivī-pate, the lord of the world. Pṛthivī.
Pṛthivī means this planet. So five thousand years ago, from the statement it appears that the king of Hastināpura was the emperor of the whole world, pṛthivī-pate. One king. The whole planet was being governed by one emperor or king, and different parts of the world, other kings, subordinate kings, as they are named here, Drupada, then Virāṭa, Kāśya, in different parts of the world they came and joined.
And each and every one of them possessed a different kind of bugle, śaṅkha. So they declared that "Now we are ready to fight." And another significance of this verse is, Yudhiṣṭhira is also described here as rājā. In the beginning Sañjaya informed Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana rājā. So actually the fight is between the two kings: one side Duryodhana, another side Yudhiṣṭhira.
One may not misunderstand, therefore particularly mentioned kuntī-putra: this rājā is Kuntī's son, kuntī-putra. So Drupada, Mahārāja Drupada, the father of Draupadī. Draupadī was gained by Arjuna in competition. Draupadī, the daughter of Mahārāja Drupada, is Draupadī.
She is Draupadī. And her sons, they are draupadeya. So the grandfather, the grandsons, all of them were present, because they were allies. Mahārāja Drupada happened to be the father-in-law of the Pāṇḍavas. Draupadī accepted five husbands.
When Draupadī was gained in the competition, they were incognito. The Pāṇḍavas were incognito. They were banished for twelve years, and after twelve years, one year they had to live incognito. Nobody would understand where they are living.