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Bhagavad-gītā 18.74

इत्यहं वासुदेवस्य पार्थस्य च महात्मन: । संवादमिममश्रौषमद्भुतं रोमहर्षणम् ॥ ७४ ॥
sañjaya uvāca
[sanjaya uvaacha]
ity ahaṁ vāsudevasya
[ity aham vaasudevasya]
pārthasya ca mahātmanaḥ
[paarthasya cha mahaatmanah]
saṁvādam imam aśrauṣam
[samvaadam imam ashrausham]
adbhutaṁ roma-harṣaṇam
[adbhutam roma-harshanam]
Word-for-word
sañjayaḥ uvāca — Sañjaya said iti — thus aham — I vāsudevasya — of Kṛṣṇa pārthasya — and Arjuna ca — also mahā - ātmanaḥ — of the great soul saṁvādam — discussion imam — this aśrauṣam — have heard adbhutam — wonderful roma - harṣaṇam — making the hair stand on end .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sañjaya uvāca
sañjayaḥ uvāca
Sañjaya said
ity ahaṁ vāsudevasya
iti
thus
aham
I
vāsudevasya
of Kṛṣṇa
pārthasya ca mahātmanaḥ
pārthasya
and Arjuna
ca
also
mahā - ātmanaḥ
of the great soul
saṁvādam imam aśrauṣam
saṁvādam
discussion
imam
this
aśrauṣam
have heard
adbhutaṁ roma-harṣaṇam
adbhutam
wonderful
roma - harṣaṇam
making the hair stand on end .
Important Words
  • vāsudevasya — of Kṛṣṇa
    Genitive. With pārthasya ca, Sañjaya names both speakers. The whole Gītā is framed as their two-voice exchange, and Sañjaya honors both by name.
  • mahā - ātmanaḥ — of the great soul
    Genitive compound. Applied here to Arjuna (or to both). Mahā-ātman — the title given to those who have surrendered their entire orientation to the Lord.
  • saṁvādam — the dialogue
    The genre-name for the Gītā throughout. Saṁ-vāda — speaking together. Not lecture, not treatise — *conversation*. The Bhāgavata tradition keeps insisting on this.
  • adbhutam — wonderful
    Adjective. Sañjaya's emotional verdict. The Gītā is adbhuta — wonder-producing. The verse is one of the Gītā's own attestations to its rasa-effect on the hearer.
  • roma - harṣaṇam — making the hair stand on end
    Compound noun. The standard Sanskrit phrase for ecstatic physical response. The Gītā produces bodily *rapture* in the qualified hearer. Sañjaya's body verifies what his mind has registered.
Sañjaya said: Thus have I heard the conversation of two great souls, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. And so wonderful is that message that my hair is standing on end.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Sañjaya speaks: the narrative frame returns. He marvels at the wondrous, hair-raising conversation between Vāsudeva and Pārtha. The chapter's last five verses are his report to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Closing of the chapter and of the Gītā returns us to the outermost frame of 1.1 (Dhṛtarāṣṭra's question) via Sañjaya. 'Roma-harṣaṇa' (hair standing on end) is the classical sign of bhakti-rasa. Sañjaya, the auditory witness, becomes the first model of the listener whose hair stands on end — exactly the response v. 71 predicts.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
इति अहं वासुदेवस्य पार्थस्य च महा-आत्मनः इमम् अद्भुतं रोम-हर्षणं संवादम् अश्रौषम् ।
iti ahaṃ vāsudevasya pārthasya ca mahā-ātmanaḥ imam adbhutaṃ roma-harṣaṇaṃ saṃvādam aśrauṣam |
Thus I heard this wonderful, hair-raising dialogue of Vāsudeva and the great-souled Pārtha.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
सञ्जयः उवाच
sañjayaḥ uvāca
इति अहं वासुदेवस्य पार्थस्य च महा-आत्मनः । संवादम् इमम् अश्रौषम् अद्भुतं रोम-हर्षणम् ॥
iti ahaṃ vāsudevasya pārthasya ca mahā-ātmanaḥ | saṃvādam imam aśrauṣam adbhutaṃ roma-harṣaṇam ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
इति iti ind. (indeclinable) thus
अहम् aham अस्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) nom.sg. (nominative singular) I
वासुदेवस्य vāsudevasya वासुदेव (m.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) of Vāsudeva
पार्थस्य pārthasya पार्थ (m.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) of Pārtha
च ca ind. (indeclinable) and
महा-आत्मनः mahā-ātmanaḥ bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) gen.sg. (genitive singular)m. of the great-souled
संवादम् saṃvādam संवाद (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) dialogue
इमम् imam इदम् (pron. (pronoun)) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. this
अश्रौषम् aśrauṣam √श्रु aor. 1sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) I heard
अद्भुतम् adbhutam अद्भुत (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. wonderful
रोम-हर्षणम् roma-harṣaṇam tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. hair-raising
Purport

In the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, Dhṛtarāṣṭra inquired from his secretary Sañjaya, “What happened on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra?” The entire study was related to the heart of Sañjaya by the grace of his spiritual master, Vyāsa. He thus explained the theme of the battlefield. The conversation was wonderful because such an important conversation between two great souls had never taken place before and would not take place again. It was wonderful because the Supreme Personality of Godhead was speaking about Himself and His energies to the living entity, Arjuna, a great devotee of the Lord. If we follow in the footsteps of Arjuna to understand Kṛṣṇa, then our life will be happy and successful. Sañjaya realized this, and as he began to understand it, he related the conversation to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Now it is concluded that wherever there is Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, there is victory.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
74. Sañjaya said: Thus I have heard this remarkable, hair-raising conversation between Vāsudeva and the son of Pṛthā, a great devotee of the Lord.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
74. Sañjaya said: Thus I have heard this remarkable, hair-raising conversation between Vāsudeva and the son of Pṛthā, a great devotee of the Lord.
Commentary

The scripture is concluded. Sañjaya speaks to Dhṛtarāṣṭra to finish the story. This discourse is astonishing to the consciousness (adbhūtam), because it has never appeared before among men. It has caused my body hair to stand on end (romaharṣaṇam).

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Sanjaya relates his experience of the whole conversation: “Hairs standing on end”

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
18.74 Aham, I; iti, thus; asrausam, heard; imam, this; samvadam, conversation, as has been narrated; vasudevasya, of Vasudeva; and mahatmanah, parthasya, of the great-soulded Partha; which is adbhutam, unie, extremely wonderful; and roma-harsanam, makes one's hair stand on end.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
18.74 Sanjaya said Thus, in this way have I been hearing, this wondrous and thrilling dialogue, as it took place between Vasudeva, the son of Vasudeva, and His paternal aunt's son Arjuna, who is a Mahatman, one possessed of a great intelligence, and who has resorted to the feet of Sri Krsna.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
18.74 See Comment under 18.78
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
18.74 Sanjaya said Thus I have heard this wonderful dialogue between Krishna and the high-souled Arjuna, which causes the hair to stand on end.
Commentary

18.74 इति thus? अहम् I? वासुदेवस्य of Krishna? पार्थस्य of Arjuna? च and? महात्मनः highsouled? संवादम् dialogue? इमम् this? अश्रौषम् (I) have heard? अद्भुतम् wonderful? रोमहर्षणम् which causes the hair to stand on end.Commentary Wonderful because it deals with Yoga and transcendental spiritual matters that pertain to the mysterious immortal Self.Whenever good? higher emotions manifest themselves in the heart the hair stands on end. Devotees often experience this horripilation.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
18.74 Sanjaya said I thus heard this conversation of Vasudeva and of the great-souled Partha, which is unie and makes one's hair stand on end.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
18.74 Sanjaya told: "Thus have I heard this rare, wonderful and soul-stirring discourse of the Lord Shri Krishna and the great-souled Arjuna.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomVinaya (Humility / Modesty)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 11.35 BG 1.1 BG 11.50 SB 1.4.4 SB 1.1.1 SB 10.90.50 CC Antya 5.88 CC Madhya 25.264 CC Antya 1.207 BRS 2.3.16 Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7.1
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Sañjaya says: I have heard this wonderful conversation between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna — and my hair stands on end.
Practical Applications
  • Honor the body's response to sacred conversation.
  • Trust the recipient's experience as testimony.
  • Cultivate the receptivity that hears wonder.
Reflection Questions
  • When did sacred conversation last give me goosebumps?
  • What conditions support that receptivity?
Analogy

The witness, watching from a great distance, has his hair stand on end as he registers the magnitude of what he has just overheard. Sañjaya is exactly such a witness — and his physical response is one of the Gītā's testimonies to its own power.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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