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In the text

Every name in the Gita

The Gita is a conversation in which almost nobody uses anybody’s name. This is the whole list: every name and epithet in the seven hundred verses, who it belongs to, and which verses it stands in.

Why does Krishna call Arjuna Partha and Kaunteya instead of Arjuna?

Because those are the Gita’s ordinary ways of addressing him, and both are his mother’s name. पार्थ means son of Pritha and occurs in 43 verses; कौन्तेय means son of Kunti and occurs in 25; Pritha and Kunti are one woman, called by her birth name and by the name she took in the house that adopted her. His own name अर्जुन occurs in 26. Classical Sanskrit verse also uses vocatives to fill metre, so not every choice carries weight — but the counts are a fact about the text, and this page gives them for all twenty-two figures.

Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life

The index

Who is called what

All 22 figures with pages on this site. 20 of them are named, or invoked, somewhere in the 700 verses; 2 do not occur at all. The number beside each word is how many verses use it.

Shri Krishna70 verses

  • कृष्ण Kṛṣṇa 12The name itself: dark, dark-blue, black.1.28 · 1.32 · 1.41 · 5.1 · 6.34 · 6.37 · 6.39 · 11.35 · 11.41 · 17.1 · 18.75 · 18.78
  • हृषीकेश Hṛṣīkeśa 7Lord of the senses — hṛṣīka, the sense-organ, and īśa, its master.1.15 · 1.20 · 1.24 · 2.9 · 2.10 · 11.36 · 18.1
  • जनार्दन Janārdana 6The one who stirs people; also read as the one whom people implore.1.36 · 1.39 · 1.44 · 3.1 · 10.18 · 11.51
  • केशव Keśava 6Of beautiful hair; read by the tradition also as the slayer of Keshin.1.31 · 2.54 · 3.1 · 10.14 · 11.35 · 18.76
  • मधुसूदन Madhusūdana 5Destroyer of Madhu — an act from the epic past, used as a name.1.35 · 2.1 · 2.4 · 6.33 · 8.2
  • पुरुषोत्तम Puruṣottama 5Highest of purushas. In 15.18 he applies it to himself.8.1 · 10.15 · 11.3 · 15.18 · 15.19
  • वासुदेव Vāsudeva 4Son of Vasudeva. The only patronymic the Gita gives him.7.19 · 10.37 · 11.50 · 18.74
  • योगेश्वर Yogeśvara 4Lord of yoga. Sanjaya’s word for him in the closing verses.11.4 · 11.9 · 18.75 · 18.78
  • अच्युत Acyuta 3The one who has not slipped, has not fallen away, does not fail.1.21 · 11.42 · 18.73
  • देव Deva 3God, plainly. Three times inside the vision, and never outside it.11.15 · 11.44 · 11.45
  • देवेश Deveśa 3Lord of the gods.11.25 · 11.37 · 11.45
  • जगन्निवास Jagannivāsa 3The dwelling-place of the world — not its ruler, its address.11.25 · 11.37 · 11.45
  • महाबाहो Mahābāho 3Mighty-armed. Arjuna returns Krishna’s own word to him.6.38 · 11.23 · 18.1
  • सखा sakhā 3Friend. Twice as a claim, once as the thing being apologised for.4.3 · 11.41 · 11.44
  • भगवन् Bhagavan 2The word the text uses for him in its own श्रीभगवानुवाच line — and twice a character says it to his face.10.14 · 10.17
  • भूतभावन Bhūtabhāvana 2The one who brings beings into being.9.5 · 10.15
  • देवदेव Devadeva 2God of the gods.10.15 · 11.13
  • गोविन्द Govinda 2Keeper and finder of cows; go also means the earth.1.32 · 2.9
  • हरि Hari 2Sanjaya’s word, not Arjuna’s. It bookends the vision: 11.9 as it opens, 18.77 as he remembers it.11.9 · 18.77
  • माधव Mādhava 2Of the line of Madhu — the Yadava descent.1.14 · 1.37
  • प्रभो Prabho 2Lord — the plainest of the honorifics, and the one Arjuna uses when asking a practical question.11.4 · 14.21
  • वार्ष्णेय Vārṣṇeya 2Of the Vrishni clan. A clan name, not a title.1.41 · 3.36
  • विष्णु Viṣṇu 2Named as Vishnu only inside the vision of Chapter 11.11.24 · 11.30
  • अनन्त Ananta 1Endless. A vocative once only, at 11.37, inside the vision.11.37
  • भूतेश Bhūteśa 1Lord of beings.10.15
  • देववर Devavara 1Best of the gods. Once, at 11.31, in the verse that asks who he is.11.31
  • जगत्पते Jagatpate 1Lord of the world. One of five names piled into the single verse 10.15.10.15
  • कमलपत्राक्ष Kamalapatrākṣa 1Lotus-petal-eyed. The one purely physical epithet in the Gita.11.2
  • परमेश्वर Parameśvara 1Supreme lord. A vocative once, at 11.3, in the request to be shown the form.11.3
  • सहस्रबाहो Sahasrabāho 1Thousand-armed — said at 11.46, in the same breath as the plea to come back to four arms.11.46
  • विश्वरूप Viśvarūpa 1You whose form is everything. The name the eleventh chapter is known by, used in it once as an address.11.16
  • विश्वेश्वर Viśveśvara 1Lord of all that is. Spoken inside the vision, at 11.16.11.16
  • यादव Yādava 1Of the line of Yadu. Spoken once, in an apology.11.41
  • योगिन् Yogin 1O yogin. Said once, at 10.17, while asking how he is to be known at all.10.17

Arjuna164 verses

Dhritarashtra14 verses

  • धार्तराष्ट्र Dhārtarāṣṭra 7Not him: “the sons of Dhritarashtra”, always plural, always at a distance.1.19 · 1.20 · 1.23 · 1.36 · 1.37 · 1.46 · 2.6
  • राजन् rājan 3King. Three times, all from Sanjaya, all at the two moments of wonder.11.9 · 18.76 · 18.77
  • भारत Bhārata 2Descendant of Bharata. Sanjaya’s word for the king he is reporting to.1.24 · 2.10
  • धृतराष्ट्र Dhṛtarāṣṭra 1His name, and it means “he by whom the kingdom is held”.11.26
  • पृथिवीपते Pṛthivīpate 1Lord of the earth — spoken while listing the army he will lose to.1.18

Kunti69 verses

Bhishma12 verses

  • भीष्म Bhīṣma 7The name means “the terrible one”, and it was earned by a vow, not a battle.1.8 · 1.10 · 1.11 · 1.25 · 2.4 · 11.26 · 11.34
  • पितामह Pitāmaha 5Grandfather. Not a title of respect only — a statement of the relation.1.12 · 1.26 · 1.34 · 9.17 · 11.39
  • कुरुवृद्ध Kuruvṛddha 1The eldest of the Kurus.1.12

Duryodhana8 verses

  • धार्तराष्ट्र Dhārtarāṣṭra 7The plural his side is named by, seven times, never singular.1.19 · 1.20 · 1.23 · 1.36 · 1.37 · 1.46 · 2.6
  • दुर्योधन Duryodhana 1The name means “hard to fight”. It is said once, at 1.2.1.2
  • राजा rājā 1The king — Sanjaya’s word for him as he walks to his teacher.1.2

Bhima3 verses

  • भीम Bhīma 3The fearsome one. At 1.4 he is the measure others are compared to.1.4 · 1.10 · 1.15
  • भीमकर्मा Bhīmakarmā 1Of terrible deeds. The Gita puts it next to Vrikodara in the same line.1.15
  • वृकोदर Vṛkodara 1Wolf-bellied — for an appetite, not for cruelty.1.15

Yudhishthira1 verses

  • कुन्तीपुत्र Kuntīputra 1Son of Kunti — the only time the Gita spells out what कौन्तेय means.1.16
  • राजा rājā 1The king — the same word the text gave Duryodhana fourteen verses earlier.1.16
  • युधिष्ठिर Yudhiṣṭhira 1Steady in battle. The one time the Gita says it, at 1.16.1.16

Drona6 verses

  • द्रोण Droṇa 4His name. In the Gita it appears only beside Bhishma’s, never alone.1.25 · 2.4 · 11.26 · 11.34
  • आचार्य ācārya 2Teacher. At 1.3 Duryodhana uses it to his face; at 1.2 Sanjaya uses it of him.1.2 · 1.3

Karna3 verses

  • कर्ण Karṇa 2His name, said twice: once by Sanjaya listing the army, once by Krishna listing the dead.1.8 · 11.34
  • सूतपुत्र Sūtaputra 1The charioteer’s son. Not a name — the fact that was used against him all his life.11.26

Nakula and Sahadeva2 verses

  • नकुल Nakula 2Named twice: once blowing a conch, once as Arjuna drops his bow.1.16 · 1.44
  • सहदेव Sahadeva 1Named once, in the same half-line as his twin.1.16

Dhrishtadyumna2 verses

  • धृष्टद्युम्न Dhṛṣṭadyumna 1Bold splendour. Named once, at 1.17, among the conch-blowers.1.17
  • द्रुपदपुत्र Drupadaputra 1The son of Drupada — how Duryodhana refers to him, without the name.1.3

Abhimanyu2 verses

  • सौभद्र Saubhadra 2Son of Subhadra. The Gita names him by his mother, twice, and never otherwise.1.6 · 1.18
  • महाबाहु Mahābāhu 1Mighty-armed — at 1.18 the word belongs to him, not to his father.1.18

Satyaki / Yuyudhana2 verses

  • सात्यकि Sātyaki 1Son of Satyaka, named at 1.17 as अपराजितः, the unconquered.1.17
  • युयुधान Yuyudhāna 1The one who wants to fight. The same man, at 1.4, under his other name.1.4

Drupada3 verses

  • द्रुपद Drupada 3King of Panchala, named in three verses of Chapter 1.1.3 · 1.4 · 1.18

Draupadi2 verses

  • द्रौपदेय Draupadeya 2Not her: “the sons of Draupadi”. She is in the text only as their mother.1.6 · 1.18Names her five sons, by her, not her.

Sanjaya1 verses

  • सञ्जय Sañjaya 1The name means “wholly victorious”. It is a charioteer’s name.1.1

Kripa1 verses

  • कृप Kṛpa 1Named once, at 1.8, as समितिञ्जय — victorious in assembly.1.8

Ashvatthama1 verses

  • अश्वत्थामा Aśvatthāman 1Named once, at 1.8, in Duryodhana’s roll-call of his own side.1.8

Vikarna1 verses

  • विकर्ण Vikarṇa 1Named once, at 1.8, among Duryodhana’s champions.1.8

Where one word names two people

The words that had to be split

Five words in the Gita name more than one person. None of them is split by guesswork. In every case the rule is the speaker, and the text names the speaker itself in the उवाच line before each verse.

भारत Bhārata

Twenty-two verses. Krishna says it to Arjuna twenty times; Sanjaya says it to Dhritarashtra twice, at 1.24 and 2.10. The split is made by the speaker, which the text names in its own उवाच line — no judgement of ours is involved. Both men are descendants of Bharata and the word fits both. It is the only epithet in the Gita that a reader can attach to the wrong man without making any mistake of grammar.

महाबाहो Mahābāho

Fourteen verses, and it travels in both directions. Krishna calls Arjuna mighty-armed eleven times; Arjuna calls Krishna mighty-armed three times, at 6.38, 11.23 and 18.1. Again the speaker decides. It is worth noticing that Arjuna first returns the word at 6.38, in the middle of asking what happens to a man who tries and fails.

राजा rājā

Two verses, two kings. At 1.2 it is Duryodhana walking to his teacher; at 1.16 it is Yudhishthira blowing a conch. The Gita gives the title to both claimants inside fifteen verses and does not adjudicate between them.

पाण्डव Pāṇḍava

Eleven verses. Eight of them are Arjuna alone — five as a vocative, three as a description. Three are the five brothers together: 1.1, 1.2 and 10.37. Only the plural forms are counted as the brothers; the singular is always Arjuna.

धार्तराष्ट्र Dhārtarāṣṭra

Seven verses, always plural, never one man. It is filed under both Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana because it is the word the text uses for the side they stand for, and under neither as a personal name — because it is not one.

Not in the text

Two people the Gita never names at all

  • GandhariWife of Dhritarashtra and mother of the Kauravas.
  • ShakuniBrother of Gandhari and maternal uncle of Duryodhana.

They have pages on this site because Chapter 1 cannot be read without them, and the pages say plainly that the Gita is silent. Draupadi is a third case and a different one: she is never named either, but she is present twice as द्रौपदेयाः, the sons of Draupadi, so she appears in the index above under a word that is not hers. A site that quietly filled these silences would be easier to read and less worth trusting.

The rest of Chapter 1

Names with no page of their own

Chapter 1 names a further dozen people in three verses and then never mentions them again. They are here so that a reader working through 1.4 to 1.9 is not left with a wall of untranslated proper nouns.

  • विराट Virāṭa 1.4

    The king of Matsya, in whose kitchens and cattle-sheds the Pandavas spent their thirteenth year in hiding. Named again at 1.17.

  • धृष्टकेतु Dhṛṣṭaketu 1.5

    King of Chedi, son of Shishupala — whom Krishna killed. He fights for the Pandavas.

  • चेकितान Cekitāna 1.5

    A Vrishni warrior, of Krishna’s own people, on the Pandava side.

  • काशिराज Kāśirāja 1.5

    The king of Kashi. His house and Bhishma’s have an old grievance.

  • पुरुजित् Purujit 1.5

    Brother of Kuntibhoja, and so of Kunti’s adoptive house — Arjuna’s maternal kin.

  • कुन्तिभोज Kuntibhoja 1.5

    The king who adopted Pritha and gave her the name Kunti. Arjuna’s grandfather by adoption.

  • शैब्य Śaibya 1.5

    A king of the Shibi people, called नरपुङ्गव — bull among men — in the same line.

  • युधामन्यु Yudhāmanyu 1.6

    A Panchala prince, called विक्रान्त, the daring.

  • उत्तमौजा Uttamaujā 1.6

    His brother, called वीर्यवान्, the strong. The two are always named together.

  • सौमदत्ति Saumadatti 1.8

    Bhurishrava, son of Somadatta, of the Kuru line, fighting for Duryodhana.

  • जयद्रथ Jayadratha 11.34

    King of Sindhu, married to Duryodhana’s only sister. Named once, in the list of the already dead.

  • व्यास Vyāsa 10.37

    The poet of the Mahabharata, named inside his own poem — “among the sages I am Vyasa” — and again at 18.75, where Sanjaya says his sight was Vyasa’s gift.

All twenty-two people How we reached Kurukshetra All 700 verses