1.10

Sanskrit

अपर्याप्तं तदस्माकं बलं भीष्माभिरक्षितम् । पर्याप्तं त्विदमेतेषां बलं भीमाभिरक्षितम् ॥

aparyāptaṃ tad asmākaṃ balaṃ bhīṣmābhirakṣitam paryāptaṃ tv idam eteṣāṃ balaṃ bhīmābhirakṣitam

Translation

Yet insufficient seems this army of ours, though marshalled by Bhîshma, while that army of theirs seems sufficient, though marshalled by Bhîma;

Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain

Explanation

After two rosters of names, the anxiety underneath them surfaces directly: despite Bhîshma’s command, Duryodhana judges his own vastly larger army insufficient against the Pândavas’. Traditional commentators have actually split on this verse’s reading — some take “aparyāptam” as “unlimited” rather than “insufficient,” reversing which army he’s calling weak — a rare case of real ambiguity in an otherwise plainly worded verse.