The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair

The Pandavas' conch sound—purposeful, aligned, confident—'shatters the hearts' (hṛdayāni vyadārayat) of the Kauravas. Why? This is psychological warfare. Duryodhana has already defeated himself internally (remember verses 1-10: 'our army is insufficient'). Now, hearing the Pandavas' coordinated sound, his internal defeat becomes external terror. The verse teaches: when you're already defeated internally, normal challenges feel overwhelming. Duryodhana's heart shatters not because the sound is terrifying, but because he's convinced himself he'll lose. The same sound that shatters a fearful heart inspires a confident one. What shatters you isn't the external challenge—it's your internal narrative meeting that challenge.