As the great Battle of Kurukṣetra was about to commence, on the Pāṇḍavas' side Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, stationed on a great chariot drawn by white horses, sounded their transcenden- tal conchshells. Kṛṣṇa's conchshell was called Pāñcajanya, and Arjuna's Devadatta. Bhīma, the voracious eater and performer of herculean tasks, also blew his terrific conchshell, called Paundra. Then King Yudhiṣṭhira, Nakula, Sahadeva, and many other valiant warriors on the Pāṇḍavas' side blew their respective conchshells. The uproarious sound, vibrating in the sky and on the earth, shattered the hearts of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.
The blowing of conchshells on the Pāṇḍavas' side was very encouraging to the fighting soldiers on that side. On the other side there was no such encouragement, for there was not the presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the supreme director, or that of the goddess of fortune. So the Kurus were predestined to lose the battle—and that was the message announced by the sounds of the conchshells.