Chapter I (1 - 27)

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AMRITA KALASHAM GEETHA

NAME

The name Shrimad Bhagawad Geetha has three words.  ‘Geetha’ is song.  For any text to be sung, every line of it must have uniform meter. (We call it Akshara).  Geetha has sixteen aksharas in each line.  (There are a few verses with twenty two aksharas.)  Thus Geetha is a perfect poetic text for music.

‘Bhagawad’ means divine, of God or by God.  Bhagawad Geetha is a Song of God or a Song by God.  Arnold Toynbee gave an apt name to his English translation of Geetha, ‘The Song Celestial’.  Let us look at this word Bhagawad or Bhagawan in greater detail.  Samskrit has many words with suffix ‘wan’.  Suffix ‘Wan’ is equivalent to the suffix ‘ful’ in English.  It means ‘One who has....’.  What he has, is denoted by the prefix word.  One who has ‘Bala’ or strength is Balawan; one who has ‘Dhana’ or wealth is Dhanawan; one who is full of Sathya or Truth is Sathyawan.  Bhaga is Boundless.  Boundlessness or infinity is the characteristic of Bhagawan, Boundless Knowledge, Boundless Wealth, Boundless Potential, Boundless Authority etc.

We humans know and greater intellects among us know a lot, but not all.  Our knowledge becomes dysfunctional after a limit.  Bhagawan is Omniscient.  He knows everything.  He knows the past, the present and the future.  He knows the gross and the subtle.  He knows the secrets hidden deep inside our hearts.  He is Sarvagnya.

There is a limit to our wealth.  Bill Gates, Mittal etc. are the wealthiest among us.  But, their wealth too, is limited.  And none is wealthy forever.  Today’s pauper is tomorrow’s wealthy and today’s wealthy may be on the streets tomorrow.  But, Bhagawan is Eternal Shreemant, Master of Wealth, boundless wealth.  Every bit of this creation is His.

We too have Potential.  We can produce, we can operate huge machinery, and we can move mountains.  Yes, we can, but, not do everything.  Our potency is limited.  The tender seedling breaks open the hard outer shell of the seed and makes way up through soil.  Can the best of our machines do this?  The roots of a coconut tree separate micro particles of water from the soil around, the trunk lifts it against gravity to heights of 30 to 40 feet and the tree stores the same as sweet water in the perfectly packaged coconuts.  Do we humans have the power to such a marvellous feat?  Desert all around, not a drop of water anywhere, and right there is found the melon so full of water.  Have you seen green dates?  These are full of water and are found in dry deserts of Arabia.  This is definitely beyond human potential.  Hundreds of thousand planets and stars in hundreds of thousand galaxies in hundreds of thousand milky ways and all moving to perfect timings, hundreds of thousand varieties of lives on our planet, the beautiful splash of thousands of shades colours in flowers, the wide range of tastes in fruits, the astounding complexities and absolute precision of micro units interwoven into a human body, Oh! His potential is unbounded.  Human productions are at best bad imitations of His.  Bhagawan is Omnipotent, Sarvashaktiman.  It may be awe-inspiring for us, but for Him it is a mere child’s play.

His Aishwarya or Authority also is boundless.  Human society also had many dreaded and powerful dictators.  There are many even in present times.  But, their authority did not run even within the territories presided over by them.  (Small groups have someone ‘presiding over’ their meetings.  He turns out to be the weakest person in the group.)  Most of these so called ‘dictators’ crushed under opposition to their authority.  All those who paraded absolute authority and arrogance had to miserably end their lives in prison or in disguise in alien states.  Bhagawan’s Authority is boundless.  The whole creation, from Micro to Macro follows his Diktat.  Only His wish is valid.  Everything occurs according to His wish, as per His plans and at the time He fixes.  Nothing moves without His consent.  Yes.  He is the Dictator, Dictator with absolute and total authority.

We may not understand the word ‘Shreemad’ through English.  Mr or Sir or His Excellency denote authority, but Shreemad denotes respect of highest order.  Anything that is respected and held in high esteem is addressed with the words like Shree, Shreeman, Shreemad etc.  Shreemad is used for Bhagawan.  Gita is also sacred.  Gita is not a mere song.  Gita has been sung by Bhagawan and hence Shreemad is used for Gita too.

‘Respectful Gita sung by His Highness Bhagawan’, yes, that is the meaning of the title Shreemad Bhagawad Gita.

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THE EXTERIOR

Everything has an exterior and an interior.  We humans have a body and Prana which runs the body.  The exterior of a word is the set of letters in it and the meaning conveyed is its interior.  Sometimes there is an apparent and obvious meaning and a deeper meaning.  Likewise any text also has an exterior and an interior.  The information about the writer, number of verses, the characters, etc form the exterior of a text.  The vision of the text is its interior.  It is very easy to understand the exterior of a text as it involves mere memory.  It is tougher to understand the interior as it demands study and deeper study.  Let us first look at the exterior of The Gita.

w       Hindus have two Itihaasa texts, (Documented History) The Ramayana and The Mahabharatha.  Shreemad Bhagawad Geetha is found in the Bheeshma Parva of The Mahabharatha.  Eighteen chapters from the 25^th to 42^nd in Bheeshma Parva form Shreemad Bhagawad Geetha.

w       Gita has 700 verses spread over eighteen chapters.

w       We have thousands of spiritual texts, but three are held as the basic ones and The Gita is one of those.  The three commonly called Prasthaana Trayam, are The Upanishad, Brahma Sutram and Shreemad Bhagawad Gita.  The essence of these three is the same.  Gita is quintessence of the Upanishad.  If the Upanishad is considered as a cow, then The Gita is her milk.

w       All the Upanishads were written in peaceful ashrams deep inside the forests, while The Gita took birth in a battlefield, filled with restlessness, violence etc.  This is significant and hence She is able to guide us through the turmoils of our lives.  She is not person-specific.  Of course, Arjuna was benefitted, but Managers, executives, industrialists, students, politicians, businessmen, the housewives, the sanyasis, and almost every section of the human society could be benefited by Her guidance.  Another unique feature of The Gita is that She not Time-specific.  Even after 5,147 years of Her birth, Her relevance for humans remains intact.

w       Shreemad Bhagawad Gita is the text that has been translated into largest number of languages, ‘translated’ in the real sense.  “But, is not the Bible translated into almost all the world languages?” you may ask.  You may be right.  The work of ‘translation’ of Bible was carried out more by the combined money and muscle power of authority than by inspiration.  On the other hand, translation of The Gita was by individuals driven by inspiration.  “Yes, this will benefit my people”, was their realization.  English East India Company published the first English translation of The Gita.  (The ruler translating a text of the ruled!!)  Look at what Warren Hastings has to say in his foreword to the book.  “We will lose our rule over Bharat one day.  But, if the English could follow the great thought expressed in Gita, they will stand to gain everafter.”

w       The Gita is in conversational form.  Samskrit grammar mentions four types of conversations.  1) Vaadah:-  Putting forth one point of view is Vaadah.  Seminars and court arguments may be examples of Vaadah.  The learned ones try to understand various shades of opinion on a particular subject through Vaadah.  2) Jalpam:-  Arguing the counter view is Jalpam.  Debates organized in universities are examples of Jalpam.  Shri Adi Shankara’s arguments with Buddhist and Atheist scholars may be rated as Jalpam.  He successfully countered their views and converted them into Vedik tradition.  3) Vitandaa Vaadah:-  I can visualize this word evoking a mild grin on your face, as this is what we indulge in most of the time, opposing just for opposition.  The opponent may not know head and tail of the subject being discussed.  Yet, he will indulge in furious opposition.  Most of our English educated ‘intelligentsia’ indulge in this while Hindu issues are being discussed.  Our parliament and the various state assemblies are the best centres of Vitandaa Vaadah.  4) Samvaadam:-  It is a form of conversation between the one who knows and the one who aspires to know.  Sam vaadam is beautified or perfected vaadam and The Gita is the best example of Samvaadam.

w       Yes.  Shri Krishna, the master teacher and Arjuna, the master Archer participate in this conversation.  But, there are two more participants in the Samvaad, the blind king Dhritarashtra and his charioteer Sanjaya.  Dhritarashtra speaks only one verse, the first one, asking Sanjaya to narrate the happenings in faraway battlefield Kurukshetra.  Sanjaya starts narrating the scenes on the battlefield and the whole conversation between Arjuna and Shri Krishna.  What we read as Gita is thus Sanjaya’s narration of the conversation and his conclusive comments in the end.

w       The Gita starts with letter ‘Dhar’ and ends with the letter ‘ma’.  Joining these two is ‘Dharma’ and that is the message of Gita.  The first word is ‘Dharma’ and last ‘mama’ (my).  Yes.  The Gita elaborates on the Dharma of each one of us.

w       Gita is a universal text like most other Hindu texts and does not preach a particular form of God or a particular way of worship, nor does She declare that this is ‘The only Book’.  Blossoming of confused and dejected Arjuna into a Master Yogi, a person with well balanced emotions and intellect, was the mission of Shri Krishna in unfolding Gita.  Evolution of man into a complete Man, the man with capital M as Swami Vivekananda put it, is the vision of Gita.  Strong and healthy physique, balanced and nobler emotions and a crystal clear intellect are the identities of an evolved man.

w       True to their tradition, the Hindus reverently refer to Her as Gita Matha, (The Mother Gita).  Our mother, giving birth to our physical self is worshipful.  All others who feed and nourish us are also worshipped as Mothers.  Gomatha, the cow, who replaces mother’s milk with hers; Gangamatha, Mother Ganga, who enriches the soil and feeds us through her perennial flow; The Gita matha nourishes our internal organs, the mind and the intellect, and leads us to Paramatma.

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ADHYAY 1

ARJUNA VISHADA YOG

Introduction

Arjuna is seen wailing in the first chapter.  Arjuna is one of us, an ordinary human, a man with all weaknesses.  He was fortunate to have Shri Krishna as a friend.  If one has such a friend around whenever weakness raises its head, what more will he want?  We can see such a situation arising in the starting moments of Kurukshetra battle.  Latent weakness in Arjuna raises its head and he is sunk deep in gloom and despondency.

We make so many resolutions.  We take so many pledges.  But, weakness creeps in when the time comes to implement the same.  Student resolves in the night to wake up early and study, but he will be overpowered by weakness in the early morning hours, the time to execute his pledge.  He’ll try to cover up his weakness with ‘intelligent’ arguments.  “Oh! There are so many days left for the exams.  Let me sleep only today.  I will start from tomorrow.” or “What is the use of studying hard?  Scoring high marks in exams does not guarantee success in life.  I know so many who did not succeed in spite of top academic achievements and many who are successful despite poor scores in exams.”  The same is state of mind of one who has been advised dietary control, one who wants to impose some disciplines on self to come out of an addiction and one who wishes start on a regular practise.  Arjuna also was in a similar mindset on the first day of the Kurukshetra battle.

It was Arjuna along with Bheema, who vehemently sought this battle.  Brute physical strength was Bheema’s fort and thinking has never been his domain.  Hence, he did not have any problem plunging into the battle.  Arjuna possessed the physical prowess along with an emotional mind and intellect.  He was contemplative.  Having lost their father Pandu, the Pandavaas and mother Kuntidevi took refuge under Dhritrashtra.  (Dhritarashtra was the elder brother of Pandu.)  They grew up and learned skills in the palaces under the loving care and guidance of grand father Bheeshma.  They were subject to various brutal conspiracies hatched by Duryodhana, with the connivance of Dhritarashtra.  Arjuna had the potential to face single handed, Duryodhana and his 99 brothers.  He was furious within, but suppressed his emotions and remained quiet as per the wishes of elder brother Yudhishtira.  He appeared to be enduring the thirteen years of Vanavasa quietly, but was continuously preparing himself for this day.  He enriched his armoury.  He indulged in severe penance and got Pashupati Astra from Lord Shiva.  He went all the way to Indra Lok and gathered the best of divine weapons from Lord Indra.  In the process, he even suffered a curse of impotency and had to live the life of a transgender for a year.  He pursued and gained friendship of many kings, some of those through marriage.  That Pandavas could gather an army of seven Akshouhinis despite being in exile for thirteen long years, is a testimony of Arjuna’s efforts in establishing diplomatic relations.  He vehemently opposed Yudhishtira’s efforts for truce with Duryodhana.  And finally the day arrived, the day he eagerly waited for.  All those he had aspired to avenge, were gathered right before him on the Kurukshetra field.  Here too, his ferocity and rage were in full bloom till he heard Shri Krishna utter those words, “Parth, look at the Kuru clan (Vamsham) gathered on both sides.”  What happened after that, how Arjuna became infirm, what all arguments were put forward in a weak and wailing defence of his infirmity, .....  Let us enter the chapter and know all.

-ॐ-

अथ प्रथमोsध्यायः

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच -

धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः ।

मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥ १ ॥

Dhritarashtra said

Tell me Oh Sanjaya, What indeed did my people and Pandavas, assembled on the Dharma Bhoomi Kurukshetra, desirous to fight, do?

(I - 1)

Dhrutarashtra was a blind not only due to lack of physical eyes, but also due to inability to see the truth with the inner contemplative vision.  The sense of ‘mine’ very strongly rooted in him was the reason for blurring of his inner vision.

Though born as elder son, he was deprived of accession to the throne as he was blind.  (An elder son of course is a natural heir to the throne.  At the same time, a handicapped one is disqualified to become a king, according to Hindu Dharma Sashtra.)  The younger Pandu became the king.  “My son should get the throne denied to me” was the burning desire of Dhritarashtra.  He felt cheated once more when destiny timed the birth of Pandu’s eldest son earlier than his own son Duryodhana.  Duryodhana grew under the influence of these thoughts and was personification of hatred and jealousy.  (Our children are less influenced by what we say and more by what we feel.  Our feelings are powerful tools in moulding their qualities.)  Right from tender boyhood age, Duryodhana spent his time, thought and energy on efforts to finish off Pandavas.  At a normally innocent age of 12, he invited Bheema for a feast, offered him poisoned sweet milk (Payasam) and threw him off in unconscious state into the Yamuna River with arms and legs tied.  At the age of 16, he extended invitation to the Pandavas and mother Kunti to visit temple festivities in Varanavat as state guests, arranged for their stay in a house made of Lac and other inflammable materials, and set it afire while they were sound asleep.  Pandavas, who were fore warned of the conspiracy by uncle Vidura, escaped into the forests and reemerged within a year, more powerful after winning Draupadi, a beautiful damsel and divine daughter of powerful king Drupada.  Duryodhana now forced the elders for partition of the country and allotted barren, rocky and forest areas known as ‘Aaranyaprastha’ to the Pandavas.

With the support of brothers’ valour and Shri Krishna’s grace, Yudhishthira transformed Aaranyaprastha into a majestic city Indraprastha, (Delhi of present times).  With his judicious rule, his state very soon earned huge wealth and prosperity and Pandavas earned name and fame.  The thought of having finished off Pandavas must have given Duryodhana a few peaceful nights.  But, this peace was short lived and the Phoenix like rise of Pandavas re-ignited flames of jealousy and restlessness in him.  He conspired once again and invited them for a game of dice, defeated and by deceit snatched their kingdom and exiled them for thirteen long years.  On the suggestions of Karna that the defeated ones do not deserve robes on their persons, he snatched their upper robes and tried to disrobe Queen Draupadi too.  All these efforts of his had active connivance of his father, the blind Dhrutarashtra.

After completing twelve years of exile in forests and one more year in anonymity, as per the conditions framed by Duryodhna in the game of dice, the Pandavas returned and claimed their kingdom back.  Duryodhana true to his character, refused to give back even a pinhead size of land.  Yudhishthira wanted to avoid war at all cost and sent Shri Krishna for truce talks.  Duryodhana not only showered abuses and insults on Shri Krishna, but also tried to arrest and kill him.  Blinded by attachment for his son, Dhritarashtra refused to see the atrocious behaviour of Duryodhana.

Sage Veda Vyasa appeared on the scene and tried to counsel Duryodhana on the evil effects of war, but to no avail.  Duryodhana refused to budge.  War became inevitable.  Veda Vyasa offered Dhritarashtra a divine vision which would have enabled him to view the distant battlefield from his palatial court.  Dhritarashtra refused the offer saying he can not see his hundred sons being killed.  The vision was then offered to his charioteer Sanjaya.

Having made all efforts in vain to avoid a war, the Pandavas were pushed to the option of war.  They gathered a seven Akshouhini strong army on the battlefields of Kurukshetra.  Duryodhana had gathered a larger army of eleven Akshouhini to thwart Pandavas rightful claim.

A query posed by Dhritarashtra to Sanjaya is this first shloka (verse) of The Gita.  He bares his inner self through this query.  Even before the battle, he was so sure of annihilation of his adharmik sons that he refused to take the divine vision offered by Veda Vyasa.  He surely could distinguish Dharma from adharma and also was convinced that adhrma will be vanquished by Dharma, but his vision intoxicated and blinded by attachment for son won’t allow him to choose Dharma.  He describes the battle field as Dharmakshetra and Kurukshetra.  It is field where Dharma will triumph, he says and adds in the same breath that it is ‘my’ Bhoomi as it belonged to Kuru, one of ‘my’ ancestors.  (He refuses to see that Pandavas had an equal right as king Kuru was their ancestor too.)  The name Dhritarashtra means one who clutches on firmly to the state or land and he was true to the meaning of his name.  Further on, he says ‘my sons’ and Pandu’s sons.  He should have considered his dead younger brother’s children as his own and should have treated them with equal love and affection, if not more, but his steadfast attachment to the throne and his son Duryodhana did not allow this.  Poor Dhritarashtra distinguishes them by these words, ‘my sons’ and Pandu’s.  This feeling of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ is at the root of almost all the disputes, bloody struggles, and crimes in the human world.

-ॐ-

सञ्जय उवाच -

दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा

आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत् ॥ २ ॥

Sanjaya replied

But then King Duryodhana, on viewing the Pandava Army in battle array approached his Aacharya Drona and spoke these words.

(I - 2)

If the first shloka bared the psyche of Dhritarashtra, the next ten shlokas bare that of Duryodhana.  Pitamaha Bheeshma was the commander in chief of Duryodhana’s army.  If he had to discuss any war strategy, he must have approached Bheeshma, but he approaches Acharya Drona.  Probably the sight of a huge army arrayed by the Pandavas, whom he had heckled, teased and driven into the forests penniless, powerless and friendless thirteen years ago, must have incited confusion and fear in him.  To approach a teacher, when struck with doubts, is of course normal and the right course for anyone and Duryodhana is also doing the same.  But, we can see that Duryodhana did not approach his teacher with the humility of a student.  He approached Drona with the arrogance of an employer and a boss.  His words reveal his arrogance and his fear too.  The fear is one caused by Dharma in an adharmik mind.  (Arjuna was also struck by confusion, but that was of a different type.  We’ll see that later.)

-ॐ-

पश्यैतां पाण्डु पुत्राणामाचार्य महतीं चमूम् ।

व्यूढां दृपदपुत्रेण तव शिष्येण धीमता ॥ ३ ॥

Oh teacher! Behold this mighty army of the sons of Pandu, arrayed by the son of Drupada, your gifted disciple.

(I - 3)

Dronacharya was, of course on his side, but Duryodhana had doubts about his absolute loyalty.  Pandavas were dear to him and Duryodhana was sure that he won’t be wholehearted and won’t put in the best his efforts in fighting Pandavas.  In this shloka, he is trying to sow seeds of contempt and thereby incite fury in the Acharya’s minds.  “Thy disciples, thy dear disciples, thy wise disciples, and what have they done?  Arrayed a huge army to fight you.  And see who is leading the army?  Dhrushtadyumna, Drupada’s son, the one who was so kindly tutored by you.”   Drona and Drupada were sworn enemies since long.  Drupada, wanting to avenge his insult and defeat at the hands of Drona, conducted special prayers to beget a son to kill Drona.  Dhrishtadyumna was born as the result of these prayers.  He was brought up with the sole thought of killing Drona.  Drona, though aware of all these, accepted him as his disciple.  Now, Duryodhana wants to point this out to him as if to say, “See, the way he is reciprocating your greatness.”

Duryodhana’s army was eleven Akshouhini strong and Pandavas’ was of seven.  Let us know how large an Akshouhini is.  Hindu military has four fronts, Ratha, Gaja, Ashwa and Pada.  An Akshouhini had 21,870 ratha (chariots), 21,870 gaja (elephants), 65,610 ashwa (horses) and 1, 09,350 pada (foot soldiers).  Smaller army of the Pandavas seemed huge to Duryodhana’s eyes.  This may be because Duryodhana, a personification of wickedness, was seeing Pandavas’ army as a Dharmik Shakti.  There was a perfect unison in Pandava army and Dharma was the unifying factor, while his own army was full of cleavages.

-ॐ-

अत्र शूरा महेष्वासा भीमार्जुन समा युधि ।

युयुधानो विराटश्च दृपदश्च महारथः ॥ ४ ॥

धृष्टकेतुश्चेकितानः काशिराजश्च वीर्यवान् ।

पुरुजित्कुन्तिभोजश्च शैब्यश्च नरपुङ्गवः ॥ ५ ॥

युधामन्युश्च विक्रान्त उत्तमौजाश्च वीर्यवान् ।

सौभद्रो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्व एव महारथाः ॥ ६ ॥

Here are valiant heroes, mighty archers, equals of Bheema and Arjuna- the great warriors Yuyudhana, Viraata, Drupada; the gallant ones Dhrishtaketu and Kashiraja; the best of men Purujit, Kunti-bhoja, Shaibya; the powerful Yudhaamanyu and the brave Uttamoujas; Soubhadra, the son of Subhadra and Droupadeya, the sons Droupadi; every one of these is a maharathah.  (A maharatha is a great charioteer, well versed in warfare skills.  He can command an army of eleven thousand bowmen.)

(I – 4, 5, 6)

Duryodhana’s vanity filled blabbering continues.  Here, he is introducing the great names, the maharathas in the enemy army.  Bheema has always struck the greatest fear in Duryodhana’s mind.  Naturally, Bheema comes first in his list.  Bheema is one who effortlessly handles huge sized bow.  Duryodhana lists commanders in Pandava army who are equal to Bheema and Arjuna in prowess and physical power.  Yuyudhaana or Saatyaki is Shri Krishna’s charioteer.  He has been trained in archery by Arjuna himself.  Drona had vowed to teach every secret of archery to Arjuna and make him the greatest archer.  By taking Saatyaki’s name, Duryodhana wants to suggest how Arjuna, his dearest disciple has betrayed Drona by teaching those very secrets to some one else.  (Satyaki was not killed in the battle of Kurukshetra and was killed in the intra-community strife in the Yadavas later on.)

Viraata was very old, but no less valiant.  Pandavas had spent their thirteenth year of anonymity in his kingdom.  Towards the end of the year, Duryodhana launched a military aggression on Virata’s territory.  Virata fought valiantly and Drona fell unconscious and had to be shifted to safety, in what can be termed as a shameful retreat by a powerful Hastinapur army in fight against a miniature kingdom.  Duryodhana, by taking Viraata’s name wanted, perhaps, to remind the shameful experience and ignite aggression and fury in the hearts of Drona.  (Viraata and his three sons Utthara, Shveta and Shankha, was killed in the battle.)

Drupada and Drona were batchmates and studied in the same Gurukula.  They were thick friends too.  Later on, when Drona was in dire poverty and Drupada had ascended the throne of Panchala state, (Punjab of present days) Drona went to him and reminded him of their old friendship.  Drupada was intoxicated with arrogance of affluence and heckled the poor Drona.  “How can a beggar be friend to a mighty king?  Is friendship possible between Silk robe and rag?”  His sycophant courtiers joined him in booing the poor Drona.  Drona was deeply wounded and silently waited for his time.  Bheeshma, who was in search of a good teacher for all his grandsons, found him and entrusted him the job of teaching hundred Kauravas and five Pandavas.  Drona wanted Drupada defeated, arrested, bound and thrown at his feet as the fees for his labour.  Arjuna fulfilled his teacher’s wish single handed and Drupada was fallen at Drona’s feet.  It was tit for tat and over for Draona, but Drupada felt humiliated and wanted to avenge this.  He conducted special prayers and begot a son (Dhrishtadyumna) who would kill Drona.  He knew he does not stand a chance against Arjuna.  So, he prayed for a daughter who would marry Arjuna.  Thus was born Droupadi.  This was the story of long lasting enemity between Drona and Drupada.  Duryodhana wanted to rekindle flames of enemity within Drona by taking Drupada’s name.  (Drupada was killed by Drona in the battle.)

Dhrishtaketu was the son of Shishupala.  Duryodhana wants to mock at him by taking his name.  “See, his father was brutally killed by Shri Krishna and see this shameless fellow is on the killer’s side.”  (Dhrishtaketu was also killed by Drona in the battle.)

Chekitaana belonged to Shri Krishna’s Yadava Army.  He preferred to stay with Pandavas, when Shri Krishna offered his one Akshouhini yadava army to Duryodhana.  (He was killed by Duryodhana in the battle.)  Kashiraja was a great warrior and lost his life in the battle.  Purujit and Kuntibhoja were brothers.  Being the sons of Bhojaraja, the foster father of Kunti devi, they were maternal uncles to Pandavas.  (They were killed by Drona in the battle.)  Shaibya was father-in-law to Yudhishthira and was a great warrior.  Yudhamanyu and Uttamoujas were brave and very strong fighters from Panchala.  They were appointed to be the protectors of Arjuna’s chariot wheels.  (They survived the battle, but were killed by Ashvatthama when he entered Pandavas’ camp at midnight and slaughtered all those in sound sleep.)

Soubhadra or Abhimanyu was a child with dazzling bravery and courage.  He was born to Arjuna and Subhadra, the younger sister of Shri Krishna.  He was a duplicate Arjuna in all aspects.  He had learnt the secrets of breaking army cordons, the toughest cyclic one too, even while he was in mother’s womb.  He was trained in warfare skills by Shri Krishna himself.  (He had to lead Pandava army one day in the absence of Arjuna and was surrounded by Drona, Karna, Duryodhana, Dushasana, Kripa, Ashwatthaama and Lakshmana, the son of Duryodhana.  He fought valiantly but was brutally killed in a battle of seven against one.)

Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shritakarma, Shataaneeka, and Shrutasena were the brave sons born to Droupadi from Yudhishthira, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva in that order.  (They survived the battle but were hacked to death by Ashwatthaama on the last day while they were in sound sleep in their camp.)

Duryodhana’s speech was like the stinging of a deadly scorpion, not a brave act, but the result of fear.  Never-the-less, the sting hurts.  Drona must have been deeply insulted.  He preferred to remain silent while Duryodhana spoke.  Duryodhana felt, his introduction of enemy generals might be misconcieved as fear and seeks to correct himself in the next three verses, by elaborating on the specialities of own side.

-ॐ-

अस्माकं तु विशिष्टा ये तान्निबोध द्विजोत्तम ।

नायका मम सैन्यस्य सङ्ज्ञार्थं तान्ब्रवीमि ते ॥ ७ ॥

Oh the best among Dwija!  Here also we have reputed names.  Let me relate to you the names of great generals in our army for your information.

(I - 7)

That the words of Duryodhana were not sincere expression emerging from the depths of his heart, but were mere hypocritical ones, becomes obvious the moment he addresses Drona as Dwijottama.  Dwija is twice born.  The Brahman is referred to as Dwija, physical birth being the first and initiation into spiritual path being the second.  (Birds are also dwija, birth as an egg and later coming out as a bird from the egg being two births.)  Drona was of course born as a Brahmin, but his whole life was that of kshatriya, in the king’s court and on the battlefield.  He was known for his military skills and not for spiritual knowledge.  Duryodhana addressed him as Dwijottama, only to suggest that being a Brahmin, he may develop cold feet at seeing a huge army and so many armed generals of rivals, asks him not lose heart as ‘our’ side also had distinguished fighters.  In fact, Duryodhana wants to hide his own fear by aggressive words.  Drona, though deeply insulted, continued to be silent.

Look at the pitiable state of Duryodhana.  His behaviour was erratic and not composed and confident, befitting a General on a battlefield.  One moment, he wanted to aggravate Drona’s emotions, exposing his own lack of faith in his will to fight.  The next moment he addressed him with a decorative word, but ended up insulting and alienating him.  One moment he introduced enemy front’s leaders and the next moment, wants to compensate the damage by sillier act of introducing all familiar generals in his own front.  Poor Duryodhana, all these disturbances were due to the sight of a well organized Pandava army, ready to fight the cause of Dharma.  He naturally approached the teacher for guidance and motivation, but the deep rooted arrogance in him did all the mischief and he ended up earning hatred rather than support.

-ॐ-

भवान्भीष्मश्च कर्णश्च कृपश्च समितिञ्जयः ।

अश्वत्थामा विकर्णश्च सौमदत्तिस्तथैव च ॥ ८ ॥

Yourself, and Bheeshma and Karna, and the ever victorious Krupa, Ashwatthaama, Vikarna, Soumadtta’s son Bhoorishravas, (are all here.)

(I - 8)

He realized that he exceeded limit by addressing Drona as Dwijottama and is now trying to placate him.  Bheeshma was older, and was holding the highest rank in his army.  But, Duryodhana names Drona first and then Bheeshma.  Still, he is not satisfied.  Of the seven names listed by Duryodhana, three were from Drona’s family, his son Ashwattama and his brother-in law Krupa being the other two.  His exaggerated praise of Krupa by the phrase ‘ever victorious’ is too glaring and flattering to be missed by Drona.  By naming Vikarna, he probably wanted to convince Drona that, ‘We too have Dharmavan’.  This speech, though addressed to Drona, was in his usual arrogant, loud tone and was being heard by all the other generals in the front.  (Hindu armies had a tradition of leading from the front unlike modern armies.)  Duryodhana’s army had mighty generals like Shalya, Shakuni, Bhagadatta, Duhshasana, Jayadrata to name a few.  In his anxiety, Duryodhana forgot to take these names.  This folly of his must have left a bad taste in these minds.  Duryodhana again attempts to correct in the next verse.

-ॐ-

अन्ये च बहवः शूरा मदर्थे त्यक्तजीविताः ।

नानाशस्त्रप्रहरणाः सर्वे युद्धविशारदाः ॥ ९ ॥

And many other heroes also, well skilled in fight, armed with many kinds of weapons, are here, determined to lay down their lives for my sake.

(I - 9)

Everything gets complicated for a complicated personality.  He wants to do one thing and does exactly the opposite.  He  just wanted to say, ‘We have others too’ but said ‘we have others ready to lay down their lives for ME’ and revealed his character, dominated by arrogance.  There were eleven Akshouhinis of army on his side.  So many states had added theirs to form such a huge army.  Fear for powerful Hastinapur, the Might of Bheeshma and Karna’s valorous mission were the reasons for many states to join the Kaurava side.  If at all Duryodhana had contributed, it was through deceit.  He had diverted one Akshouhini of Shalya’s (Maternal uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva) army marching towards Pandava side to his own, through foul play.  And he is boasting, ‘all of those ready to lay down their lives for Me’.

‘Tyaktha Jeevithaah’ literally means ‘dead’.  They have already quit their lives’ says Duryodhana.  Use of this word sends a message that their death on the battlefield is definite and none of those is going to return alive from this battlefield.  In effect, he was declaring his own defeat, even before the start of the battle.  Drona’s silence continued and Duryodhana’s blabbering also.

-ॐ-

अपर्याप्तं तदस्माकं बलं भीष्माभिरक्षितम् ।

पर्याप्तं त्विदमेतेषां बलं भीमाभिरक्षितम् ॥ १० ॥

Our army guarded by Bheeshma is insufficient (for Victory) and theirs, guarded by Bheema is sufficient (to defeat us).

(I - 10)

‘Eleven Akshouhinis is insufficient against seven’, feels poor Duryodhana.  Reason?  It is being guarded by Bheeshma.  He never had even a scant respect for Bheeshma.  Bheeshma, great grand father to both Kauravas and Pandavas, loved both.  That was the precise reason why Duryodhana did not have an iota of faith in Bheeshma as a commander of his army fighting the Pandavas.  Moreover, Duryodhana’s trusted friend Karna had refused to come onto the battlefield till Bheeshma was alive.  This was also a reason for Duryodhana to see Bheeshma as an irritant.  “The army guarded by Bheema is sufficient” says Duryodhana.  Bheema terrorized Duryodhana even in dreams.  Bheema was one among the many generals in Pandava army and was not the commander-in-chief.  ‘The terrorized see a snake even in a rope’, they say.  Likewise, Duryodhana could see only Bheema in the rival army and feel terrorized. 

Duryodhana’s army had many deep cleavages, especially at the top.  Bheeshma and Drona were displeased with Duryodhana’s ways.  Duryodhana reciprocated their displeasure with contempt and mistrust.  Duryodhana, Dushasana, Shakuni and Karna were a group and the conspiracies hatched by them kept them united.  Karna was bound with Duryodhana by the feeling of gratitude and refused to descriminate good and bad, in his company.  Duryodhana, on the other hand wanted Karna, solely for his ability to take on Arjuna.  Shalya, forced to join Kaurava army, by Duryodhana’s deceit, was seething in anger and just wanted a chance to take vengeance.  Duryodhana justified his deciet by claiming to have won in Shalya, a charioteer for Karna, a charioteer at par with Shri Krishna.  On the other hand, Pandavas’ army was united like a rock.  The whole army was cemented by a common idea that ‘the Pandavas had been meted out injustice.’  The whole army had a common mission of ‘Winning over the state of Indraprastha and handing it over to them’.  Anyone fired with a missionary zeal arouses fright in the hearts of hardcore selfish ones.  Duryodhana refusing to accept this fear and wanting to suppress the same with a show of arrogance, is thrown out of balance, resulting in all these blah-blah-blah talks.

-ॐ-

अयनेषु च सर्वेषु यथाभागमवस्थिताः ।

भीष्ममेवाभिरक्षन्तु भवन्तः सर्व एव हि ॥ ११ ॥

Duryodhana instructs all the fighters to remain firm at their proper places and Guard Bheeshma.

(I - 11)

This was height of arrogance. He is neither the king, nor the commander-in-chief, nor a great personality, whose words are respected. Neither protocol, nor position, nor status gave him the power to issue orders to the soldiers. He is seen as usurping power and sending a clear signal to one and all that he is the boss. This command of his was intended towards ‘winning over’ Bheeshma. Bheeshma was in the battle for a cause, to defend the throne of Hastinapur. He was not here for Duryodhana. Hence, though dedicated to the cause, he was cold to Duryodhana. Duryodhana read this coldness as a half hearted approach to the battle. He wants to win over him. By this command to the generals, he wants to suggest Bheeshma is very important and needed all support and protection.

-ॐ-

तस्य सञ्जनयन्हर्षं कुरुवृद्धः पितामहः ।

सिंहनादं विनद्योच्चैः शङ्खं दध्मौ प्रतापवान् ॥ १२ ॥

The great grand father Bheeshma, eldest and wisest among the Kurus, now sounded a roar of a Lion and blew his Conch, in order to enthuse and cheer Duryodhana.

(I - 12)

(Sanjaya continues with his description of the battle field). Duryodhana had made himself a laughing stock by what he said so far. Drona, who had known him since his childhood, naturally cold-shouldered him. It was not difficult for the wise Bheeshma to detect fear in Duryodhana, anger in Drona and restlessness and despair in all others. And all these before the start of the war did not augur well. Duryodhana, despite all his shortcomings, was his grandchild and he loved him. He wanted to change the mood foolishly set by Duryodhana and charge the atmosphere with enthusiasm and cheer up Duryodhana. In a way, this act of his confirmed Kauravas as the aggressors, blowing of conch is considered as throwing a challenge and launching the attack. The effect of Bheeshma’s act is described in detail in the next few verses.

Vriddha is a beautiful word in Samskrit. There was Barhika, Bheeshma’s uncle (Shantanu’s brother) on the battlefield and yet, Bheeshma is called Kuru Vriddha, the eldest in Kuru clan. A man who grows old with passing of years is an old man. But, it is expected that one becomes wiser and wiser with each passing year. A wise oldman is a Vriddha.

Sanjaya calls him Pratapavan. Yes, He is a man of great skills and qualities. He had learnt warfare skills under the direct tutelage of the great Parashuram. He represented his younger brother Vichitraveerya in the swayamvara held in Kashirajya and took away all the three daughters for him. He simultaneously fought with and defeated all the Kshatriya kings who dared to oppose. He was unequalled as a fighter. He was unparalleled in character too. He took a vow to stay away from Kingship and women, so as to facilitate his father’s remarriage. He kept those under most trying situations. When he was on the bed of arrows counting his last days, Shri Krishna had these words for Bheeshma. He told King Yudhishthira, “If you had any doubt in Dharma, shastra or Rajaneeti, you should discuss it with him. This glorious Sun of Dharma, Wisdom, Knowledge and experience is going to set very soon.” The advices rendered by Bheeshma to King Yudhishthira appear in the Shanti Parva of Mahabharatha. Bheeshma was ofcourse Prataapavaan.

-ॐ-

ततः शङ्खाश्च भेर्यश्च पणवानकगोमुखाः ।

सहसैवाभ्यहन्यन्त स शब्दस्तुमुलोsभवत् ॥ १३ ॥

The next moment Shankhas (Conches), Bherikas (Cones and trumpets), Panavas and Anakas (Drums of various types), Gomukhas (Horns), in hundreds were sounded simultaneously. The roar of all those echoed in all directions.

(I - 13)

There was tremendous enthusiasm generated in the Kaurava army by the blowing of Conch by Bheeshma, though Bheeshma had a limited purpose of enthusing only Duryodhana. There was a spontaneous blowing hundreds of conches, horns, trumpets and beating of hundreds of drums and base drums. There was a tumultous roar which echoed in all directions.

-ॐ-

ततः श्वेतैर्हयैर्युक्ते महति स्यन्दनो स्थितौ ।

माधवः पाण्डवश्चैव दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतुः ॥ १४ ॥

Then, Madhava and Pandava, stationed in their magnificient chariot yoked with White horses, also blew their divine conches.

(I - 14)

The misfortune of Duryodhana was that good souls, the ones who should have been blessing him, were lost to him as well wishers. The grand sire Bheeshma, teacher Drona, the wise and noble uncle Vidura etc. had moved away from him. We find from the next few verses that the gentle charioteer Sanjaya is also in this list. He merely said, ‘conches were blown and drums beaten and it was a big roar that echoed in all directions’ while describing the Kaurava army’s conch blowing and drum beating. See his eloquence and choice of words when he described the same act of Pandava army.

We can not but admire the stubborn-ness of Dhritarashtra. So many times, these men around him had advised him, warned him on the path treaded by Duryodhana with his covert support. But, he remained steadfast and refused to change self or discard Duryodhana. Sanjaya’s words were with a fond hope that he would change and save the state and family at the brink of disaster.

A Gandharva named Chitraratha had given Arjuna a hundred divine horses. They were unstoppable and could reach any corner of the earth. They could also travel to Patala loka and Swarga loka. The number of horses would stay at hundred even if a few were to be killed on the battlefield. Four beautiful ones picked from those hundred were used in Arjuna’s chariot.

Arjuna’s Ratha was gifted to him by Agni Bhagawan. Agni Bhagawan once had indigestion due to excessive consumption of Ghee in the Yagnas and He wanted to correct it by consuming the herbal forest, Khandava Vanam. The forest was guarded by Indra and other Devas. They created rains and foiled the efforts of Agni in consuming the forest. Agni Bhagawan sought Arjuna’s help and Arjuna successfully warded off the Devas and Agni ignited and consumed the forest to his heart’s content. Agni, happy with Arjuna’s valour, gifted him this chariot. It was a very strong vehicle and was dazzling in golden colour. It was huge ratha with the capacity to take nine vehicle loads of arms in it. It was very swift in movement in spite of its heaviness. A sparkling flag with Anjaneya’s picture, fluttered on its top.

Bheeshma, the commander in chief of Kaurava army, blew his conch. The response from Pandavas army should have been from Dhrishtadyumna, the commander-in-chief. But Shri Krishna responded. He is after all a charioteer. That is the unique aspect of Shri Krishna’s personality. One does not become big or small by the position of his seat. A dwarf does not turn into a tall personality by sitting on a high pedestal. We all know a Yadava, who occupied big positions in the recent years!! A tall personality is not dwarfed by holding insignificant positions. On the other hand, he magnifies the status of the chair he occupies. Shri Krishna was the natural leader of Pandava army. He did not issue commands, but everyone heeded to what he said. Even his mild suggestions were treated as orders by all. Not only here, the same was his status even as a boy in Gokula Brindavan. King Nanda, his royal deputies, elder brother Balaram and other elders of Brindavan carried out this little boy’s words. When he suggested that the Govardhana hill deserved to be worshipped, the whole village stopped the traditional Indra Puja and started Govardhana Puja. Yes, that was the magical personality of Shri Krishna.

-ॐ-

पाञ्चजन्यं हृषीकेशो देवदत्तं धनञ्जयः ।

पौण्ड्रं दध्मौ महाशङ्खं भीमकर्मा वृकोदरः ॥ १५ ॥

Hrisheekesha (Shri Krishna) blew the Panchajanyam, Dhananjaya (Arjuna), the Devadatta and Vrukodara (Bheema) the doer of terrific deeds, his large conch Poundra.

(I - 15)

Hrisheek Esha means the ‘Master of five senses’. It also means One who resides inside and knows the secrets buried deep inside. He had a special shankh (conch) ‘Panchajanya’, made from the remains of a Shankh headed asura, whom He killed. Shri Krishna blew his Panchajanya.

Yudhishthira organized a Rajasooya Yagnya, after establishing Indraprastha. Arjuna went on a campaign, defeated many kings throughout the length and breadth of Bharata Varsha and returned with a huge Dhana. Hence, Arjuna was also known as Dhananjaya. Once, when he successfully fought Asuras and helped the Devas, he was gifted with a divine shankh, ‘Devadattam’ by Indra. The roar of this shankha causes devastating effect on the enemy front. Arjuna blew Devadattam.

The word ‘Bheema’ means ‘the terrible’. Bheema was known for dare devilry and rare and terrible deeds. He had killed notorious asuras like Hidimba, Bakasura and Jatasura. He had also taken on great ‘Super Heavy weights’ like Keechaka and Jarasandha. He had lifted all the other four brothers on his shoulders and walked miles, when the Pandavas escaped Varanavat conspiracy. He was truly Bheema karma, a doer of terrible deeds. Vruka is the wolf and Udara is the abdomen area of our body. Bheema had a narrow waistline, but was a heavy eater like the wolf and Bheema was also called Vrukodara. (The heat used for digestion of food is also called Vruka. As he had a very large digestive capacity, he was called by this name.) Bheema had a huge shankh, Poundhra and he blew it.

-ॐ-

अनन्तविजयं राजा कुन्तिपुत्रो युधिष्ठिरः

नकुलः सहदेवश्च सुघोषमणिपुष्पकौ ॥ १६ ॥

King Yudhishthira, son of Kunti, blew the conch named Anantavijaya and Nakula and Sahadeva blew their shankas Sughosha and Manipushpaka.

(I - 16)

‘A long lasting Victory’ or Anantavijayam was the name of the Shankha blown by Yudhishthira. Sughosha means ‘melodious’ and Manipushapaka is a conch studded with precious stones. Sanjaya is saying ‘King’ Yudhishthira while taking the name of Yudhishthira, to the discomfiture of Dhritarashtra. “Yudhishthira was the king of Indrasprastha, whose throne was deceitfully snatched by your son Duryodhana. He is sure to become king again after this battle”. This seems to be veiled declaration of Sanjaya, when he says Raja Yudhishthira.

-ॐ-

काश्यश्च परमेष्वासः शिखण्दी च महारथः ।

धृष्टद्युम्नो विराटश्च सात्यकिश्चापराजितः ॥ १७ ॥

दृपदो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्वशः पृथिवीपते ।

सौभद्रश्च महाबाहुः शङ्खान्दध्मुः पृथक्पृथक् ॥ १८ ॥

Then, various kings and Maharathis blew their respective shankhs. The skilled bowman, king of Kashi, and the great warriors Shikhandee, Drishtadhyumna and Virata and the unconquered Satyaki... Emperor Drupada, the sons of Droupadi, the mighty armed Soubhadra, all, also blew each his own shankha.

(I – 17, 18)

Shikhandee is a new name here. He was a great fighter and a maharathi. He has reason to be in this war. Bheeshma attended the swayamvara of the three daughters of Kashiraj, on behalf of his younger brother Vichitraveerya. He fought singlehanded all those who opposed him and forcefully took away all the three girls, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. Amba had given her heart to the king of Cheti state and vowed to marry him. On knowing this, Vichitraveerya married the other two and arranged for return of Amba to the state of Cheti, with all due respects. But, the king of Cheti refused to take her as he felt it below his dignity to marry a girl won over by Bheeshma. Amba had no other way, but to return to Hastinapur. Vichitraveerya refused to marry her as she had loved someone else. Amba then requested Bheeshma to marry her, as it was him, who was responsible for her present state. Bheeshma was of course sorry for the state she was in, but bound as he was by his vow, expressed his inability in marrying her. Amba was furious and took a vow to take revenge on him. She was helpless against the powerful Bheeshma. She undertook rigorous penance and was gifted a garland by Skandha, with a promise that anyone who put on this garland would kill Bheeshma. The kshatriyas of her time, refused to entertain Amba, as they were scared of antagonizing Bheeshma. Depressed, Amba hung the garland on the gates to the palace of Drupada and ended her life. She was born as daughter to Drupada in her next birth. One day, as a young girl, she put on the garland and Oh! Drupada was so scared that he banished own daughter from his kingdom. Amba transformed herself to a male, with the help of a Yaksha, Sthoonakarna and trained herself in warfare skills. She survived with the sole ambition of killing Bheeshma. She is now Shikhandee, a male, a fighter and a maharathi.

As already described in shloka 4, Drushtadhyumna, with a vow to kill Drona is also in the Pandava rank. Virata, Drupada, Satyaki, the five sons of Draupadi and Abhimanyu, each one of these blew his shankha. Sanjaya, once again reveals that his heart is with the Pandavas. He is taking the names of so many Shankha blowers. See how he describes the effect of roaring sound generated by Pandava generals.

-ॐ-

स घोषो धार्तराष्ट्राणां हृदयानि व्यदारयत् ।

नभश्च पृथिवीं चैव तुमुलो व्यनुनादयन् ॥१९ ॥

And the terrific noise resounding throughout the skies and the earth, rent the hearts of Dhritarashtra’s side.

(I - 19)

Pandavas are superior on all counts. That is Sanjaya’s message to Dhritarashtra. While describing Kaurava side’s Shankha nada, he merely said ‘It was a huge roar’. Here, he describes the Shankha nada of Pandava army as a roar resounding on all sides and causing tremours in the hearts of the Kauravas. He wants to cause ripples in the minds of Dhritarashtra with a fond hope that he would order ceasefire and an immediate retreat of Kaurava army. He wants this blind to see reason and intervene at this stage to avoid a war among brothers. Poor Sanjaya! His goodwill had blinded him, for he could not see the stubbornness of Dhritarashtra in his unwillingness to see reason.

-ॐ-

अथ व्यवस्थितान्दृष्ट्वा धार्तराष्ट्रान् कपिध्वजः ।

प्रवृत्ते शस्त्रसम्पाते ध्नुरुद्यम्य पाण्डवः ॥ २० ॥

हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते ।

Oh Lord of the Earth! (Dhritarashtra) Then, seeing the Kaurava side standing marshalled and the shooting about to begin, the Pandava, whose ensign was a monkey, raising his bow, said these words to Hrisheekesha, Shree Krishna:

(I – 20, 21)

Hindu warfare system is unique. Dharma is the guiding factor in all aspects of Hindu life and so in warfare too. (We shall look into this at a later stage in details.) Every soldier involves himself with an equal combatant. A fighter of a higher calibre does not take on an ordinary soldier. The officers of a modern day army are identified by signs and stars decorating his uniform and vehicle. Similar was the ancient system too with every higher officer identified by a symbol, which was prominently painted on the flag atop his chariot. Hanuman was Arjuna’s symbol and hence his rath had a flag with Hanuman’s picture. (Kapi Dhwaja). {There is also a story that Hanuman had blessed Arjuna for his humility and promised to be on the top of his chariot during wartime and scare the enemies with his roar.}

Arjuna raised his Gandeeva and proclaimed that he was ready for the mighty war. Yes. There was no confusion in the minds of Arjuna at this juncture. He seemed to be full of war-spirit. The change in his mental state that was the cause for birth of The Gita was sudden and Shree Krishna’s poke stimulated it.

-ॐ-
अर्जुन उवाच -

सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेsच्युत ॥ २१ ॥

यावदेतान्निरीक्षेहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान् ।

कैर्मया सहयोद्धव्यमस्मिन् रणसमुद्यमे ॥ २२ ॥

Arjuna said: Oh Achyuta! Station the chariot between the two armies.  I want to inspect and know the enemies who are pitted against me.  I want to see all those who have sought this war and are arrayed opposite me.

(I – 21, 22)

Arjuna issued this command to his charioteer in a majestic, kingly style.  Shri Krishna’s greatness is revealed here.  Shri Krishna, also a king with equal status, but a charioteer at present, obeys to the command of Arjuna, the master of the chariot.  The phrase, ‘Senayor ubhayor madhye’ appears thrice in Bhagawad Gita.  (Shloka 21 and 24 of chapter I and shloka 10 of chapter II).  Here, Shri Krishna is acting as an obedient servant.  On the next occasion (shloka 24), He acts as friend and a well wisher, wanting to test and know whether Arjuna has the right emotional strength to face the stupendous task of successfully leading the Pandava army.  On knowing the weakness latent in him, He then manifests as the greatest ever teacher by revealing The Gita. (Shloka 10, chapter II).

View from one side can not, but be lopsided.  The same from a position between and equidistant from both sides will be fuller and more balanced.  Although, Arjuna demands the positioning of his ratha in between the armies, he does not seem to be equipoised in his vision.  He saw this as an opportunity to avenge all the injustice heaped on him and his brothers till date and was very eager to avail this.  Arjuna, who had suppressed all his emotions in his obedience to his brother Yudhishthira all these years, was very much excited at this lifetime opportunity to exhibit his fullest prowess and potential.  Upbeat emotions invariably upset the balance within.  He was only expressing his excited emotional state by raising his Gandeeva.  There was not an iota of confusion, hesitation or bewilderment in his mind at this moment.  He was visibly ready to launch the offensive.

He describes the Kauravas as the ‘seekers of war’, as the Pandavas had tried all means to avoid war and resolve the dispute peacefully.

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योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेsहं य एतेsत्र समागताः ।

धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ॥ २३ ॥

For I wish to see those who, desirous to please the evil-minded Duryodhana, are assembled here to fight.

(I - 23)

Arjuna is impatient to see those who dared to face him in fight.  By calling Duryodhana ‘Evil minded’, Arjuna is probably remembering all the conspiracies hatched by him; the one who used every possible opportunity to heap insults on the Pandavas;  the one who refused with a roguish stubbornness, to return their rightful kingdom;  Arjuna is eager to know those who have aligned themselves with such a malicious personality.  One’s friends are supposed to guide him to the right path.  But, here are Duryodhana’s friends who by supporting him are inciting him to wicked ways.  They can not be his friends.  They must be sycophants trying to please a wicked master or men seeking petty crumbs thrown by an avaricious power seeker.  Arjuna wishes to see them.

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सञ्जय उवाच -

एवमुक्तो हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारत ।

सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम् ॥ २४ ॥

भीष्मद्रोण प्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम् ।

उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेताङ्कुरूनिति ॥ २५ ॥

Sanjaya said: Oh Bharat, Commanded thus by Gudakesha, Hrisheekesha drove the greatest of Rathas to a place between the two armies, facing Bheeshma, Drona and all the rulers of the earth and then spoke thus, “Behold, O Partha, all the Kurus gathered together!”  (Some interpret this shloka differently.  According to them, Shree Krishna said, “O Partha, Look at the Kuru vamsha arrayed against Bheeshma, Drona and other kings.”)

(I – 24, 25)

Gudakesha is one of the many names of Arjuna.  ‘Curly haired one’ is the obvious meaning.  It also means ‘one who has perfected control over sleep’.

These are the only few words spoken by Shree Krishna in the first chapter and were most strategically spoken by the Master.  Arjuna merely wanted to see the opposite side.  These words made him see both sides.  Pandavas were also part of Kuru Vamsha.  If Shree Krishna had meant only the opposite side, he would have used the word, ‘Dhartharashtra’.

Arjuna was full of emotions.  He was eager and excited at the prospects offered by this war.  But, this war was too mammoth and too full of turbulence and hurricanes to be won on frenzied emotions.  It demanded greater strength and equi-poise within and resultant clarity in vision.  In other words, not merely a warrior, but a Yogi was best suited to fight this war.  Shree Krishna has always been a friend and well wisher of Arjuna.  Obviously, He wants to test Arjuna whether he is equipped for this grand task and help him if found wanting.  They say ‘Homoeopathy’ encourages a malady to erupt in its full vigour and then uproots it.  Is Arjuna tied down by chords of ‘me and mine’?  Is his eagerness for war a product of revengeful attitude?  Or, is it an egoistic aspiration to take up a challange thrown at his valour and come out of it successfully?  Affirmative answers to these questions may not be in Arjuna’s interest.  Asked to see the Kuru Vamsha arrayed on the battle field, Arjuna looks at both sides.  What does he see and what was effect on him?  The next few verses reveal.

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तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान् ।

आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा ॥ २६ ॥

श्वशुरान्सुहृदश्चैव सेनयोरुभयोरपि ।

तान्समीक्ष्य स कौन्तेयः सर्वान्बन्धूनवस्थितान् ॥ २७ ॥

कृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत् ।

Then, Partha stationed there, saw in both the armies, grandfathers, fathers-in law, paternal and maternal uncles, brothers and cousins, sons and grandsons, teachers, friends, well wishers and colleagues as well.  Then he, the son of Kunti, seeing all the kinsmen stationed in their ranks, spoke sorrowfully, these words filled with deep compassion.

(I – 26, 27, 28)

As Arjuna was placed between the two armies and as the words ‘behold the Kurus gathered here’ reminded Arjuna that he too was a Kuru, he broadened his vision and looked at both the sides.  And Lo! What did he see?  He saw kiths and kins on both the sides.  There were Barhika (Great Grand father Shantanu’s younger brother); Bhoorishravas (father Pandu’s cousin); Bheeshma and Somadatta (Grandfathers); Drona, Kulaguru Krupa (Teachers); Shalya, Shakuni, Kuntibhoja (maternal uncles); Duryodhana, Bheema, etc. (brothers and cousins); Abhimanyu, Ghatodkacha, Lakshmana (Sons and nephews); Ashwatthama (friend); Shaibya, Drupada (fathers-in-law); Satyaki, Krutavarma (well wishers); Drushtadyumna, Shikhandi (Brothers-in-law); Jayadrata (son-in-law); Virata (sambandhi- there is no equivalent word in English); in the two armies up in arms against each other.

Sanjaya saying ‘sa Kaunteya’ (that Arjuna) is significant.  Is this the same Arjuna?’ he seems to wonder.  ‘That Arjuna’ who was ordered by mother Kunti to go for war; ‘that Arjuna’ desirous to see all those who dared to challange him by aligning with Duryodhana; that Arjuna who raised his Gandeeva and issued a kingly command to the charioteer Shree Krishna to place the rath between the two armies so that he could inspect his enemy ranks.  He had collapsed into a pitiable state in a moment.

This battle among brothers may end in victory or defeat, but I’ll be losing ‘my own people’ in any eventuality.  Duryodhana undoubtedly is wicked and is worth revenge, but at what cost?  So many have joined in my personal fight against him and are ready to give up their precious lives.  Is the kingdom gained at such a huge cost worth it?  Arjuna was in shambles as soon as these thoughts arose.  All his eagerness to fight evaporated in a moment.

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