Bhagawad Gita - Ch.1 - Verses 8-14

January 24, 2000

Om Sri mahAgaNAdhipatayE namaH | Om SrikRshna parabrahMaNE namaH|

Om Sri gurubhyOnamaH |

CHAPTER 1. Arjuna-Grief

(Commentary by Swamy Chinmayananda)

bhavAn bheeshmasca kaRNasca kRpasca samitiMjayaH

aSvathAmA vikarNasca soumadatti stadhaivaca || 1.8

1.8. Yourself and Bhishma, and Karna and also Kripa, the victorious in war;

Aswatthama, Vikarna and so also the son of Somadatta.

Though Duryodhana, in his mental hysteria, got slightly upset at the

subjective onslaught of his own brutal motives and past crimes, like the

true dictator that he was, he regained his balance in no time. The moment

he had split out in his insulting arrogance, the term 'twice-born' in

addressing his teacher, he realized that he had over-stepped the bounds of

discretion. Perhaps the cold silence of the revered acharya spoke amply to

Duryodhana.

anyEca bahavaH SoorA madarthE tyakta jeevitAH

nAnA Sastra praharaNAH sarvE yuddha viSAradAH || 1.9

1.9. And many other heroes also who are determined to give up their lives

for my sake, armed with various weapons and missiles, all well-skilled in

battle.

The incorrigible vanity of the dictatorial tyrant is amply clear when he

arrogates to himself the stupendous honour that such a vast array of heroes

had come ready to lay down their lives for 'MY SAKE.' To all careful

students of the Mahabharata, it cannot be very difficult to estimate how

many of these great veterans would have thrown in their lot with

Duryodhana, had it not been for the fact that Bhishma - the grandsire - was

fighting in the ranks of the Kauravas.

aparyAptaM tadasmAkaM balaM bhishmAbhi rakshitaM

paryAptaM tvidamEtEshAM balaM bheemAbhi rakshitaM || 1.10

1.10. This army of ours defended by Bhishma is sufficient, whereas that

army of theirs defended by Bhima is insufficient. Or

This army of ours protected by Bhishma is unlimited, whereas that army of

theirs protected by Bhima is limited.

In the art of warfare, then known among the ancient Hindus, each army had,

no doubt; a commander-in-chief, but it also had a powerful man of valour,

courage and intelligence, who functioned as the 'defender.' In the Kaurava

forces, Bhishma officiated as the 'defender,' and in the Pandava forces

Bhima held the office.

ayanEshuca sarvEshu yathAbhAga mavasthitAH

bhishmamEvAbhi rakhaMtu bhavaMtaH sarva Eva hi || 1.11

1.11. Therefore do you all, stationed in your respective positions in the

several divisions of the army, protect Bhishma alone.

After thus expressing in a soliloquy, his own estimate of the relative

strength and merit of the two forces, now arrayed, ready for a total war,

the king in Duryodhana rises above his mental clouds of desperation to

shoot forth his imperial orders to his army officers. He advises them that

each commander must keep to his position and fight in disciplined order,

and all of them should spare no pains to see that the revered Bhishma is

well-protected. Perhaps, Duryodhana suspects that the lusty force that he

has mobilized is an ill-assorted heterogeneous army constituted of the

various tribal chieftains and kings of distant lands and that the strength

of such an army could be assured, only when they hold on to a united

strategy in all their various manoeuvres. Synchronization of the different

operations is the very backbone of an army's success, and in order to bring

this about, as a true strategist, Duryodhana is instructing his various

commanders working in their different wings to work out the single policy

of protecting Bhishma.

tasya saMjanayanharshaM kuruvRddhaH pitAmaH

siMhanAdaM vinadyOccaiH saMkhaM dadhmou pratApavAn || 1.12

1.12. His glorious grandsire (Bhishma), the oldest of the Kauravas, in

order to cheer Duryodhana, now sounded aloud a lion's roar and blew his

conch.

All the while that Duryodhana was busy making a fool of himself and in his

excitement putting all the great officers of his army into an uncomfortable

mood of desperate unhappiness, Bhishma was standing, not too far away,

observing the pitiable confusions of the tyrant. The revered grandsire

noticed, intelligently, in Dronacharya's silence, the outraged temper of a

man of knowledge and action. He realized that the situation could be saved

only if all those assembled were jerked out of their mental preoccupations.

The more they were let alone with their revolting thoughts against

Duryodhana, the more they would become ineffectual for the imminent battle.

Understanding this psychology of the officers under his command, the great

Marshall Bhishma took up his war-bugle (conch) and blew it, sending forth

roaring waves of confidence into the hearts of the people manning the array.

This action of Bhishma, though performed by him out of pity for

Duryodhana's mental condition, amounted to an act of aggression almost

corresponding to the 'first-bullet-shot' in modern warfare. With this

lion-roar, the Mahabharata war was actually started, and for all historical

purposes the Kauravas had thereby become the aggressors.

tataH saMkhAsca bhEryasca paNavAnaka gOmukhAH

sahasaivAbhya hanyanta sa SabdastumulObhavat || 1.13

1.13. Then (following Bhishma), conches and kettle-drums, tabors, drums and

cow-horns blared forth quite suddenly and the sound was tremendous.

All the commanders were no doubt in high tension, and as soon as they heard

the marshall's bugle, individually, each one of them took up is instrument

and sounded the battle-cry. Thus, conches and kettle-drums, tabors and

trumpets, bugles and cow-horns, all burst forth into a challenging

war-call, which Sanjaya, half-heartedly, describes as 'tremendous.' Later

on, we shall find that when this challenge was replied to by the Pandavas,

the sound was described by Sanjaya as 'terrific,' 'resounding throughout

heaven and earth, and rending the hearts of the Kauravas.' Here is another

instance to prove that Sanjaya was, evidently, a moral objector to the

war-aim of Duryodhana. Therefore, we have in him a most sympathetic

reporter of the message of the Lord at the battle-front, as given out in

His Song Divine.

tataH sVEtairhayairyuktE mahati syaMdanE sthitou

mAdhavaH pAMDavaScaiva divyou saMkhou pradadhmatuH || 1-14

1.14. Then, also Madhava and the son of Pandu, seated in their magnificent

chariot yoked with white horses, blew their divine conches.

The wealth of detail that has been so lavishly squandered in expressing a

simple fact that, from the Pandava-side, Krishna and Arjuna answered the

battle-cry, clearly shows where Sanjaya's sympathies lay. Here, the

description - 'sitting in the magnificent chariot, harnessed with white

horses, Madhava and Arjuna blew their conches divine' - clearly echoes the

hope lurking in the heart of Sanjaya that due to the apparent contrast in

the two descriptions, perhaps, even at this moment Dhritarashtra may be

persuaded to withdraw his sons from the warfront.

January 26, 2000

namaste.

BhagavadgItA verses 1.3 to 1.13 deal with duryodhana's address

to droNa at the beginning of the war. I like to discuss two aspects

of this address:

1. Why did duryodhana address droNa rather than the other warriors

on his side ?

2. Why did duryodhana address droNa the way he did (the contents

of the address) ?

Firstly droNa is the acArya for most warriors on both sides.

BhIShma is the leader of the army at that stage of the war. Then,

while BhIShma is there, why did duryodhana address droNa? Does he

not have faith in BhIShma? Or does he think droNa is a higher calibre

warrior than BhIShma?

BhIShma has already stated by that time that (a) he will not kill

the pANDava brothers, (b) that he will not face SikhaNDi in the war

(SikhaNDi was born a girl and BhIShma would not fight against a

woman, the reason for his ultimate fall), © that he would fight

and kill other warriors on pANDava side and thereby will repay

his gratitude to duryodhana.

droNa did not make any such promise. Like BhIShma, droNa has also

an inherent sympathy towards pANDavas and their cause.

Further, duryodhana has a reason to bring dR^ShTadyumna's name

into the discussion (BG 1.3). [dR^ShTadyumna is drupada's son.

drupada and droNa, while being friends very early on in their

life, became bitter foes. drupada later did putrakAmeShTiyajna

(a special yajna to beget a son) and got the son dR^ShTadyumna

for the specific purpose of killing droNa. Further, ironically,

dR^ShTadyumna learnt his warrior skills from droNa. Although

droNa was originally apprehensive of teaching dR^ShTadyumna,

he became his teacher mainly worried of the societal thinking

if he refused dR^ShTadyumna as student. Thus, dR^ShTadyumna has

a providential reason to be in the war]. duryodhana reminds

droNa of dR^ShTadyumna's presence in BG1.3.

duryodhana lists all the great warriors on the pANDava side

(verse 1.4 to 1.7). While he lists only six specific names on

the kaurava side (droNa, BhIShma, KarNa, KR^pa, aswathAma,

VikarNa, and Saumadatta presumably in the order of their

seniority) and then says there are many other leaders who

are willing to give up their lives for him.

some comments on verse 1.3

(a) duryodhana addresses droNa as 'acArya' indicating that

he (duryodhana) is a student of droNa and hence a dependence

on the teacher is indicated.

(b) "tava shiShyena vyUDhAm.h" (the army formation on pANDava

side is arranged by your disciple, dR^ShTadyumna) indicates

that droNa should be able to break open the formation.

of his (droNa's) earlier rivalry with drupada (referred

above), thereby hoping arousal of anger in droNa toward

the pANDava side.

(d) 'dhImatA' (wise): by saying dR^ShTadyumna is wise,

duryodhana is saying to droNa that dR^ShTadyumna cannot

be ignored.

In BG1.7, duryodhana addresses droNa as dvijottama (the

superlative of the brahmins; droNa is brahmin by birth).

This may be of two reasons: (i) to please droNa and make him

more favorable to the task at hand, or (ii) war is a business

for the kshatriyas, not for brahmins; by addressing droNa as

dvijottama, duryodhana may be saying that as a brahmin, droNa

does not really belong there and the other kshatriya warriors

on the kaurava side can take care of the business. Of the two

possible interpretations, (i) seems preferrable.

BG1.10: This verse is amenable for alternate interpretations

and was interpreted differently by various commentators: the

meaning could be

(i) Still, our army looked after by BhIShma is not quite adequate;

but this army of theirs, which is looked after by BhIma, is

adequate. OR

(ii)This army of ours which is guarded by BhIShma is unlimited,

while that army of theirs, guarded by BhIma is limited.

Which interpretation we take, depends on what paryAptam and aparyAptam

mean. AparyAptam may mean 'unlimited' in strength and paryAptam means

'limited'. If we take this interpretation, it means duryodhana was then

speaking to droNa with a feeling of self-confidence because he is

certain of success in the war. That interpretation is not consistent

with the next two verses where duryodhana was urging his warriors to

protect BhIShma and his mind shows anxiety.

It seems duryodhana wants to convey that even though his army is

numerically stronger than the enemy's, his army is not adequate

(sufficient) to be victorious, because his warriors have divided

loyalties (BhIShma, droNa particularly) while pANDava army has the

single objective of defeating kauravas. Particularly, BhIma, whom

duryodhana mentioned in the verse has his only objective of destroying

the kauravas. Thus duryodhana is expressing his anxiety and

interpretation (i) is preferrable.

This is also confirmed by verse 1.12. BhIShma, seeing that duryodhana

was talking to the AcArya in a rather anxious state and that droNa is

not responding to lift duryodhana's spirits, saw his duty to lift the

spirit of duryodhana and the army, mightily roared out the lion's roar

and blew his conch-shell.

The early verses of bhagavadgItA are extremely useful in setting up the

stage of the war and the inner feelings of the main characters. While

KrishNa's message of the gItA starts only in chapter 2, the first chapter

has its own usefulness in the total setting.

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

------

January 27, 2000

namaste,

Shri Murty has brought out nicely some notable points and nuances,

especially for someone who may not be familiar with all the contexts in

which Gita is composed.

Vedamurty Satavalekar, in his Marathi commentary (Purushartha-Bodhini),

has also analysed Duryodhana's speech in a similar manner.

One may say, in fact, that Gita's 16th chapter describing the 'aasurii

sampat' (undivine qualities) fits Duryodhana's character so well, that every

word of his can be illumined by that background.

The only commander Duryodhana trusted was Karna.

Regards,

S.

----Original Message Follows----

Gummuluru Murthy <gmurthy

advaitin

Re: Bhagawad Gita - Ch.1 - Verses 8-14

Wed, 26 Jan 2000 10:40:44 -0330 (NST)

The early verses of bhagavadgItA are extremely useful in setting up the

stage of the war and the inner feelings of the main characters. While

KrishNa's message of the gItA starts only in chapter 2, the first chapter

has its own usefulness in the total setting.

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

------

____

Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

January 30, 2000

namaste,

One point that I may have missed in the discussion, is regarding the

relative strengths of the armies on the two sides

Before the war startd, Arjuna and Duryodhana had to choose between:

army of 11 akshauhiNi's OR

of 7 " + Krishna (who agreed only to be a

charioteer).

Duryodhana proudly but unwisely chose the 1st option, and Arjuna was

happy and content with the 2nd one!

[ 1 akshauhiNi = 21,870 elephants

+ 21,870 chariots

+ 65,610 cavalry

+109,350 infantry ] A ratio o 1:1:3:5

Regards,

S.

----Original Message Follows----

Ram Chandran <chandran

advaitin

Re: Bhagawad Gita - Ch.1 - Verses 8-14

Sun, 30 Jan 2000 09:18:19 -0500

Greetings Advaitins:

These verses in Gita Chapter I introduces the warriors of Mahabharat War.

In

this summary, Dronacarya, Commander of Kaurava's Army - Bhishmar, Archer

Karnan, Krpacarya and Aswatthama are introduced. One of the salient feature

of

Mahabharat is the narration of stories behind the main characters of the

epic

drama. These stories behind the characters illustrate that ‘fate and

free-will' played significant role in shaping the events in Mahabharata.

However the question remains unanswered: Whether the fate or free-will that

determined the outcome? When we do not get the answers and when we are not

satisfied with the explanations, we seek the Divine to find the answer.

Arjuna was exactly in the same situation and he has rightly approached Lord

Krishna to find the answers to his questions. Vedavyasa the greatest

architect of human life developed the beautiful blueprint - Bhagavad Gita so

that we can build our life to withstand from evil thoughts and deeds.

regards,

Ram Chandran

=============================

Acharya Drona:

Acarya Drona was Maharsi Bharadvaja's son. From Maharsi Agnivesya and Sri

Parasurama he obtained knowledge of all forms of arms and missiles with

their

secrets. A thorough master of Vedas and Vedangas (sciences helpful in the

study of the Vedas) and a great ascetic, he was an exceptionally bold

Atirathi, possessed of very deep knowledge and experience of archery, and

the

use of other forms of weapons, and unrivaled skill in warfare. He was fully

aware of the use of Brahmastra, Agneyastra and other wonderful weapons of

war.

Whenever he joined a battle with all his strength, he was unconquerable. He

was married to Krpi, the daughter of Maharsi Saradavan, and Asvatthama was

the

fruit of this wedlock. He was a friend of King Drupada in his early days. On

one occasion when approaching King Drupada he addressed the latter as his

dear

friend. Drupada, intoxicated with power, rudely hurled the reply to his

face,

"A powerful king like me can never be the friend of a poor beggar like you."

This rebuke of King Drupada went deep into his heart; thereafter going to

Hastinapur, he began to live under the shelter of his brother-in-law

Krpacarya. There he came in touch with Bhisma, who appointed him as the

teacher of the Kaurava and Pandava princes. On the conclusion of the

training

of these princes, Drona asked his pupils to pay him the preceptor's fee by

bringing Drupada before him as a prisoner of war. His favourite pupil Arjuna

succeeded in carrying out the behest of his teacher by vanquishing Drupada

in

battle, and brought him as a prisoner with all the ministers of his Court.

Without afflicting any physical injury on him Drona released Drupada from

his

bondage, but deprived him of his territory lying north of the river

Bhagtrathi, which he appropriated for himself. In the Mahabharata War, Drona

carried on a fearful fight as the Commander-in-chief of the Kaurava forces

for

five days; but in the end hearing a false report about the death of his son

he

renounced his arms, and seated in the posture of Yoga entered into deep

meditation on God. When his life-force left the mortal frame, his bright

soul

illumined the entire region of the sky with a brilliant light. At this stage

Dhrstadyumna struck him with a sharp sword that separated his head from the

trunk.

In the foregoing verse, beginning it with the word "Yourself", Duryodhana

first cited the name of Drona among the heroes on his side, so that Drona

might be highly pleased with him and enter the fight with all the strength

and

energy at his command. Moreover, as his teacher, Drona was worthy of the

honor

for Duryodhana, and it was reasonable from this point of view also to count

him first among his warriors.

Bhisma:

Bhisma was the eldest son of King Santanu. He was born of Bhagirathi (the

spirit of the river Ganga). He was an incarnation of the ninth Vasu, a

celestial named `Dyu' (Maha., santi., 50, 26). His original name was

Devavrata. While in the prime of youth, he took the vow of life-long

celibacy

and renunciation of all claim to the throne in order to facilitate his

father's marriage with Satyavati, in answer to the demand of Satyavati's

foster-father. Owing to the terrible nature of this vow, he became famous on

earth as Bhisma (the terrible). For the sake of his father's happiness, he

wholly abandoned without the least hesitation the happiness of possessing a

wife and a kingdom, which are objects of great temptation to the generality

of

men in this world. Extremely delighted at this uncommon sacrifice of his,

Bhisma's father Santanu gave him the boon that even Death would be powerless

to kill him without his consent. A life-long celibate, the very embodiment

of

flaming energy, and a master of the scriptures and of the science of

warfare,

Bhisma was a great soul, possessed of infinite knowledge and heroism of the

highest order and a strength of resolve unsurpassed in its firmness. All the

great virtues like valour, renunciation, endurance, forgiveness, compassion,

tranquillity, self-control, truthfulness, nonviolence, contentment,

equanimity, strength, righteousness, majestic bearing, humility,

large-heartedness, popularity, straight-forwardness in speech, courage,

continence, indifference to worldly attachments, knowledge, wisdom, devotion

to parents, knowledge of the scriptures and devotion to the preceptor, etc,

were found fully developed in him. Above all, his life was fully saturated

with the spirit of devotion to God. He possessed full knowledge of the

divinity of Bhagavan Sri Krsna, and were an exclusive lover and faithful

devotee of the Lord. In the Mahabharata War, he had no equal in the field of

battle. He made a promise to Duryodhana that though he would refrain from

killing the five Pandavas, he would in course of the fight slaughter with

his

own hands ten thousand warriors every day (Maha., Udyoga., 156. 21). Holding

the position of the Chief Commander of the Kaurava army, he carried on a

fearful fight for ten days. Thereafter, lying on his bed of arrows he

enlightened all by delivering to them his inexhaustible store of knowledge,

and, when the sun started on its northern course, gave up the body of his

own

free will.

Karna:

Karna was a son of Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, begotten of the

Sun-god

when Kunti was a young maiden. Putting him into a box, Kunti had thrown him

into the river; but fortunately this did not cause his death, and carried by

the current of the river the box finally reached Hastinapur. There picked up

by Adhiratha, a Suta (charioteer) by caste, the child was taken to his home

and was nursed and brought up by Radha, the wife of Adhiratha, and began to

be

recognized as their own child. Born with a natural gold armor and earrings,

he

was given the name of `Vasusena', Karna received his training in arms from

Dronacarya and Parasurama, and became a proficient and experienced master of

the scriptures and of the science of arms. He was a match for Arjuna in the

knowledge of arms and as a fighter in the field. Duryodhana crowned him as

King of the Angas (territory corresponding to modern Bhagalpur in Bihar). A

bosom friend of Duryodhana, he devoted himself body and soul to the constant

thought of Duryodhara's welfare. His devotion to Duryodhana was so deep and

great that even though approached by mother Kunti and Bhagavan Sri Krsna

Himself, he refused to give up the cause of Duryodhana and join the Pandavas

during the fight at Kurukshetra. His charities were incomparable. A regular

worshipper of the Sun-god, he used to give away with great pleasure whatever

was asked of him, by whosoever it may be, at the time of his worship. One

day,

in Arjuna's interest, Indra, the King of celestials, assumed the form of a

Brahmana and begged him to make a gift of the natural armor and ear-rings

attached to his body. With great delight, that very moment, Karna tore his

armor and ear rings from the body and gave them away. In exchange for them,

Indra gave him a missile, which was infallible in its effect when hurled

against a fighter, and with the help of which Karna killed Bhimasena's son,

Ghatotkaca during the War. After Dronacharya's death, assuming the charge of

the Kaurava army for two days as Chief Commander, he met his death in a

fight

with Arjuna.

Krpacarya:

Krpacarya is the son of Maharsi Saradvan of the family of Sage Gotama. He is

an experienced master of the science of archery. He had a sister named Krpi.

Having been brought up by King Santanu out of pity (Krpa), he got the name

of

Krpa, and his sister got the name of Krpi. A proficient scholar of the

Vedas,

he is a virtuous soul possessed of many good qualities and rectitude of

conduct. Before the advent of Dronacarya, he used to impart instruction in

the

science of archery to the Kaurava, Pandava and Yadava warriors. He remained

alive even after the death of all the Kauravas, and it was he who imparted

the

knowledge of arms to King Pariksit. He is a great hero and a great expert in

vanquishing an enemy; therefore the attribute of `Samitinjayah, (ever

victorious in battle) has been affixed to his name in the verse. He is said

to

be still alive.

Asvatthama:

Asvatthama is the son of Acarya Drona. A great expert in military science,

and

a great fighter and hero, he is counted as a Maharathi. He also received his

training in arms under his father Dronacarya. He too is believed to be alive

still.

Vikarna was one of the hundred sons of Dhrtarastra. He was an extremely

virtuous soul, a great hero and a Maharathi. At the time of her persecution

in

the Kaurava Court when Draupadi asked the assembled people whether she had

been actually lost to the Pandavas as a stake in the gamble, except Vidura

there appeared none to open his lips against that persecution. At that

critical moment, it was Vikarna alone who rose in the open Court and

declared

in scathing terms, upholding both justice and righteousness, that it was a

great injustice not to answer Draupadi's question. He also said that in his

opinion Draupadi had not been won by the Kauravas as a stake in the game

(Mahabharata, Sabha-Parva. 63.18-25).

Bhurisrava, the son of Somadatta, was the grandson of King Santanu's elder

brother, Bahlika. He too was a virtuous soul, an expert in the art of

warfare,

a great hero and a Maharathi. He performed many sacrifices giving away huge

riches as sacrificial fees. He met his death at the hands of Satyaki in the

Mahabharata War. The two indeclinables `Tithe and `Eve' used at the end of

the

verse, show that equally with Krpacarya, Asvatthama, Vikarna and Bhurisrava

too were `ever victorious in battle.'

The names of Salya, Bahlika, Bhagadatta, Krtavarma, Jayadratha and other

Maharathis do not appear in any verse going before; therefore pointing to

them

all in a general way in the present verse, Duryodhana intends to show that

the

names of heroes taken by him did not exhaust the list of the heroes on his

side, but that besides them there were many other fighters who stood on his

side, well-equipped with arms like sword, club, etc, which are wielded by

the

hand, and missiles like arrows, iron clubs, spears etc, who were Maharathis

and very great experts in the art of warfare, and were ready to sacrifice

their lives for him. He wanted to assure the Acarya that all these warriors

would fight for the victory of his side to the best of their ability and

till

their very last breath.

By declaring his army as protected by him was full of many renowned Bhisma

and

unconquerable, Duryodhana Generals or Maharathis, and it was under proves

the

superiority of his forces. The protection of Bhisma, the greatest living

point

he made was that the army collected hero and fighter of the world, who had

frustrated even the great Parasurama in battle. From the. numerical point of

view as well, his army comprised four Aksauhinis more than the Pandava army.

It was not possible, therefore, for anybody to vanquish such an army, which

possessed more power than what was required for the purpose of vanquishing

the

Pandavas. In the Mahabharata, Udyogaparva Chapter 55, Duryodhana similarly

gives a description of his army to Dhrtarastra, where also he mentions

almost

all those Maharathis by name, and declaring that the great Bhisma was its

protector shows its invincibility. There he clearly says, "O King, I find

the

majority of fighters in the ranks of the enemy without any material

qualities,

and the majority of fighters in our ranks as possessed of these qualities

and

of great promise". *

Therefore, in his opinion there was no cause to fear defeat in the War.

Similarly, in the Bhisma-Parva, where Duryodhana, again, gives a description

of his army to Dronacarya, he merely repeats the above verse of the Gita

(Bhisma-Parva, 51. 6). In the verse which precedes it, he goes so far as to

say, "All of you Maharathis possess the power to kill the Pandavas with

their

entire army single-handed; it should cause no wonder, then, if you kill them

with your combined efforts.';

>From all these facts it is clear that the term `Aparyapta' in the above

verse

is used by Duryodhana to bring out the strength and greatness of his army.

Wherever these verses have been uttered, as in the places referred to above,

their intention is to give encouragement to the warriors on his side. The

propriety of this interpretation is proved by the context in which the verse

is uttered by Duryodhana in every case.

By declaring the Pandava army as guarded by Bhima and `Paryapta' (easy to

conquer), Duryodhana attempted to prove it to be a weaker and vulnerable

army.

The point he sought to make clear was that whereas Bhisma was the protector

of

the Kaurava army, there stood on the other side Bhima, who though possessed

of

a strong body, could not stand comparison with Bhisma as a fighter. So far

as

mastery of the art of warfare, knowledge of arms and scriptures, and power

of

intellect were concerned, Bhisma was quite incomparable; whereas Bhima was,

if

anything, an indifferent archer, and a man of dull intellect. Therefore,

according to Duryodhana, the Pandava army was `Paryapta'-limited in power,

and

easy to be conquered by the Kauravas.

'The great warrior Bhisma knew this fact full well. But Bhisma had power to

protect himself. Duryodhana too made an announcement that Drupada's son

Sikhandi had taken birth as a female child principal generals in his army to

maintain, and subsequently become a male through with their utmost strength,

their respective sex-transformation; but because he was positions in the

battle-array, taking born as a female, Bhisma still regarded him exceptional

care and precaution that as a female, and would not face him in Sikhandi

might

not get a loophole battle according to the canons of chivalry to come in

front

of Bhisma in the course followed by a Ksatriya fighter. They should be alert

to drive on a previous occasion also while reviewing away Sikhandi by force

of

arms, the army, Duryodhana had cautioned the moment he made any such

attempt.

If Duhsasana and all other warriors by Bhisma could be saved from Sikhandi,

explaining this danger in detail (Maha., there was nothing else for the

Kauravas to Bhisma 15. 14-20). Similarly, on the present fear; for it was

quite easy for Bhisma to occasion impelled by that lurking fear in vanquish

single-handed all the Maharathis his mind, Duryodhana exhorts all in the

Pandava army.

Next to Bahlika, Bhisma was the oldest somewhat startled and anxious at the

sight member of the Kaurava race. He had the vision of the Pandava array. He

further noticed same degree of relationship thus suppressing his anxiety.

Bhisma though much advanced in age, excelled of his own great prowess, and

delighted even the foremost younger heroes in Duryodhana's heart, and to

proclaim, as energy, strength, fitness and heroism; Chief Commander, the

commencement of therefore, he has been described as the fight, Bhisma gave a

loud roar `glorious'. The grand old warrior noticed like a lion, and blew

his

conch with great Duryodhana standing near Dronacarya, force.

When roaring like a lion and blowing his conch, Bhisma announced the

commencement of the battle, all the regions were flooded with hope and

encouragement, and suddenly in all sections of the army conches, trumpets

and

other instruments of martial music, belonging to the different commanders,

were sounded. The sounding of these instruments at the same time produced

terrible noise that echoed and re-echoed through the entire region of the

sky.

Arjuna's chariot was very large and excellent in every way. Covered all over

with a plate of gold, it looked exceptionally bright and beautiful, and was

very strong in build. Flags decorated it on all sides with small tinkling

bells attached to them. The wheels attached to it were large and strong. A

high flag containing the emblems of the moon and stars glittered like

lightning and Sri Hanuman was posted on it. With regard to this flag

Sanjaya's

report to Duryodhana was that in height as well as in length it covered the

distance of a Yojana (8 miles). Its colour was as variegated as the rainbow

in

a cloud. Though so large and widely extended, it was very light, and could

not

be held up by any obstruction. It passed easily through clusters of trees

without ever being touched by them.

There were four celestial horses attached to this chariot, all white, very

beautiful, well-decorated, well-trained, strong and nimble. These were taken

from the hundred celestial horses received as a gift from the Gandharva king

Citraratha. The peculiarity about these horses was that any number of them

might be killed in action, and yet their total number would ever remain

hundred and could not be reduced. Moreover, they could go anywhere on this

earth and in heaven. This was also true of the chariot (Maha., Udyoga., 56),

which was a gift made to Arjuna by the Fire-god as a mark of pleasure after

the burning of the Khandava forest (Maha., Adi., 225). Seated on this

glorious

chariot, when Bhagavan Sri Krsna and the great warrior Arjuna heard the

tumultuous noise produced by the blowing of conches and sounding of drums

and

other instruments of martial music by the fighters of the Kaurava army

including the great Bhisma, they too in order to announce the commencement

of

the fight, blew their respective conches. The conches belonging to Bhagavan

Sri Krsna and Arjuna were no ordinary conches; they were of an extraordinary

type, brilliant to this is why they have been called celestial look at and

most uncommon in character conches'.

Source: Compiled from Bhagavdgita - Multimedia CD (permission is obtained

from

the publisher for conducting Gita Sang Discussion)

____

Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

January 30, 2000

Greetings Advaitins:

These verses in Gita Chapter I introduces the warriors of Mahabharat War. In

this summary, Dronacarya, Commander of Kaurava's Army - Bhishmar, Archer

Karnan, Krpacarya and Aswatthama are introduced. One of the salient feature of

Mahabharat is the narration of stories behind the main characters of the epic