Gita 01.03 Context can convert compliment into criticism

 

Audio link 2: Gita 01.03 Context can convert compliment into criticism – The Spiritual Scientist

 

paśyaitāṁ pāṇḍu-putrāṇām

ācārya mahatīṁ camūm

vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa

tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā

 

Word for word:

 

paśya — behold; etām — this; pāṇḍu-putrānām — of the sons of Pāṇḍu; ācārya — O teacher; mahatīm — great; camūm — military force; vyūḍhām — arranged; drupada-putreṇa — by the son of Drupada; tava — your; śiṣyeṇa — disciple; dhī-matā — very intelligent.

 

Translation:

 

O my teacher, behold the great army of the sons of Pāṇḍu, so expertly arranged by your intelligent disciple the son of Drupada.

 

Explanation:

Duryodhana approaches his teacher Drona and speaks to him:

paśya: Please see

etām pāṇḍu-putrāṇām: the power of the Pandu putras

ācārya mahatīṁ camūm: the mighty way in which the opposing army is arranged

vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa: This has been arranged by the son of Drupada

tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā: This is the expertise of your disciple

 

Generally, if someone says, “see the expertise of your disciple in arranging the army,” it would be considered a compliment. However, context can convert a compliment into criticism. Here, Duryodhana has no intention of complimenting Drona, even though he says, “see the expertise of your disciple.”

 

This could be understood in two ways. Firstly, the context is not a compliment but rather a loaded criticism, implying, “It’s your own disciple fighting against you. What is the use of training someone who would fight against you? If you knew that, why did you train him?”

 

Secondly, the person who has arranged this army in such an impressive formation is the son of Drupada—Dhrstadyumna. Although Duryodhana could directly address Dhrstadyumna by name, he doesn’t. His intention is to give a provocative description rather than an objective one. He doesn’t want to glorify Dhrstadyumna but to provoke Drona against Drupada.

 

The angle of presentation indicates whether it is objective or provocative. For example:

“Eleven people were killed in riots” is an objective report.

“Eleven people were killed in riots by immigrants, whom we have foolishly hosted ourselves.”

There might be thousands of immigrants contributing constructively to society. Immigrants are not a homogeneous group with one mindset; they have various mentalities. The second statement is provocative, aiming to incite people against immigrants.

 

The angle given to a particular situation can evoke specific emotions in people.

 

Hence, when Duryodhana says, “tava śiṣyeṇa (your disciple),” the implication to Drona is: “Due to your excessive broad-mindedness and liberality, your own disciple is fighting against you. Your disciple has made your work exceedingly difficult. Rather than disempowering the enemy, your expert training has empowered them, complicating our situation unnecessarily.”

 

Drupada-putreṇa: Drona had a long history of enmity with Drupada. Long ago, Drupada insulted Drona, and Drona counter-insulted Drupada, leading Drupada to vow revenge. Drupada performed austerities, engaging brahmanas, and begot a son who would be the cause of Drona’s death. By his liberality, Drona ended up empowering his enemies instead of disempowering them.

 

Similarly, we have our inner enemies in the form of lower desires like lust, greed, and envy. If we contemplate on sense objects that incite lust within us, we empower our enemies by giving those inimical desires a further fillip. We should disempower them by depriving them of the sights and perceptions that empower them. Gradually, they will weaken and die. This refers to the ‘inner war,’ where we should disempower our inner enemies by distancing ourselves from tempting sense objects, not empower them by contemplating on them.

 

Returning to the context of the ‘outer war,’ Duryodhana wants to ensure that Drona doesn’t become lax in fighting against the Pandavas. Drona and Bhishma were his seniormost and foremost warriors, but Duryodhana doubted if they would fight wholeheartedly against the Pandavas due to their known affection for them.

 

Duryodhana was looking for a way to goad them to fight wholeheartedly. He couldn’t do that with Bhishma but found a way to provoke Drona. That’s what he is doing here. He is making sure that Drona feels angry, and by that anger, fights furiously against the Pandavas.

 

We can see how Duryodhana’s evil expertise in inciting those on his side to fight wholeheartedly is being exhibited.