Gita 01.04 – Duryodhana tries to change Drona’s emotion for the opposite side from affection to anger 

 

Audio Link 1: Gita 01.04 Duryodhana tries to change Drona’s emotion for the opposite side from affection to anger

 

BG 1.04

atra śūrā maheṣv-āsā

bhīmārjuna-samā yudhi

yuyudhāno virāṭaś ca

drupadaś ca mahā-rathaḥ

 

Word for Word: 

atra — here; śūrāḥ — heroes; mahā-iṣu-āsāḥ — mighty bowmen; bhīma-arjuna — to Bhīma and Arjuna; samāḥ — equal; yudhi — in the fight; yuyudhānaḥ — Yuyudhāna; virāṭaḥ — Virāṭa; ca — also; drupadaḥ — Drupada; ca — also; mahā-rathaḥ — great fighter.

 

Translation: 

Here in this army are many heroic bowmen equal in fighting to Bhīma and Arjuna: great fighters like Yuyudhāna, Virāṭa and Drupada.

 

Explanation: 

Duryodhana is describing the army on the opposite side to Dronacharya. Duryodhana had allied with many kings and formed a huge army. Yet, he suspected the loyalty of those who were the foremost generals on his side, Drona and Bhishma.

 

Thus, here he makes this point to incite Drona by which he will fight wholeheartedly. In the previous verse, he asks to just witness the expertise of the son of Drupada, who is Drona’s student and has arranged the army so formidably against Drona himself.

 

The idea is to incite Drona and tell him that he was too broad-minded and liberal earlier. He accommodated his enemies. What has happened now is that Dristadyumna, who had been born to kill Drona, and Drupada, who had taken a vow to destroy Drona and hence did a yajna by which Dristadyumna would appear, both of them are there on the opposite side. atra śūrā – on this side; maheṣv-āsā – there are great warriors; bhīmārjuna-samā yudhi – equivalent to Bhima and Arjuna; yuyudhāno virāṭaś ca – along with that, he also has warriors such as Yuyudhana and Virata, drupadaś ca mahā-rathaḥ  – and there is Drupada also.

 

Generally, when people are to be convinced to do something, there is the (i) appeal by reason and then there is (ii) appeal by emotion. Emotions are extremely powerful forces within all of us. Once emotions are awakened and activated, then the way people can act is extraordinary. The way they can forcefully and zealously push themselves to do anything and everything, that has few, if any, parallels. Such is the situation of Duryodhana, as he is trying to incite the emotions of Drona.

 

Normally when we do something, how intensely we do it depends on how much emotion is invested in it. If emotions are not invested, we may not do it diligently. On the other hand, if the emotion is actually invested in something opposite, then we may even drag our feet while doing it. For example, when a child wants to play and the mother tells him to go to school. The child does not want to go and therefore the child may literally drag his feet. As adults, we may not physically drag our feet and usually nobody will drag us physically. Nonetheless, the fact is that every one of us has to act. We cannot act effectively unless our heart is invested in it. 

 

Drona had affection for the Pandavas because in general the Pandavas were very respectful to their elders, including Drona. He had special affection for Arjuna because Arjuna was his best student. Arjuna attentively heard, diligently practiced, humbly inquired and resourcefully served Drona. Thus, Duryodhana knew, there would be a certain amount of Drona’s emotion that would be there, on the opposite side. That would make him want to fight half-heartedly. He might have even preferred to fight on the side of the Pandavas, instead of against them. However, for some reason, situationally, now he had to fight against them.

 

Therefore, what could he do? Duryodhana wanted to make sure that Drona’s emotions worked for the Kauravas and not for the Pandavas. He could, of course, not make Drona’s emotion of affection for the Pandavas disappear. Duryodhana personally had immense antipathy towards the Pandavas. However, no matter how much he spoke against the Pandavas, Duryodhana knew that he could not swerve or change the affection that Drona had for them. The next best he could do was try to misdirect Drona’s vision so that it is directed away from the Pandavas to someone else in the Pandava party.

 

For that, he found a likely candidate in Dristadyumna, Drupada’s son. Personally, Drona had nothing against Drupada’s son, but, Drona and Drupada had an antipathy that went back a long time. Thus, we see that in the previous verse also, the mention of Drupada was there – Drupada putre. In this verse again, Drupada is mentioned. Among the many warriors that are there, in the last line, the mention of Drupada is given.

 

In writing, you place the most important thought at either the beginning or the end of a sentence because that is the time when people are most attentive. Here, Duryodhana places the thought at the end and he mentions Drupada as the last name. The intention behind that is that Drona should remember that the opposite side is not the side of his affectionate students, Pandavas. The opposite side is the side of his enemy, Drupada. Thus, by directing Drona’s emotion towards Drupada, Duryodhana hoped to create enough antipathy towards him and towards the opposing army itself.

 

Generally, when we meet people one on one, we may have our individual equations in our relationship with those people. However, when we are meet a group of people, then sometimes if one person in that group comes prominently in our vision – maybe somebody we are either very strongly affectionate towards, or very strongly averse – either way, if that one person fills our vision, then that is all we see. Our response to the whole group may be shaped by the presence of that one person in that group.

 

Here, Duryodhana hoped that by highlighting the presence of Drupada in the opposite party repeatedly, he would be able to make sure that Drona’s anger and antipathy is aroused and thereby whatever affection he might have for the Pandavas is squelched. He would abandon the affection, he would embrace the antipathy and thus he would fight ferociously for the Kauravas, and for him, Duryodhana. Thus, here Duryodhana reveals himself as an expert reader of people and expert manipulator of people by which he speaks the things necessary to incite the people around him, even those who are elder to him, so that they would fight wholeheartedly for his cause.