Gita 01.02 – Sanjaya addresses not just the content of Dhritarashtra’s question but also its intent
sañjaya uvāca
dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ
vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanas tadā
ācāryam upasaṅgamya
rājā vacanam abravīt
Explanation: The Bhagavad Gita began with a question by Dhritarashtra, and now Sanjaya is answering, kim akurvata, what happened?
Some questions are very close-ended. The answer to such questions has to be very specific. If there is a cricket match going on between two countries, you could ask, who won the match? Then, there will be a very specific answer, team A won or team B won. But the question “what happened in the match?” is very open-ended. The answer to that will be very different.
Depending on how interested both people are in the events and how much information the person answering the question has, to that extent, the answer can go into detail. Though the question “what happened” is open-ended, yet it can be answered in one sentence, “team A won” or one can even give a detailed description of each phase of the match or if the cricket match is going on, we might have a running commentary.
During a cricket match, if it’s a written commentary, which we are accessing on the internet by reading, some commentaries are over-by-over, some commentaries are ball-by-ball account of what happened. If it’s a boxing match, you might have what is called a blow-by-blow account. Each blow that was landed, where did it land, what was the impact, what was the retaliation, how did the match unfold, everything will be described.
Dhritarashtra’s question is open-ended, and he is asking what happened at Kurukshetra (dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ). When they were assembled, what did they do? Now, it’s interesting that the narrative of the Bhagavad Gita could focus on anything, but it chooses to focus not on anyone in the battlefield, but specifically on the one to whom Dhritarashtra is most attached.
Dhritarashtra as a father is naturally concerned about what happened to his sons, and among them he is most attached to his eldest son Duryodhana, who is the most headstrong also. We want our head to be strong, we don’t want to be headstrong. That means we need to have a strong intelligence by which we can take sound decisions. But if we are headstrong, then we are attached to whatever opinion we circumstantially form, and we just stick to it. Because Dhritarashtra was attached to his headstrong son Duryodhana, naturally the Mahabharata’s narrative, specifically the Bhagavad Gita’s narrative within the Mahabharata, begins with responding to Dhritarashtra’s immediate concern. Suppose, if somebody is asking about a commentary of a cricket match, and we know that they are attached to a particular player, even when they are asking what happened in the match, we know that their unspoken question is, what happened to that particular player in this match? What did he do? How did he play? Therefore, because of Dhritarashtra’s natural attachment to Duryodhana, and because Sanjaya has been with Dhritarashtra for a long time, Sanjaya knows how the mind of Dhritarashtra works, so he naturally recognizes that the unspoken thrust of Dhritarashtra’s question is Duryodhana’s well-being.
When people ask us some questions, if we are to give them satisfactory answers, we need to look not just at the content of the question but also at the intent of the question or the consciousness behind the question. To the extent we do that, to that extent, we can answer effectively. To the extent we fail to do that, to that extent, we stay stuck.
For each one of us, Sanjaya’s answer is instructive of how he is sensitive to the unspoken implication of Dhritarashtra’s question. Thus, he focuses on Duryodhana (dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ). The two armies are assembled in the Kurukshetra war field. Sanjaya keeps the focus of the camera on the Kaurava side, specifically on Duryodhana. Both the armies are facing each other, looking at their relative strengths.
dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ: When Duryodhana sees the military formation of the Pandavas.
vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanas tadā: When Duryodhana sees the well-formed military formation of the Pandavas.
ācāryam upasaṅgamya: Duryodhana approaches the acharya.
rājā vacanam abravīt: He speaks these words to the acharya (Dronacharya).
It’s interesting that the word “raja” can have two meanings: It can be Sanjaya referring to Dhritarashtra and calling him raja or it can be referring to Duryodhana itself who was the de facto ruler because Dhritarashtra was so weak-minded that he handed over the effective power to his son.
Normally, we will use this metaphor of a cricket match or a sports match in general to make sense of the various moves that are going on on the Kurukshetra war field right in the beginning, at least. If the captain sees that a particular batsman or a particular team member is a key member for a particular strategy. Every team member has to play a role in the team. Depending on the nature of the opponent, the nature of the pitch, the nature of the situation, different players have to step forward and play prominent roles. For example, if the opponent’s ranks are piled with players who are very good pace players and if somebody is a spinner, then that person may well be the trump card and the captain will approach that person.
If a particular bowler has to play a significant role in some way, the significance of which will vary, then the captain may approach that player first. Similarly here, Duryodhana, on seeing the Pandava military formation, he goes to Dronacharya and he starts speaking to him. The reason as to why he speaks specifically to Dronacharya and not to Bhishma will become clear in the next verse.
In armies, there is the king and there is the commander. The commander works under the king. At the same time, the commander knows much more of the nitty-gritties of the army for fighting than might be the king. The king may also know, but the commander is the hands-on controller. The king might be the ultimate commander-in-chief, the ultimate one in command, but the king is not the immediate one to command. On the Pandava side, it was Yudhishthira who was the king and they had made Dhrishtadyumna the commander. On the Kaurava side, Bhishma, being the senior most warrior, was the commander. Of course, Duryodhana being the prince and a member of the royal dynasty was like the king. His position in some way was equal to that of Yudhishthira. Thus, both of them were assembled on the battlefield to fight. It is significant that on seeing this critical situation, Duryodhana chooses to go to Dronacharya and not to Bhishma.
The reason for this will be revealed in subsequent verses.
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