Gita 01.03 – The politician seeks martial dedication by emotional manipulation

Audio link 1: Gita 01.03 – The politician seeks martial dedication by emotional manipulation – The Spiritual Scientist

 

paśyaitāṁ pāṇḍu-putrānām

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.

paśya etām: Please see, pāṇḍu-putrānām => sons of Pandu, ācārya mahatīṁ camūm => Just see what a formidable military formation they have made. tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā => the intelligence which you give to your enemy’s son, now that is used against us. So please don’t be so “soft hearted” that is the implied message here.

This verse is spoken by Duryodhana. In the previous verse, it states ācāryam upasaṅgamya, rājā vacanam abravīt, meaning he approached his acharya and spoke these words. Though it does not explicitly say Duryodhana uvacha (Duryodhana said), there is indication in the previous verse that Duryodhana is the speaker.

Let us analyse what Duryodhana is saying in this verse:

paśyaitāṁ: Please see.

pāṇḍu-putrānām: The sons of Pandu (Pandavas).

ācārya: O teacher (addressing Drona, who was the teacher of both Kauravas and Pandavas).

mahatīṁ camūm: Their phalanxes have been magnificently organized.

vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa: The military formation has been organized by Drupada’s son (Dhrishtadyumna). Instead of calling him by name, Duryodhana uses his father’s name (drupada-putrena) to remind Drona of the old enmity between Drona and Drupada.

tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā: By your wise disciple.

Duryodhana continues with his critical remarks against Drona: “It is the enemy’s son you not only accepted but also trained as your disciple. Look at how expert he has become – now he is using those very skills against you. What a travesty!”

This is the implication Duryodhana wants to convey: “You thought you were being soft hearted and broadminded, but your own disciple is now working against you. He has shown his true colours.” Pointing out to Drupada, Duryodhana is saying, “while the father was always against you, the son having trained under you is now ready to fight against you.”

Every text has a subtext. The text is what is directly stated, while the subtext is what is conveyed through the choice of words, the context in which they are spoken, or the tone used. The subtext often conveys emotions.

Duryodhana wants to seal Drona’s commitment to his side and invoke Drona’s anger, thereby subduing any affection Drona might have for the Pandavas. By doing so, Duryodhana hopes Drona will fight with his full power that he is capable of.

Why does Duryodhana choose such a drastic way of conveying the message? Because in the previous verse, dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ, he saw the Pandav’s forces formidably aligned by Dristadyumna.

In one sense, Dronacharya can assess military formations much better than Duryodhana. Although Duryodhana became expert in various areas of warfare, especially in mace fighting, he was not a famous military organizer compared to the superior organizing skills of Drona.

If Duryodhana has gauged the formidable military formation of Pandavas, then even Dronacharya has observed it. What then is the point for Duryodhana to come and speak that way? “Just see the formidable military formation of the Pandavas” (paśyaitāṁ pāṇḍu-putrānām ācārya mahatīṁ camūm).

Duryodhana’s praise of the Pandavas military formation is not intended out of any genuine appreciation for the Pandavas. Duryodhana has heartfelt envy for the Pandavas and he desired their destruction; in that he wanted full support from Drona. Precisely the reason why Duryodhana was referring to the military formation which both have seen just to instigate the anger of Drona against the Pandavas.

vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa

On the Pandava’s side; Dhṛṣṭadyumna was appointed as the commander, although Arjuna was the foremost archer and Bhima was the foremost mace fighter on their side. During the course of the 18 days, these were the two warriors who wrecked the maximum havoc. Despite this, the Pandavas decide to appoint the relatively younger Dhṛṣṭadyumna as their commander because Dhṛṣṭadyumna was born to be the cause of Drona’s death, which the latter knew. Duryodhana also has this point in his mind: Drona is destined to die at the hands of Drupada’s son.

Long back, Drupada performed an austerity with the motive to beget a son who would kill Drona, to avenge his past rivalry. Drupada, to attain his objective, conducted a fire sacrifice with the help of two brahmanas, Yaja and Upyaja. Consequently, Dhṛṣṭadyumna was not born from mother’s womb, rather emerged from the fire as an effulgent, powerful, and fear-inducing (expert) warrior. Immediately from the sacrificial arena, he mounted a chariot and demonstrated extraordinary military skills.  This convinced the onlookers that he was indeed destined to be Drona’s downfall, as Drupada had desired.

Sometimes Dronacharya is equated as the Guru of the Pandavas which is more in terms of military guidance. He was not a spiritual guru, but a marshal guru. Accordingly, he instructed both the parties, Kauravas and Pandavas.

Although Dhṛṣṭadyumna was born with remarkable skills, he sought further training from Drona, who magnanimously agreed. Having learned much from Drona, Dhṛṣṭadyumna saw the war as an opportunity to fulfil his destiny.

Despite the principle that one shouldn’t train their enemy, Drona did so, and now Duryodhana wants to highlight this mistake. He implies that Drona, by training his enemy, has created a significant problem for himself. Now, Drona must use his abilities to help Duryodhana out of trouble as well.

Implicitly, Duryodhana is expressing his displeasure on Drona for imparting marshal training to Dhṛṣṭadyumna: “Anyway you have trained your enemy, and now your enemy has got you into trouble. So at least now don’t repeat the mistake, don’t give up safety in the name of sentimentality.”

Duryodhana is unable to value the noble virtues of Drona who conducted his life as an exemplary teacher selflessly training disciples. But the prince is saying, “safety first, if that person is going to kill you, why did you train him?” Metaphorically, Duryodhana is trying to rub salt on the wound. While he speaks respectfully, his words are meant to ensure that Drona doesn’t retain any soft corner for Pandavas in his heart and fights wholeheartedly.

Duryodhana implies: “Dhṛṣṭadyumna is your enemy’s son, and he is now fighting against you. Moreover, he is destined to kill you. Hence, this is not the time for sentimentality; focus on safety and success. So fight, O Drona.”

When someone sees that the enemy is very strong and well-prepared, they ensure that their own side is also strong and well-prepared. Emotional preparation is a crucial part of this, where one commits fully to the war. He is trying to get Drona to commit to the war by pointing out that the enemy’s son, who was trained by Drona himself, is now fighting against him.

It’s almost as if Dhṛṣṭadyumna has defected, although not exactly, since he never promised lifelong loyalty to Drona. The message is clear: Don’t give into sentimentality. Keep safety in mind, fight wholeheartedly, and help me achieve victory. Although the word “acharya” is used respectfully, it conveys a strong instruction, urging Drona to fight wholeheartedly, fiercely, and ferociously.