Chapter 1- Verses 3 to 11

Duryodhana’s dialogue with Dronacharya continues-

Verse 3 : Oh teacher!  See this vast army of the Pandavas, arrayed by the son of Drupada, your skillful disciple.

Verse 4: In this army there are many powerful archers who are equal to Bhima and Arjuna in war – Satyaki, the king of Virata country,  and Drupada, a great warrior.

Verse 5: Dhrstaketu, Cekitana, the powerful king of Kasi, Purujit Kuntibhoja and Saibya who is the best among men, are all assembled here.

Verse 6: Moreover,  the powerful Yudhamanyu, the valiant Uttamaujas, Abhimanyu, the sons of Draupadi , all of them great warriors are all here.

Verse 7:

Here, Duryodhana informs Dronacharya of the warriors in his own army

” Oh best among brahmins! May you know those who are prominent among us, the leaders of my army. I am mentioning them for your information. ”

Here Swamiji notes that Dronacharya is violating brahmana dharma by fighting in the war. A brahmana has six duties to perform.

They are:

1. Yajanam- performing the vaidhika karma ( poojas and rituals)
2. Yaajanam- helping others to do their vaidhika karma
3. Patanam- to study scriptures
4. Paatanam- to teach scriptures to others
5. Dhaanam- giving to charity
6. Prathigraha- to receive charity

Dronacharya,  as a brahmin, is allowed to learn and teach the art of war, but never take part in war.

Verse 8: Duryodhana continues ” Yourself,  Bhishma, Karna, Krpa who is ever victorious in war, Asvattama, Vikarna, the son of Somadatta are present in our army.”

Verse 9: And there are many other heroes ready to give up their lives for my sake. All of them have many weapons and missiles,  and are experts in war.

Verse 10: Therefore our army, protected by Bhishma, is insufficient.  On the other hand, this Pandava army, protected by Bhima, is more than sufficient to defeat us.

Swamiji : Why is Duryodhana not confident in his own army? The Kaurava army is both quantitatively and qualitatively superior to the Pandava army.  The Kauravas have 14 divisions to the Pandavas 7. They also have all the powerful warriors on their side – Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Karna and so on. Why, then, does Duryodhana feel fear?

Swamiji says that when dharma is lacking and bhakthi is lacking, strength and confidence is also lacking.  Here Swamiji recalls the story of how Arjuna and Duryodhana went to see Krishna seeking His help. When Arjuna chose Lord Krishna instead of his army, Duryodhana was secretly pleased because he had no bhakthi towards Lord Krishna.   Swamiji says that Lord Krishna represents spiritual strength,  while His army represents material strength.
Duryodhana chose thearmy, representing material strength and ignored Krishna, the spiritual strength. Thus, without dharma and bhakthi on his side, Duryodhana feels fear and lacks confidence.

Verse 11: Duryodhana continues” One person gives security and confidence to us, Bhishma. All of you should protect Bhishma by staying in your position at all points of entry.

Duryodhana’s dialogue ends here.

Verse 12: ( Sanjaya says)  Trying to bolster Duryodhana’s confidence,  Bhishma lets out a lion-like roar and blows his conch to signify the Kaurava’s readiness for war.

Verse 13: Hearing this more conches, kettledrums, trumpets,  drums and horns were immediately sounded forth from the Kaurava army.

Regards,

Usha Chandran