GITA 1.8
We have to see the Fourth sloka in Gita sermoned by Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna was born in Mathura and was brought up in Gokulam. After 10 years, He again visited Mathura and helped (His grand father) to reign the Kingdom. To avoid disturbances from Jarasanda, He went Westwards, and after requesting Samudraraja (King of Oceans), He established Dwaraka in a reclaimed land at a distance of 12 yojanas (A unit of measurement of distances, prevalent in old India). Sri Krishna ruled from here. Then He came to Indraprasta, on hearing that His relatives Pandavas were in distress and with a good intention to help them. That time only, the war started. In Kurukshetra both the armies stood to attack each other. At that time, Duryodana drives his chariot near Dronacharya and describes the great warriors standing to start fighting. A number of names of persons will appear in the slokas and we need not worry about the capabilities of everyone of them. They were all great Kings and warriors of that time. Duryodana mentions the names of them on each side of the battlefield. That is not very important for us.
But, in the 'war' in our body, it is important for us to know who are on which side! We will see the slokas and also see how they are useful for us.
Fourth sloka:
atra sura mahesvasa
bhimarjuna-sama yudhi
yuyudhano viratas ca
drupadas ca maha-rathah
Here in this army there are many heroic bowmen equal in fighting to Bhima and Arjuna; there are also great fighters like Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada.
Sloka 5:
dhrstaketus cekitanah
kasirajas ca viryavan
purujit kuntibhojas ca
saibyas ca nara-pungavah
There are also great, heroic, powerful fighters like Dhrstaketu, Cekitana, Kasiraja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Saibya.
Sloka 6:
yudhamanyus ca vikranta
uttamaujas ca viryavan
saubhadro draupadeyas ca
sarva eva maha-rathah
There are the mighty Yudhamanyu, the very powerful Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra and the sons of Draupadi. All these warriors are great chariot fighters.
We will see all the Three slokas Duryodana first mentions who were all on the Pandavas side. Normally, it is considered good manners, to first mention about the opposite side and then talk about our side. We might think that Duryodana at least did not forget this good habit. But actually that was not the reason. Because in many places, Duryodana always spoke about himself first and then only spoke about others. Then why did he mention about the persons of Pandavas side first? Because, as we saw in the previous sloka, he asked Drona to look at the Pandava side. So Acharya Drona looks at the Pandavas army. Therefore, Duryodana had to mention about the warriors on the opposite army. Another interpretation is out of fear he mentions about the persons frightening him.
Now we will see the slokas. Atra = in the (opposite) camp, sura = brave (warriors), mahesvasa = great skilled archers, bhimarjuna - sama yudhi = equal to Bhima and Arjuna (when it comes to) in fighting. That is, Duryodana is going to mention names of archers who are equal to Bhima and Arjuna in skills. Yuyudhano = Yuyudhana (Satyaki), virata = King Virata ( in whose kingdom the Pandavas remained as incognito for one year and whose daughter Utra was married to Arjuna's son Abimanyu), ca drupada - and King Drupada ( whose daughter was Draupati), maha-rathah = (they were all) Maharathas. A person capable of fighting with single opponent is called Atiratha. A person capable of fighting with many at the same time is called Ardharatha. A Maharatha is capable of fighting with 11,000 persons.
Dhrstaketu = Dhrashtaketu, cekitana = Chekitana, kasirajas ca viryavan = valiant King of Kashi, All of them have come to help Pandavas. Purujit = Purujit, kuntibhoja= Kuntibhoja, saibya = (King) Sibi, nara-pungavah = leader among humans.
Yudhamanyu = Yudhamanyu, vikranta = powerful, uttamaujas ca viryavan = brave Uttamauja, saubhadro = sons of Subhadra (sister of Sri Krishna and who married Arjuna), draupadeya = sons of Draupati, sarva eva maha-rathah = all these were Maharathas.
Thus in the 4th, 5th and 6th slokas, a frightened Duryodana listed the warriors on the Pandavas side. All these persons were siding the good ones and the just. Whenever there was humiliation to justice, many good persons will join to support it. Sri Rama was supported by an army of monkeys. Though monkeys were not powerful warriors, strength of a side is determined by the cause for which it stands to fight. In our country's freedom struggle, under the leadership of the Father of the Nation, people fought on virtues, a mighty Power. So the cause is more important. If we fight for truth, even though in the beginning, we may appear weak, with God's blessings, strength will be adding gradually. That is why Sri Rama took with Him the support of monkeys and squirrels. Have we ever heard of a bridge being built by monkeys and squirrels? But a bridge was built connecting Rameswaram with Sri Lanka. This has been confirmed by NASA through satellite photography. It has been proved by technology that the bridge is some 17 Lakh years old! Srimad Ramayana epic has 24,000 slokas. But there is one sloka which says that if one is virtuous, even monkeys would help him and unethical persons would be deserted even by brothers. This is the essence of Ramayana! Sri Rama acted honestly and He was helped by monkeys. Ravana acted dishonestly and his brother Vibheeshana left him. Therefore, it is immaterial whether we have capable persons on our side. But it is important whether we possess virtues like truthfulness and honesty and whether we are fighting for a just cause. If we do, victory is certain. This is what we learn from Ramayana story. This is what we learn in the present (Mahabharata) story also. Because all these Maharathas mentioned by Duryodana are even collectively no match to Bheeshma or Drona. In spite of having these persons (Bheeshma and Drona) on his side, if Duryodana is scared, it is because of his guilty conscience.
We will now proceed to next slokas where Duryodana speaks about persons on his side.
(continued)
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