Duryodhana speaks to Droṇācārya (Bg 1.2 to 1.9)

Duryodhana insolently addresses his guru. Instead of asking for instructions, he starts lecturing him, coming to the point of indirectly chastising him for having instructed Dhṛṣṭadyumna.

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Verse 2: sañjaya uvāca

dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkam, vyūḍham duryodhanas tadā

ācāryam upasangamya, rājā vacanam abravīt

Sañjaya said: O King, after looking over the army arranged in military formation by the sons of Pāṇḍu, King Duryodhana went to his teacher and spoke the following words.

Verse 3: paśyaitām pāṇḍu-putrāṇām, ācārya mahatīm camūm

vyūḍhām drupada-putreṇa, tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā

O my teacher, behold the great army of the sons of Pāṇḍu, so expertly arranged by your intelligent disciple the son of Drupada.

Verse 4: atra śūrā maheṣv-āsā, bhīmārjuna-samā yudhi

yuyudhāno virāṭaś ca, drupadaś ca mahā-rathaḥ

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

Verse 5: dhṛṣṭaketuś cekitānaḥ, kāśirājaś ca vīryavān

purujit kuntibhojaś ca, śaibyaś ca nara-pungavaḥ

There are also great heroic, powerful fighters like Dhṛṣṭaketu, Cekitāna, Kāśirāja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Śaibya.

Verse 6: yudhāmanyuś ca vikrānta, uttamaujāś ca vīryavān

saubhadro draupadeyāś ca, sarva eva mahā-rathāḥ

There are the mighty Yudhāmanyu, the very powerful Uttamaujā, the son of Subhadrā and the sons of Draupadī. All these warriors are great chariot fighters.

Verse 7: asmākam tu viśiṣṭā ye, tān nibodha dvijottama

nāyakā mama sainyasya, samjñārtham tān bravīmi te

But for your information, O best of the brāhmaṇas, let me tell you about the captains who are especially qualified to lead my military force.

Verse 8: bhavān bhīṣmaś ca karṇaś ca, kṛpaś ca samitim-jayaḥ

aśvatthāmā vikarṇaś ca, saumadattis tathaiva ca

There are personalities like you, Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Kṛpa, Aśvatthāmā, Vikarṇa and the son of Somadatta called Bhūriśravā, who are always victorious in battle.

Verse 9: anye ca bahavaḥ śūrā, mad-arthe tyakta-jīvitāḥ

nānā-śastra-praharaṇāḥ, sarve yuddha-viśāradāḥ

There are many other heroes who are prepared to lay down their lives for my sake. All of them are well equipped with different kinds of weapons, and all are experienced in military science.

One could question why we should study the words of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana in the Bhagavad-gītā, being both far from ideal personalities. Srila Prabhupada explains that this is because their words are connected with Krsna. Being Krsna absolute, everything connected with Him exists in the same transcendental platform. The words of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana before the battle are thus no less important than subsequent verses.

Before the battle, Duryodhana made many diplomatic arrangements to make alliances and secure military support from the smaller kingdoms. The battle of Kurukṣetra happened shortly after the Pāṇḍavas returned from their exile of thirteen years, therefore Duryodhana expected that they would obtain little support. However, he was surprised when he saw they could gather a sizable military force.

The army of the Pāṇḍavas was smaller (they had seven akṣauhiṇīs, against Duryodhana's eleven) but they had many experienced generals, as well as powerful warriors such as Arjuna, Bhīma, and Abhimanyu. Due to the seriousness of the situation, he approached Droṇācārya, the commander-in-chief, to inform him of the happenings. Although Duryodhana appears confident, this is just due to his diplomatic nature. Internally he is fearful. The battle was not going to be the pushover he had expected.

In his purports, Srila Prabhupada describes many details of the events and political alliances and gives additional details on the warriors present on both sides. We can also study the full complexity of the situation in the Mahābhārata. In any case, there were millions of warriors arranged on the battlefield, and everyone knew that many were going to lose their lives. The situation was tense.

One significant detail is the insolent way Duryodhana addresses his guru. Instead of asking for instructions, he starts lecturing him, coming to the point of indirectly chastising him for having instructed Dhṛṣṭadyumna who had now taken the side of the Pāṇḍavas and used the knowledge Droṇācārya had taught him to expertly arrange their army by the words "behold the great army of the sons of Pāṇḍu, so expertly arranged by your intelligent disciple the son of Drupada."

This can be contrasted with the submissive way Arjuna approaches Krsna, first explaining his doubts, then surrendering to Him and inquiring submissively. Both passages thus reinforce the proper attitude in studying the verses of the Bhagavad-gītā.

We can also see that the results achieved by both were different. Although also competent to give spiritual knowledge, Droṇācārya did not speak to Duryodhana at all. This point is explained in a verse of the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam: "During this season the mountains sometimes released their pure water and sometimes did not, just as experts in transcendental science sometimes give the nectar of transcendental knowledge and sometimes do not." (SB 10.20.36)

This shows how the transmission of transcendental knowledge depends not only on the qualification of the spiritual teacher but also on the student. If a student doesn't show the proper attitude, even the most qualified teacher may remain silent.

Arjuna, on the other hand, is not only submissive but non-envious. He honestly inquires from Krsna without false prestige. As a result, Krsna destroyed all of Arjuna's doubts by speaking the Bhagavad-gītā to him. Empowered by this knowledge, Arjuna was victorious in the battle, while proud Duryodhana was ultimately destroyed.

Droṇācārya was originally a Brāhmaṇa, who due to poverty decided to become a kṣatriya. In the 11th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Krsna explains that a brāhmaṇa who is not able to maintain himself and support his family as a brāhmaṇa may work as a vaiśya or even as a kṣatriya to make a living. The position of a vaiśya is preferred because it is a non-violent occupation, but Droṇa decided to become a kṣatriya to avenge a serious offense from Drupada, the father of Dhṛṣṭadyumna. The story is that Droṇa and Drupada had studied in the same gurukula, where they became friends. Drupada was a prince, and Droṇa a poor brāhmaṇa, but due to their friendship, he promised to share everything with him when he would become king. Later, when Droṇa was in financial difficulties, having no means even to buy milk for his child, he remembered Drupada's promise and went to him to beg for a cow. Drupada, however, had become proud, and when Droṇa mentioned their friendship, he humiliated him by saying that friendship can exist only between equals. Being just a beggar, he said, Droṇa had no right to claim to be his friend. Being kicked out of the palace, Droṇa vowed revenge. Using his knowledge of the Dhanurveda, he became a great kṣatriya and the martial teacher of the Kuru dynasty. After training both the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas, he asked them to defeat Drupada and bring him back as guru-dakṣiṇā. The Kauravas, led by Duryodhana, failed, but the Pāṇḍavas succeeded in defeating Drupada and brought him to their teacher bound by ropes. Droṇa took half of the kingdom from him, and Drupada retaliated by making a great sacrifice to obtain a son capable of killing Droṇācārya, resulting in the birth of Dhṛṣṭadyumna. Being a liberal Brāhmaṇa at heart, Droṇa didn't hesitate to teach him everything, but Duryodhana blamed him for that.

Although Drupada was defeated by the young Pāṇḍavas and brought by them to Droṇācārya, he didn't hold a grudge against them, understanding that they acted under the order of Droṇa, as obedient students. This explains why he later sided with the Pāṇḍavas in the battle of Kurukṣetra. His grudge was against Droṇa, and not against them. Other factors were that the Pāṇḍavas were married to Draupadī, his daughter, and that the Pāṇḍavas represented the path of Dharma, while Duryodhana was on the path of irreligion. Drupada was also inimical to Duryodhana and his cause because they attempted to humiliate Draupadī in the assembly, and because of what she and the Pāṇḍavas suffered due to his actions. Drupada was the king of Pañcāla and provided one of the seven akṣauhiṇīs in the army of the Pāṇḍavas, as well as shelter, supplies, and military expertise. The Pañcāla forces also included Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Śikhaṇḍī, who were instrumental in the defeat of both Droṇa and Bhīṣma, the two main Kaurava generals.

The son of Subhadrā mentioned here is Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna and Krsna's sister, who fought with all the Kaurava generals inside the cakravyūha to save King Yudhiṣṭhira. The story is that, on the 13th day of the battle of Kurukṣetra, the Kauravas organized their army in a cakravyūha formation to capture King Yudhiṣṭhira and thus defeat the Pāṇḍavas. They used Suśarmā to challenge Arjuna and thus lure him to a distant part of the battlefield, neutralizing the biggest threat to the plan. In the cakravyūha, an army is organized as a gigantic moving circle that acts like a cakra, penetrating the opposing force to capture a specific individual. When properly organized, the movement of the cakravyūha is considered unstoppable. Abhimanyu volunteered to attack the formation and break it open, opening a path so others could also enter and destroy it from the inside. However, his knowledge of the cakravyūha was incomplete. He knew how to enter, but not how to exit it. If the others could not exploit the gap, the formation would close, and Abhimanyu would be trapped inside. As Abhimanyu advanced, Bhīma and the others followed suit. However, they were stopped by Jayadratha, who had a boon from Lord Shiva that one day he would be able to defeat four of the Pāṇḍava brothers in battle. Since Arjuna was not present at the time, this became the moment the boom came to fruition. Jayadratha was able to obstruct the Pāṇḍava brothers, while the other Kaurava warriors checked the others following them. This way, the attack was completely stopped.

The Kaurava generals were thus able to close the path and Abhimanyu was trapped inside the formation. At first, they attacked him one at a time, honoring the Kṣatriya code of honor, but as Abhimanyu resisted the advances and the casualties mounted, Śakuni devised a plan to attack him simultaneously from all sides, and only then they were able to finally overpower him, breaking his chariot, bow, and sword with arrows. Abhimanyu continued fighting with the wheel of a chariot and then with a mace picked from the ground, but he was eventually killed. However, by this time the day was finished and the time for battle ended. At the cost of his life, he accomplished his mission.

Main points in the purports of Srila Prabhupada:

"Sañjaya said: O King, after looking over the army arranged in military formation by the sons of Pāṇḍu, King Duryodhana went to his teacher and spoke the following words."

a) Dhṛtarāṣṭra was not only blind, but deprived of spiritual vision. He knew his sons were similarly materialistic and thus he understood they would not make peace before the battle, but he was wary of the influence of the holy place in the outcome of the battle. Following his inquiry, Sañjaya started describing the events.

"O my teacher, behold the great army of the sons of Pāṇḍu, so expertly arranged by your intelligent disciple the son of Drupada."

a) Because of their enmity, Drupada performed a great sacrifice to obtain a son that could kill Droṇācārya. Still, Droṇa didn't hesitate in teaching Dhṛṣṭadyumna. Now he took the side of the Pāṇḍavas and used the knowledge he got from him to expertly organize their army. Duryodhana pointed out this mistake and alerted him to not be lenient in the battle.

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

a) Apart from Dhṛṣṭadyumna, there were other warriors who were as formidable as Bhīma and Arjuna and were thus a cause of fear.

"There are also great heroic, powerful fighters like Dhṛṣṭaketu, Cekitāna, Kāśirāja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Śaibya. There are the mighty Yudhāmanyu, the very powerful Uttamaujā, the son of Subhadrā and the sons of Draupadī. All these warriors are great chariot fighters. But for your information, O best of the brāhmaṇas, let me tell you about the captains who are especially qualified to lead my military force. There are personalities like you, Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Kṛpa, Aśvatthāmā, Vikarṇa and the son of Somadatta called Bhūriśravā, who are always victorious in battle. There are many other heroes who are prepared to lay down their lives for my sake. All of them are well equipped with different kinds of weapons, and all are experienced in military science."

a) Prabhupada describes some of the family relations of the fighters described here in his purport. They were determined to lay down their lives for the sake of Duryodhana, who was confident in his victory due to his superior military strength. However, it was already concluded that all of them would die in the Battle of Kurukṣetra for joining the sinful party of Duryodhana.

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