Bagavad Gita (contd.)

 Why did Duryodana mention the name of Drupada's son while addressing Drona? This is a lesson in the art of advocacy! Duryodana wanted to arouse the base instincts of hostility in Drona's mind. What is a more effective tool for this than to invite attention to past enmity? Drona and Drupada were once classmates and thick friends. The friendship was so strong that Drupada promised Drona that he would give one half of his kingdom to Drona in future. Drona forgot all this till an occasion arose. Drona was satisfied with a penurious life. His son, Aswatthama was a friend of Duryodana; they were playmates too. One day, Duryodana told Aswatthama that he liked milk which he drank every day. Aswatthama had not seen milk till then and so he asked his parents to give him milk. Love for one's children changes the direction of many lives. Drona was now caught in this spiral. He remembered Drupada's promise. He went to Drupada who was now king. When Drona reminded Drupada his assurance, Drupada was upset. "We are not equals now and therefore we are not friends now. A king that I am cannot share his wealth with a commoner that you are. Don't live in the past." Thus Drupada repudiated his own promise. Had Drona asked for milk or for a cow, Drupada would have readily obliged. But the eagerness to satisfy one's child's desire blinds some people to reality. Drona returned home disappointed. Later on, Drona avenged Drupada's letdown by capturing his kingdom through Arjuna and went on to ensure his death in the Kurukshetra battle. Drona's animosity to Drupada was leveraged by Duryodana to remind him of the past when reference was made to Dhrishtadumna, Drupada's son. Duryodana was an intelligent administrator but bitterness towards cousins and resultant greed (or was it vice versa?) caused his downfall.

Bhima and Arjuna are among the Pandavas. There is no surprise they are in the battle field. Duryodana names Yuyudhana alias Saatyaki first; this is with a view to poison Drona's mind a little more. Yuyudhana was in Krishna's forces. As Krishna had agreed, he must be in the Kaurava army. But he is not. Why? Has Krishna violated his own word? No. There is a rule that a disciple should not fight one's guru. Yuyudhana  was trained in warfare by Arjuna. So there was nothing wrong in his supporting Arjuna. Here we find one dharmic principle (fulfilment of Krishna's promise) in contradiction to another (disciple standing by the guru). There are many such tradeoffs in Mahabharata. The subtle way in which such quandaries are resolved in this epic makes interesting reading. Duryodana seems to tell Drona, "Your disciple Arjuna is battling you; contrarily Arjuna's disciple is with him. You are wronged." This is to create malice and hatred in Drona's mind against Arjuna.

There is a saying that there is nothing that happens in the world that is not in the Mahabharata.