paanchajanyam hrishikeesho devadattam dhananjayaha |
paundryam dadhamau mahaashankam bheemekarmaa vrikodaraha || 15 ||
anantavijayam raaja kuntiputrau yudhistiraha |
nakulaha sahadevashcha sughoshamanipushpakau || 16 ||
kashyashcha parameshvasaaha shikhandi cha mahaarathaha |
dhristhadyumno viraatashcha saatyakischaparaajiataha ||17||
drupado draupadeyascha sarvashaha pruthiveepate |
saubhadrashcha mahaabaahuh shankhaandadhmuh prithakprithak || 18 ||
Hrishikesha blew his conch named Paanchajanya, Arjuna blew his conch Devadatta, and the fearsome Bheema blew his mighty conch named Paundra.
King Yudhishtira, son of Kuntu, blew his conch named Anantavijayam, Nakula and Sahadeva blew their conches named Sughosha and Manipushpaka.
The King of Kashi, a supreme archer, the mighty warriors Shikhandi, Dhristadyumna, King Viraata and Satyaki ..
King Drupada, the sons of Draupadi and Abhimanyu, the mighty armed son of Subhadraa, all blew their respective conches, O King.
paanchajanyam : conch named Paanchajanya
hrishikeeshaha : one who has conquered the senses (Krishna)
devadattam : conch named Devadatta
dhananjayaha : one who has achieved victory over wealth (Arjuna)
paundryam : conch named Paundra
dadhamau : blew
mahaashankam : mighty conch
bheemekarmaa : Bheema
vrikodaraha : one who has extraordinary capacity to imbibe food
anantavijayam : conch named ananta-vijayam
raaja : king
kuntiputrau : son of Kunti
yudhistiraha : Yudhishtira
nakulaha : Nakula
sahadevashcha : and Sahadeva
sughoshamanipushpakau : conches named Sughosha and Manipushpaka
kashyashcha : King of Kashi
parameshvasaaha : supreme archer
shikhandi : Shikhandi
mahaarathaha: mighty warrior
dhristhadyumno : Dhrishtadyumna
viraatashcha : King Viraata
saatyaki : Saatyaki
aparaajiataha : indefeatable
drupado : King Drupada
draupadeyascha : Draupadi's sons
sarvashaha : all
pruthiveepate : O king
saubhadra : Abhimanyu
mahaabaahu : mighty armed
shankha: conches
dadhmuh : sounded
prithak : their respective
Blowing of the conches was a tradition that signified the start of a war. In other words, once that sound was heard, there was no room for compromise, there was no more vacillation on whether or not to fight, everyone was committed to start the war. Note that the Pandava army has well-known conches, but the Kaurava army's conches are nameless.
We should remind ourselves again and again that the Gita is first and foremost a practical text on how to lead a balanced life, a life that is in harmony with the world. Therefore, we should try to connect what we read in this text to our own life and experiences.
Arjuna was face to face with the Kaurava army, and the sound of the conches indicated that he was about to deal with an extremely difficult situation - that of war. Most of us also have to deal with extremely difficult situations every day, though usually not that of life or death, but ones with high stakes nevertheless. If you are a student, then a tough exam is an example. If you have a job, then a upcoming meeting with your boss is another example.
When I read the blowing of the conches, I recalled a sound from my childhood which for me had similar implications. Early in the morning, at the same time everyday, I would hear the sound of a air raid warning alarm, coming in from the distance. There was no imminent threat of an air raid, that sound was used only to test the warning system. But for me personally, it reminded me that in a few minutes I would have to face the most difficult situation a shy, nerdy kid has to face everyday - school!
Showing posts with label raaja. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raaja. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 1
Sanjaya uvacha:
dhristvaa tu paandavaanikam vyoodham duryodhanstadaa |
aachaaryamupasangmaya raaja vachanambraveet || 2 ||
Sanjaya said:
Observing that the Pandava army was organized into a military formation, Duryodhana approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.
tadaa: during that time
vyoodham: organized into a military formation
paandavaanikam: the Pandava army
dhrishtvaa: observing
tu: and
aachaaryam: Dronacharya
upasangmaya: approached
raaja: king
duryodhan: Duryodhana
vachanam: words
abraveet: spoke
Let's look at the character that is introduced in this verse - Duryodhana. Duryodhana was the son of Dhritrashtra, and leader of the Kaurava army in the Mahabharata war. He was a skilled and strong warrior, almost equal in prowess to Bhima, the strongest warrior in the Pandava army.
Since childhood, Duryodhana grew up with the idea that he was the rightful heir to the throne and not Yudhishtira, who was the eldest brother of the Pandavas. Going back to the theme of the previous verse which is that of attachment, he was extremely attached to the throne. But because he perceived the Pandavas as an obstacle to the throne, which was something that he was extremely attached to, he developed an aversion towards them.
Think of aversion or in other words, hatred, as the polar opposite of attachment. But interestingly enough, it is born out of attachment itself. For example, we saw that Mr. X from the last post was extremely attached to his car, and saw that someone had made a large dent in it. What feeling do you think Mr. X had for the person who caused that dent? That is aversion. Aversion is usually caused when we perceive a person, situation or object as an obstacle between us and the object of our attachment. And aversion, just like attachment, strengthens the ego. Examples are people (I hate my boss), objects (I hate my old TV), positions (I hate anyone who believes in communism) or situations (I hate my job).
Now, why did Duryodhana approach his teacher Drona? He saw the military formation of the Pandavas and began to get scared. As is the case, most people run to someone superior when they get scared, so he approached his teacher for counsel.
Drona was a teacher to both the Pandavas and Kauravas, and had equal affinity to both of them. And unlike some of the other senior warriors, Drona was not a blood relation to the Kauravas. Duryodhana also sensed that he needs to check in with Drona to understand his state of mind, because he needed Drona's prowess to win this war.
There is an interesting leadership lesson here. If you are leading a team - in a business, political or any context - your success is not guaranteed unless everyone buys into a common vision that you as a leader have articulated.
dhristvaa tu paandavaanikam vyoodham duryodhanstadaa |
aachaaryamupasangmaya raaja vachanambraveet || 2 ||
Sanjaya said:
Observing that the Pandava army was organized into a military formation, Duryodhana approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.
tadaa: during that time
vyoodham: organized into a military formation
paandavaanikam: the Pandava army
dhrishtvaa: observing
tu: and
aachaaryam: Dronacharya
upasangmaya: approached
raaja: king
duryodhan: Duryodhana
vachanam: words
abraveet: spoke
Let's look at the character that is introduced in this verse - Duryodhana. Duryodhana was the son of Dhritrashtra, and leader of the Kaurava army in the Mahabharata war. He was a skilled and strong warrior, almost equal in prowess to Bhima, the strongest warrior in the Pandava army.
Since childhood, Duryodhana grew up with the idea that he was the rightful heir to the throne and not Yudhishtira, who was the eldest brother of the Pandavas. Going back to the theme of the previous verse which is that of attachment, he was extremely attached to the throne. But because he perceived the Pandavas as an obstacle to the throne, which was something that he was extremely attached to, he developed an aversion towards them.
Think of aversion or in other words, hatred, as the polar opposite of attachment. But interestingly enough, it is born out of attachment itself. For example, we saw that Mr. X from the last post was extremely attached to his car, and saw that someone had made a large dent in it. What feeling do you think Mr. X had for the person who caused that dent? That is aversion. Aversion is usually caused when we perceive a person, situation or object as an obstacle between us and the object of our attachment. And aversion, just like attachment, strengthens the ego. Examples are people (I hate my boss), objects (I hate my old TV), positions (I hate anyone who believes in communism) or situations (I hate my job).
Now, why did Duryodhana approach his teacher Drona? He saw the military formation of the Pandavas and began to get scared. As is the case, most people run to someone superior when they get scared, so he approached his teacher for counsel.
Drona was a teacher to both the Pandavas and Kauravas, and had equal affinity to both of them. And unlike some of the other senior warriors, Drona was not a blood relation to the Kauravas. Duryodhana also sensed that he needs to check in with Drona to understand his state of mind, because he needed Drona's prowess to win this war.
There is an interesting leadership lesson here. If you are leading a team - in a business, political or any context - your success is not guaranteed unless everyone buys into a common vision that you as a leader have articulated.
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