Arjuna – Gita – Draupadi?

— OSHO Online Library

osho.com/osho-online-library/osho-talks/arjuna-gita-draupadi-41677e93-4e8

All Books » Inner War and Peace

Dhritarashtra:
O Sanjay,
assembled on the field of righteousness,
the ground of the Kuru,
and desirous of war,
what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?

Sanjay:
O king,
then Duryodhana
having seen the army of the Pandavas
strategically drawn up for battle,
approached his teacher, Dronacharya, and said:

“O most-honored teacher,
behold this mighty army of Pandu’s sons
which your own clever pupil, the son of Drupada,
has strategically arranged.

“Here are brave warriors and great archers,

equal to Bheema and Arjuna;
men such as Yuyudhana, Virata
and Drupada the great archer.
“Also, Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana,

1/6
the valiant king of Kashi,
Purujit, Kuntibhoja,
and Shaibya the best among men.

“Mighty Yudhamanyu and powerful Uttamauja;

the son of Subhadra
as well as the sons of Draupadi –
all of them great commanders.

“Also know, O first among brahmins,

of the outstanding men on our side;
and for your information I will name
the commanders of my army.

“You yourself, then Bheeshma, and Karna,

and Kripa, ever-victorious in battle;
similarly, Ashvatthama, Vikarna,
and the son of Somadatta.

And many other valiant heroes

ready to lay down their lives for me,
armed with many kinds of weapons,
and all highly skilled in war.

“Our army, safeguarded by Bheeshma,

is invincible in every way,
while theirs, with Bheema at the helm,
will be easy enough for us to vanquish.

“Therefore, standing firm on all fronts,

each in his respective place,
guard Bheeshma with your lives
every one of you.”

2/6
Hearing these words of Duryodhana
addressed to Dronacharya,
the most valiant grandsire Bheeshma
the eldest among the Kauravas,
roared aloud like a lion and blew his conch shell
to gladden the heart of Duryodhana.

Then, conches and kettledrums,

tambours, drums and horns
were played and struck together
making a tumultuous sound.

Upon this,
sitting in their magnificent chariot,
which was yoked to pure white horses,
Krishna and Arjuna blew their wondrous shells.

Krishna blew his conch named Panchajanya,

and Arjuna his named Devadatta.
Bheema, an accomplisher of splendid deeds
and a man of enormous appetite,
blew his mighty conch, Paundra.

King Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti,

blew his conch named Anantvijaya,
and Nakula and Sahadeva
blew theirs named Sughosha and Manipushpaka.

And then, O Lord of Earth,

the superb archer, the King of Kashi,
the great commanding archer Shikhandi,
Dhrishtaddumna and King Virata,
and the invincible Satyaki, King Drupada
and all the sons of Draupadi,
and the strong-armed son of Subhadra,
each blew his own especial conch.

3/6
And resounding through the heavens
and through the earth,
the tumultuous uproar
rent the hearts of Dhritarashtra’s sons.

And then, O King,

Arjuna, whose flag bore the crest of Hanumana,
having looked at the sons of Dhritarashtra,
armed with their weapons and ready to strike,
picked up his bow
and addressed these words to Krishna.

Arjuna:
“O Infallible One,
place my chariot between the two armies,
so that I may clearly see these men
who stand here, eager to fight,
and know who are they
who will be fighting with me in this war.”
Dhritarashtra:
O Sanjay,
assembled on the field of righteousness,
the ground of the Kuru,
and desirous of war,
what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?

Dhritarashtra is blind. But passion does not disappear with the

absence of sight; desire does not disappear with the absence of
sight. Had Surdas thought of Dhritarashtra, he would never have
destroyed his own eyes.

Surdas destroyed his eyes believing that once his sight was gone,
desire and passion would never arise in him again. But desire does
not arise in the eyes, it arises out of the mind. No passion will ever
be finished in this way – even if one destroys one’s own eyes.

4/6
This wonderful tale of the Gita begins with a blind man’s curiosity. In
fact, not be a single tale would be told in this world if there were no
blind men. All the stories of this life begin with a blind man’s curiosity.
A blind man wants to see what he cannot see; a deaf person wants
to hear what he cannot hear. Even if all the sense-organs were lost,
the desires hidden within the mind would not vanish.

So, I would like to remind you from the very outset that Dhritarashtra
is blind, and yet sitting miles away, his mind is curious, eager and
troubled to know what is happening on the battlefield. Also keep a
second point in mind: that the blind Dhritarashtra has one hundred
sons, but that the children born of a blind person can never have any
real vision even though they may have physical eyes. Those who are
born of blind parents – and perhaps generally speaking people are
born of blind parents – may have physical eyes, but it is difficult for
them to gain inner sight. So secondly, it is important to understand
that the one hundred sons of Dhritarashtra were acting blindly in
every sense. They had outer, physical eyes but not inner ones. One
who is blind can only beget blindness. And yet, this father is curious
to know what is happening.

Thirdly, one should note what Dhritarashtra is saying:

O Sanjay,
assembled on the field of righteousness,
the ground of the Kuru,
and desirous of war…

The field of righteousness ceases to exist the day people gather

there to fight a war. The day that fighting becomes imperative, the
possibility of any religiousness surviving in this world comes to an
end. Thus, at one time it may have been a field of righteousness, of
religion, but now it is not. Now, people who are eager to kill one
another have assembled at the very place that is known as
dharmakshetra – the field of righteousness.

5/6
6/6