Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta Shlok Blog -19
Shlok-19
स घोषो धार्तराष्ट्राणां हृदयानि व्यदारयत् ।व्यदारयत् नभश्च पृथिवीं चैव तुमुलोऽभ्यनुनादयन् ॥१-१९॥
English Transcription
Sa Ghosho Dhartaraashtraanaam Hridayaani Vyadaarat | Vyadaarat Nabhashcha Prithiveem Chaiv Tumulobhyanunaadayan || 1-19 ||
Hindi Translation
Paandavon ke itne bhayankar shankhnaad karne or dhwani utpanna karne ke baad anyaay purvak pandavon ka rajya hadapne wale kauravon ko kaafi achambha hua or thora dar bhi laga.
English Translation
Such a loud thundering of war equipment that could resound earth and sky together made the hearts of Dhritrashtra’s son Kaurav sink a little with fear and surprise.
Meaning
In the previous Shlok, we saw how the Pandava army was all pumped up to teach the Kauravas a lesson. This was why when the Kauravas announced the commencement of the battle with their conches, drums, and shells, the Pandavas also replied with their drums, shells, and conches. Each member of the Pandava army took out the loudest signature musical instrument they could to indicate their presence and their acceptance of the challenge of the battle. This made a huge roar and a very long one, continuously to show that they were not scared and they will do whatever it takes to establish truth and honesty over dishonesty and greed.
When the Kauravas were adamant about a war, they made sure that they unlawfully usurp the kingdom of the Pandavas. They called everyone on dinner and then post-dinner, everyone sat to play games and chit-chat. During the game of Chausar, a kind of board game that was a mixture of poker, chess, and dice, involved betting and strategy to win the targets set. It was one of the most famous games played by the Kings where they played real-time bets and the result would be considered final.
The Pandavas were very good with that game and so were the Kauravas because all of those were very powerful and fierce leaders. The Uncle of the Kauravas (Shakuni), the brother of Gandhaari, Dhritrashtra’s wife had a lot of malice in his heart. He wanted to be the special court advisor and ruler of the entire Hastinapur. He was never loyal to anyone and he was very close to Duryodhan.
He treated Duryodhan as his own son and he used to teach a lot of things to Duryodhan also. Duryodhan too became very close to Shakuni and he started learning ethics from Guru Dron and unethical behavior from Shakuni. Basically, Duryodhan knew how to be the Yudhishthir and Shakuni together when the need be.
During the game, Shakuni cornered Duryodhan and asked him to just keep raising the bar of the bets and force the Pandavas to match it with theirs. When Duryodhan said he wasn’t sure his luck would work each time. Shakuni revealed how he was a master trickster at Chausar and there was nothing anyone will ever understand about. He will cheat with the dice each time before it rolls and make it in favor of the Kauravas each time. He offered to be the advisor for the Kauravas and asked the Pandavas also to get an advisor.
The plan laid out by Shakuni worked and the Pandavas kept betting everything they had and they kept losing until they had nothing more.
Yudhishthir, the eldest Pandava, could not understand how this happened and thus, after he had lost everything and his brothers had also lost everything they had, they betted their entire Kingdom to gain back everything. This was a huge bet and not the most logical step to follow but the greed to win everything got over the power of thinking and the bet was on.
Shakuni knew that he had to exercise the best of his tricks and he did that in the most precise manner. Thus, the Pandavas lost their kingdom. This was where Yudhishthir should have given up, but he still played on and he committed the biggest sin ever. He bet his and all the other four brother’s wives Draupadi saying that she will be the property of the Kauravas if they lose but they want everything back that they have lost if they win.
One, this was the biggest sin Yudhishthir committed. Two, there were a lot of elders who should have now intervened and stopped this from happening and yet they let it go on. Three, Duryodhan should have backed out here and stopped this but he accepted. Four, Draupadi should have taken a stand even if girls, ladies, and females were suppressed during that day and age. Five, apart from the elders, there were many other knowledgeable people who could have revolted but everyone bolted their mouths and let this biggest sin happen. Six, Shakuni wanted to destroy the Pandavas but Draupadi’s respect was not his property to play with so he could have stopped this from happening, but he chose to be the bad guy there again and cheat with the dice to make matters worse.
So the next time someone asks you why was Mahabharata battle fought, remember that these six points were where each time the battle could have been avoided but it didn’t. So the next time you have a chance to pounce upon and make the wrongs into rights, make sure to grab it and not lose it to witness another epic like Mahabharata.
Thus the Kauravas had illegally and unethically taken the kingdom of the Pandavas and sent them into exile for 14 years to which also the Pandavas complied because they had lost everything in a game of betting.
After this, when they returned after 14 years, they had been attacked multiple times by the Kauravas already and they had survived all of that. Now, when they went to take back their kingdom as per the rules, they were denied the same and were ousted once again, this time unlawfully also.
So, when Shri Krishna went with a peace treaty, he was insulted and then, the war was finalized.
After such injustice, when it was a chance to grab the blessings of the Lord in the form of Shri Krishna, who will be the guide in the war and not fight or the army trained by Shri Krishna himself, Duryodhan took the army and built his own Sena for the battle. Pandavas on the other hand were shunted down again but they were under the guidance of Shri Krishna and they knew that even if they were wrong at places, the Kauravas were more wrong and thus, the battle was only to establish the more suitable and less bad.
Thus, when the Pandavas replied to the war announcement with their drums, shells, and conches in synchronization, it was a roar of truth and honesty to hunt down dishonesty and set an example. Thus was where the Kaueravas understood that their end is near and there is no escape from there because all of them were petrified, terrified, and shivering with fear.
The army of Kauravas had a headcount of over Eleven Ahauhkshini (11 Lakh Crores) whereas the Pandavas only had Four Ahaukshinis (4 Lakh Crore) people to fight. This was not even half and yet, when the Pandavas roared with their instruments, everyone in the Kaurava army jittered.
Although, no one in the Pandava army was even a tad bit scared of the noise made by the Kauravas.
This Shlok is trying to tell us that when lies, dishonesty and any kind of wrong, unlawful, unjust, and unethical behavior try to roar and shout and scream before the truth, just, legal, loyal, and ethical emotions, only honesty wins. No matter how loud can the wrong shout, the slightest noise of the right sets everything straight.
This was why the Kauravas were scared because they had malice at heart while playing, they had malice at heart while betting, they had malice at heart while taking everything and they again had malice at heart when the Pandavas were following rules. Pandavas on the other end knew they were fulfilling their own sins and when they will go back, they will only follow the right path rather than do any more sins.
So, the Kauravas became the devils and they had no idea how but they were technically very strong and yet, practically very weak in front of the Pandava army.
So, next time, you have malefic intentions at heart for something and someone, just remember, the one who is right but suppressed, because they are weak, will rise soon and when they do, it will be the dooms day for those who suppressed them or who were spectators of the wrong.
Conclusion
Truth always triumphs (Satyamev Jayate) and is not just a saying or a slogan. It is an emotion, an expression, and a hint that whatever happens, there is no way that the false wins for long and the truth is never unfolded. Whenever wrong wins, it is temporary but when the truth wins, it is always permanent. No one has the capacity to malign the good with bad and then live with peace and comfort because, for every one bad, there are at least five goods prevalent. So make sure to be the truth-teller and see the world melt at your feet each time.
This was all for Shlok-19, Chapter-1 of Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta. We will see you tomorrow with Shlok-20, Chapter-1. In case you have missed the Shlok-18, Chapter-1, check it out here.
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