Arjuna – Rational – The Pandavas?
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“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.”
Osho,
On one hand we find that the total emphasis in the Shrimad
Bhagvadgita is on Arjuna, while here, Duryodhana is saying that
Pandavas' army is safeguarded by Bheema, and the Kauravas' army
by Bheeshma. Could it be that the idea behind pitting Bheema
against Bheeshma is that Duryodhana sees Bheema as his only true
rival?
This point is worth consideration. The whole war is centered around
Arjuna as its main pivot, but this is in hindsight – that is, after the
war, at the conclusion of the war. Those who know about the whole
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war and its outcome would say that Arjuna was pivotal throughout
the war. But those who were standing on the threshold of the war
could never have thought in this way.
For Duryodhana, the whole possibility of a war happening rested
with Bheema. There were reasons for this. Even Duryodhana could
never have expected a nice person like Arjuna to engage in a war
such as this. Arjuna could be easily shaken – even Duryodhana had
his doubts about his steadiness of mind. Duryodhana had some
deep, unconscious feeling that Arjuna might run away from the war.
If this war were to proceed at all, it would have to be because of
Bheema alone. People like Bheema who are less intelligent but more
powerful can be depended upon to fight a war.
Arjuna is intelligent; and where there is intelligence there is doubt,
and where there is doubt there is dilemma. Arjuna is rational; and
where there is rationality, there lies the capacity to think from a total
perspective. When one has these qualities it is difficult to enter into a
dangerous situation like war with closed eyes.
There is a deep similarity between Duryodhana and Bheema. Both
have the same nature; deep down both have the same kind of
thinking, both are the same type of person. Hence if Duryodhana
saw Bheema as the central figure on the opposing side, he was
right. There is nothing wrong in this. Later on, the Gita also proves
this point: Arjuna is on the verge of escaping. Arjuna emerges as an
escapist, and this is always highly probable as far as a person like
Arjuna is concerned. This war proved costly for Arjuna: for him,
entering the war became possible only after he underwent a self-
transformation. Only after attaining a new level of understanding
could he agree to the war.
Bheema was ready to fight at whatever level of being he found
himself at the time. War is as natural to Bheema as it is to
Duryodhana. Hence, it is not coincidental that Duryodhana should
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see Bheema as the central figure. But this is at the beginning of the
war; Duryodhana does not know how the war is going to conclude,
what the end will be. But we know.
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