Duryodhana is the king. He notices that the Pāṇḍavās have a well disciplined army ready to fight. He draws the attention of his teacher Droṇa to this fact. Why does he do this? After all, Droṇa is right there, and he can see this very well also. What this implies is that Duryodhana is not sure of himself. He is somewhat frightened. The poet is obviously aware of the psychology of the wrong-doer. In any moral conflict, the one who feels he is the culprit always feels insecure. To reassure himself he often appeals to a friend.
George Sewell, the English actor, once said that “Fear is the tax that the conscience pays to guilt.” Here we see Duryodhana paying that tax. When they have to confront the consequence of their wrong action, guilty persons generally seek protection from whomsoever they trust.
To fully appreciate the Gītā it is necessary to know the countless allusions we find in the work. For example, here it says that the army of the Pāṇḍavās is under the command of the son of Drupada. The reference is to Dhrishtadyumna who was the son of King Drupada of Pañchāla. His sister Draupadi was the wife of the Pāṇḍavās: she was won by Arjuna in a svayamvara. Ironically, Dhrishtadyumna had also studied under Droṇa, the Master-Archer. Droṇa had initiated many brave and able fighters who were to become heroes.
The great teacher Droṇa had once insulted Drupada in a battle. To avenge this, the king had sought a son who would kill Droṇa. That is how it came to pass that Dhrishtadyumna became commander of the Pāṇḍavā army, while Droṇa commanded the Kuru-side. Eventually he killed Droṇa through a ruse concocted by Krishṇa on the questionable Machiavellian principle of the end justifying the means.
Spurts of Thought 