Gita 01.05 Our mode of description reflects our intention

Thank you Gita 1.5 Duryodhana is continuing the list of characters who of warriors rather who are fighting on the opposite side who are prominent warriors who he notes here and he gives a list and he gives a list of Dhrishtaketu and Chekitana Kashiraja's Chenyavan and there is the king of Kashi who is heroic Viryavan Purujit Kuntibhoja and there are Purujit Kuntibhoja and then Shaibya Chenarapungavaha hero in human society so without going into the specific histories of the five characters mentioned over here let's focus on the describers used Viryavan and Chenarapungavaha Pungava means leader or king so heroes in human society Viryavan Virya is strength or heroism or courage so one who is filled with courage or power both are very complimentary words now when we are describing people the way we describe them also tells us a lot about them tells not just about them but tells us also tells people not only about them but also about us and our attitude towards them there could be an objective description of people there could be an objective description with a with a negative tend to it or with a positive tend to it there could also be a condemnatory description and there could be a laudatory description and we would describe people in different ways depending on what it is that we are trying to achieve that is if we are trying to achieve something we are going to inspire them towards action and at that time praising them is always going to help then we may praise them or we want to inspire them towards action they have been extremely lazy till now and we feel that they need some jolt so then we may criticize them either way it is the overall context is that we our description reflects reflects our our purpose so here Duryodhana is describing the opposite party why would he describe the opposite party in a positive way usually in a confrontation in a war one common strategy is intimidation that those who are fighting they try to gain the upper hand by intimidating the opposite party that being the case why would Duryodhana speak about his enemies positively instead of negatively when the enemy is intimidated then the enemy's morale might go down and when the morale goes down the enemy will not be able to fight as wholeheartedly as earlier and then the chances of winning for the other person become more that's why often there is a not just the existence of power but there is also the exhibition of power that is frequently done by countries on occasions such as Independence Day or the such days often a country exhibits its power quite forcefully and effectively with the purpose that by such exhibition there will be an opportunity to there will be an opportunity to stay elevated in the mental battle that precedes the physical battle if at all it takes place so by intimidation in the mental battle there is the intimidator gains the upper hand over the opponent so why is so why is Duryodhana not trying a strategy of intimidation here when he is speaking he could speak in a derogatory way to minimize his opponent's strength thereby to increase his own his own side's morale now he is it's a big battlefield and there are lots of warriors, you could say that maybe his words are not being heard by the opponent's opposite side and he is speaking primarily for his side now when he is speaking for his side why would he speak negatively why would he speak positively about the opponents in this case to ensure that they are alert enough specifically he is addressing Drona and while addressing Drona one of his fears is that Drona may not fight wholeheartedly being conditioned by the idea because of his affection for the Pandavas and not wanting that possibility not wanting that possibility what does he do he has incited Drona by talking about Drupada twice in the previous verses and in this verse he speaks positively about the opposite warriors to alert Drona now he knows that it is not Drona alone who is listening to this conversation the nearby warriors are also listening and Bheeshma is also listening as becomes evident in the 11th verse 12th verse that section although Bheeshma doesn't speak, his actions reveal that he has heard what is going on so he wants to make sure that his warriors understand that there is a formidable battle ahead that the cockiness that might come because of having superior strength is not justified superior numbers rather Pandavas had only 7 Akshahunas as compared to the Kauravas 11 but still Pandavas were powerful in their own way and their intent to fight fiercely till the end was seen in the expert and concern inducing way in which the enemy had formed their military so here his description of the opponents in laudatory terms is meant to create awareness in his own army of alertness of the need for fighting cautiously not cockily not being not being proud excessively of one's capacities of course he will speak about his own side strengths a few verses later and there too he will use laudatory terms to indicate that he has confidence in their abilities but still in this particular verse his focus is more on ensuring that there is no complacency and that his warriors fight wholeheartedly thank you.