Gita 01.20 Life is so unpredictable that it can unbalance the unflappably balanced

Bhagavad gita 1.20 atavyavasthita andhrishtva dhartarashtran kapidhvaja pravrtteshastra sampate dhanavadyamya paandava vishikesham tadavakyam idamaha mahipate so here now the action is shifting to the vision rather is shifting to the one who is the main character one of the main characters of the bhagavad gita arjuna the other of course is krishna is krishna's song so till now both parties have blown the conch and the effect the paandavas blowing the conch is described atavyavasthita andhrishtva just as durodhana was observing the paandava military formation so arjuna was also observing the kaurava military formation atavyavasthita andhrishtva dhartarashtran kapidhvaja dhartarashtran this is a common word sanjay is using to refer to the paandavas so the kauravas actually it's interesting that the word dhartarashtra is actually more specific than the word kaurava and sanjay is using that precise word multiple times in the bhagavad gita especially in this chapter and in this section dhartarashtran kapidhvaja kapidhvaja this is Krishna who is the this is arjuna who has a chariot who has a flag as his standard who has a monkey as his flag or a standard that monkey he already had that symbol but hanuman the great heroic monkey warrior on the paandavas lord ram's side he has agreed to become to manifest through that standard kapidhvaja so thus he has a monkey as a standard and then that monkey hanuman has manifested pratyashtrasampate pratyashtrasampate he is ready with his bow and arrow dhanurudhyamya paandava dhanurudhyamya dhanurudhyamya picking up his bow in readiness to fight he is ready with his everybody is ready with their weapons already hrishikesham tadavakhyam hrishikesham tadavakhyam at that time he spoke these words idama mahipate o mahipate o dhritarashtra you are the king of the earth but the implication is you may not stay the king for long that is of course left unsaid but right now he is the king so mahipate so here we see that there was some speech between duryodhana and drona that was described and then there is some speech between duryodhana and between now the speech is described with arjuna and krishna hrishikesham tadavakhyam these words are spoken to hrishikesh whereas duryodhana's words were spoken simply to get drona all charged up to fight arjuna's words will reveal that he has lost his charge he has lost his will to fight and then krishna's words will charge him up not so much to fight but to do his duty to play his part as a kshatriya in the establishment of dharma at this stage the dramatic fateful term that this conversation is going to take there is no foreseeing of that also sanjay is narrating this when we are describing events say if a cricket match is going on and there is a commentator who is describing the events that are happening and then the match is moving in a particular direction the bowling team had to defend a particular target and they got some initial breakthroughs and they seem to have the upper hand but then two batsmen joined together in a long partnership and the whole game seems to be drifting away from the bowling team then if suddenly a batsman gets out it is often said that this batsman got out against the run of the play that means the play was moving in a particular direction but suddenly this batsman got out and if 2-3 batsmen get out then suddenly the whole direction of the match can change so similarly here the thrust is that suddenly Arjuna's actions will change the direction of the discussion and of the events also whereas by the military preparations themselves it seemed clear that Sanjay that Duryodhana was initially a little rattled and then on seeing the military formation and then the Kauravas are said to be shattered by hearing the Pandavas blowing their conches but now the run of the play is that although the Pandavas are lesser forces, the Pandavas seem to have an upper hand but while the run of the play is going that way suddenly the prime player the prime warrior on the Pandavas' side will suddenly sort of develop cold feet now why exactly develop that that is something which will be described in the next few verses the reasoning that led to his hesitation but the key point is that there is no way that issues can be dealt with in a predictable pattern in real life because life is filled with phases when things seem to be going predictably and then sudden moments when everything seems to become topsy-turvy when the whole trend gets reversed so we can't foresee what is going to happen in the future and what words Arjuna is going to speak nobody could have foreseen them among the Pandavas it is Arjuna it is Bhima who is the most bellicose he is the most prone to take offence and break vengeance and Yudhishthir is the most pacific he is ready to forgive anything almost anything and everything he is trying to de-escalate conflict and Arjuna is overall the balancing element between the two Arjuna knows that he can't easily so Arjuna, there are times when Bhima gets angry with Yudhishthir because Yudhishthir is gambling away everything, Bhima even tells Arjuna, Arjuna get fire, I will burn Yudhishthir's hands with these hands he has played gambling he has gambled and he has lost Draupadi and has put her to such humiliation and suffering so I will burn her hands so at that time it is Arjuna who calms Bhima down and the Kauravas are sneering at Yudhishthir who is crestfallen Bhima is about to explode his bare arms he wants to break vengeance on all the Kauravas but again Arjuna calms him down so Arjuna is the balancer between is the balancer of Bhima's anger and Arjuna actually as the gambling match is going on and Yudhishthir is gambling and losing things one after another at that time Arjuna taps on the shoulder of Yudhishthir and signals to him stop now it's enough hit the head, please don't play anymore Yudhishthir hears him but such is the fever of gambling at that moment that he just can't stop he gets carried away by the heat of the moment so that Arjuna who is usually the balancer of things he suddenly will become unbalanced that is a dramatic turn of events and it is this dramatic turn which will lead to the narration of the Bhagavad Gita and that dramatic turn will be described in the next few verses as the Pandavas as Arjuna will speak expressing his extreme reservations about fighting the war and then Krishna will respond speaking the exalted message of the Bhagavad Gita which will recharge Arjuna not just with martial vigour but with transcendental vigour as he will march towards Krishna march towards victory in the ensuing battle thank you.