Chapter 1, Skl 14 - 20

We ran through the shlokas, 14 - 20. Folks did not feel there was much to discuss. The shlokas talk about the various warriors blowing the conchs in declaration of the war. Bheeshma starts off the tumultous (Sk. - tumula) declaration from both sides. Arjuna, in his chariot drawn by white horses, asks his saarathi, Krishna, to place the chariot in the middle of the two armies.

Question : For me, the sticky point is: If the first chapter is as non-significant as we think at this moment, they would Maharishi Vyasa have included it in BG? Wouldn't it be easier for him to start the BG from Chapter 2. After all, other Gitas do not have such elaborate introductions and are direct to the point conversation between the sage and the disciple.

My take on this is : Vyas is subtly introducing a prerequisite quality for those who are ready for the lesson of Gita - the dispassion towards life. Duryodhana says - 'tyaktajeevitha' (ref?)! Is this why the Lord waited so long - so that Arjuna reaches a stage when he has given up the love for life and is READY for the real battle - one with his own ego?

bhishma & bhima

Yesterday, we discussed verses 9-13. At verse 10, we had an intersting discussion.
The verse translates to "(Duryodhan speaking) Our strength is immeasurable, and we are perfectly protected by Grandfather Bhisma, whereas the strength of the Pandavas, carefully protected by Bhima, is limited." We discussed why Bhishma and Bhima were being compared. On continuing to think about it, I thought perhaps it may have been thus - Bhishma is the leader of the Kaurava army, and hence his protection is vital. Also, Duryodhan is to become king if they win the war, hence his protection is also vital, and Bhima had vowed to kill Duryodhan in battle. It may have been for this reason that Duryodhan mentions Bhishma and Bhima in the same breath, the 2 people who matter to him most at the moment.