Mahabharata -Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
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49.TAKING COUNSEL
Messengers went forth to all the friendly princes who got busy and mobilised their respective armies. Meanwhile, Duryodhana and his brothers were not idle. They also began preparing for the coming conflict and sent word to their friends to get their contingents ready for war. News of these preparations on both sides soon spread through out the land. "The constant rapid journeying back and forth of princes caused a great stir everywhere. The earth shook beneath the heavy tramp of marching legions," says the poet. It would appear that even in olden days, military preparations were made in much the same way as in our times. Drupada called in his brahmana and said to him: "You know Duryodhana's bent of mind as well as the qualities of the Pandavas. Go to him as the emissary of the Pandavas. The Kauravas deceived the Pandavas with the connivance of their father Dhritarashtra who would not listen to the sage advice of Vidura. Show the old, weak king, who is misled by his son, the path of dharma and wisdom. You will find in Vidura a great ally in this task. Your mission may lead to differences of opinion among the elder statesmen such as Bhishma, Drona and Kripa as well as among the warlords. And, if this happens, it will be some time before those differences are smoothed out, which will be time gained for the completion of the Pandavas war preparations. As long as you are in Duryodhana's capital talking of peace, their preparations for war will receive a set-back which is all to the good from the Pandavas' standpoint. If, by a miracle, you are able to come back with good terms of peace, so much the better. I do not expect Duryodhana will agree to a peaceful settlement. Still, to send one on a peace mission will be advantageous to us." In December 1941, the Japanese were carrying on negotiations with the Americans and, immediately on the breakdown of those talks, took them unawares and attacked Pearl Harbor destroying their naval forces there. Drupada's instruction to the brahmana would show that this was no new technique. And that, even in the old days, the same method was followed of carrying on negotiations and even sincerely working for peace, but simultaneously preparing, with unremitting vigor, for outbreak of war and carrying on peace talks with the object of creating dissension in the enemy's ranks. There is nothing new under the sun! |
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