When Duryodhana saw the strength of the enemy, what did he do?

Sanjay first describes Duryodhana's reaction upon seeing the Pandava army. Although outnumbered, the enemy forces appeared formidable due to their meticulously arranged formation.

Duryodhana felt surprise and anxiety, and he went to his teacher of military strategy, Drona. The overall commander was Bhishma, but Drona also held a high position and great responsibility within the army.

The king, Duryodhana, could have summoned the teacher. However, he approached on his own initiative in order to avoid disrupting the military's established order, demonstrate respect for elders and teachers, and simultaneously harness the other person's power for his own purposes.

What is visible here is not simply a person who panics, but Duryodhana as a political figure who reads the situation and acts with courtesy and calculation.

Japanese Translation from the Geeta Press Edition - Chapter 1, Section 2: "Duryodhana Approaches Drona."

<p><b>Chapter 1, Section 2</b></p>
<p><b>Duryodhana Approaches Drona</b></p>

Chapter 1, Section 2

Sañjaya said: Having seen the army of the Pandavas arrayed, Duryodhana approached his teacher and spoke to him as follows: || 2 ||

Vocabulary

sañjayaḥ Sanjaya.

uvāca Said.

dṛṣṭvā Seeing.

tu And.

pāṇḍavānīkam The army of the Pandavas.

vyūḍham Prepared for battle and formed a line.

duryodhanaḥ Duryodhana.

tadā At that time.

ācāryam Teacher, here it refers to Drona.

upasaṅgamya Approaching.

rājā King.

vacanam These words.

abravīt Said.

Translation

Sanjaya said.

At that time, Seeing the Pandava army arrayed for battle, King Duryodhana approached his teacher, Drona, and spoke the following words.

Annotative Translation

Sanjaya is referring to Duryodhana as "Rajã," which means "king."

The reason for this could be due to the following:

Firstly, Duryodhana was an excellent hero, and also a great politician, because he was actually the one who was running the entire government.

Secondly, Showing respect to all beings is a quality of a saint, and Sanjaya was a person who possessed the character of a saint.

Thirdly, using a respectful name for my son pleased Dritharashtra's heart.

The Pandava army was arrayed in a very impressive formation.

Therefore, Upon seeing that form, Duryodhana was surprised and felt uneasy. He quickly went to inform his teacher, Drona.

According to his thinking, after examining the Pandava army's formation, Drona, a great master of military strategy, would advise Bhishma, the supreme commander, to create a formation that is even superior and more difficult to break than the Pandava army's.

The veteran general, Bhishma, was the overall commander of the Kaurava army.

However, The position held by Professor Dorona within that organization was also extremely high and carried a great deal of responsibility.

In the military, the position assigned to a commander must be defended by that commander himself.

If one leaves their assigned position, it will cause confusion throughout the entire military.

Therefore, Although Duryodhana was in a position where he could exercise his authority as a king, he thought that it would be better for him to go to Drona's place himself rather than summoning the teacher.

If you do that, you won't be able to move the teacher from their usual place.

Furthermore, Professor Drawna was older and also very knowledgeable.

And because he was a teacher of the Kur tribe, he was a person worthy of respect and honor.

Also, Duryodhana had to use Drona Sensei as a tool to serve his own selfish purposes.

For that reason, it was desirable to gain the teacher's favor by showing proper respect.

From a spiritual perspective, it is a person's duty to show humility and respect in their behavior towards all beings.

Furthermore, in politics as well, a person who is cleverly astute shows respect to others in order to achieve their own goals.

From all of these perspectives, it was truly appropriate and fitting for Duryodhana to go to Drona's place on his own.