Arjuna and Duryodhana choose between Kṛṣṇa and his army

Classical

As the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas both set about collecting allies for the coming war, Duryodhana learned from his secret agents that Kṛṣṇa had gone home to Dvārakā. He rode there at once on fast horses with a small escort. Arjuna, who had had the same idea, reached the city on the very same day. Each hoped to win the most formidable friend in the world. They found Kṛṣṇa asleep. Duryodhana, the elder and prouder of the two, walked straight into the room and sat down on a fine seat at the head of the bed. Arjuna entered after him, stood at the foot of the bed with joined palms and bowed, and waited in silence.

When Kṛṣṇa woke, his eyes fell first on Arjuna, standing at his feet, and only then on Duryodhana at his head. After the usual greetings he asked why they had come. Duryodhana spoke first, cheerfully and reasonably. Both of them were Kṛṣṇa's relatives and friends, he said, but he himself had been the first to arrive, and the ancients held that good people take the side of whoever comes first. He asked Kṛṣṇa to follow that custom. Kṛṣṇa answered that he did not doubt Duryodhana had come first. But it was Arjuna he had seen first, and in any case custom gave the first choice to the younger. He would help both of them, but he had to divide himself between them.

Kṛṣṇa then laid out the terms. One of them could have a vast army: ten crores of his own cowherd kinsmen, the Nārāyaṇas, who were as strong as he was himself and fully trained for the thick of battle. The other could have Kṛṣṇa alone, who would not fight on the field, would lay down his weapons, and would only advise and perhaps drive. He turned to Arjuna and told him to choose first, since he was younger. Arjuna did not hesitate for a moment. He chose Kṛṣṇa, the unarmed one, the unborn god who took birth among men by his own will. Duryodhana was overjoyed. He took the whole army, and was delighted with it, even though he knew in his heart that Kṛṣṇa had gone to the other side.

Duryodhana then went to Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa's elder brother, and told him what had happened. Balarāma answered that he remembered what he had said at Virāṭa's marriage feast, where he had argued with Kṛṣṇa on Duryodhana's behalf, but Kṛṣṇa had not listened and Balarāma could not bear to stand apart from his brother. So he would fight for neither side. He told Duryodhana to go and fight as befitted a Bharata. Duryodhana embraced him, and went on to Kṛtavarman, who gave him one akṣauhiṇī of his own troops. The Kuru prince marched home with his great host, certain that Arjuna was already beaten for having chosen one man over an army.

Once Duryodhana had gone, Kṛṣṇa asked Arjuna why he had picked someone who would not fight at all. Arjuna said he had no doubt Kṛṣṇa could destroy all their enemies, and that he himself could also do it alone. But Kṛṣṇa was famous throughout the world and would win glory from the war in any case, while Arjuna also wanted fame. He had always dreamed of having Kṛṣṇa as his charioteer, and he asked that this old wish be granted. Kṛṣṇa smiled and said it suited Arjuna to measure himself against him, and agreed to drive his car. So the partnership that would shape the whole war, and give rise to the Gītā, was settled at a bedside in Dvārakā.

Told by Vaiśampāyana → Janamejaya

Who: Arjuna, Duryodhana, Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, Kṛtavarman

Bound to

Arjuna and Krishna as Nara and Narayana mirror

Villiputhurar: Krishna offers himself first, elephant sacrifice mirror

Duryodhana tricks Śalya into joining the Kauravas origin

The Bhagavad Gītā origin

Places: Dvārakā

Where this comes from

read for this telling · Mahabharata, Ganguli translation (read via archive.org copy of the sacred-texts text) Udyoga Parva, Section VII

See it on the tree · All stories

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