Trivia

• Second Longest Epic of the World

• “What’s not in Bharata, is not in Bharata”
• “A Buffet of Ideologies.”
• Written around 3000 BCBC.
• “Harappan” Cultre. Urban Way of life.
• Narrated thrice :
– “Jaya” by Vyasa to Ganesha
– “Bh t ” b
“Bharata” by V
Vaishampayan
i h tto JJanamejaya
j
– “Mahabharata” by Suta/Sauti to the Rishis at Naimisharanya.
• Has “mindboggling” revelations.
– Astronomy: Existence of Uranus(Shweta) and Neptune(Ksharaka).
– G
Geography.
h LLands
d as ffar as C
Cambodia(Kamboja),
b di (K b j ) K Kazakhistan
khi t and/or
d/
Scandinavia(Uttarakuru),
– Mathemetics: Nos to the range of 10 raised to powers of 16 and -16.
– Descriptions of Weapons which resemble modern day weaponry including Nuclear and/or
Chemical Weapons
Weapons.
– Complex Millitary Formations and Strategies.
– Philosphy, Psychology, Sociology, Spirituality, Religion, Politics.
– Even Mangement Lessons.
 Logistics
• Kauravas :11 Akshouhini
• Pandavas : 7 Akshouhini

1 Akshouhini = 21,870 chariots, 21,870

elephants 65
elephants, 65,610
610 horses and 109109,350
350
foot-soldiers (in a ratio of 1:1:3:5).
 Generals
K
Kauravas : P d
Pandavas :

• Bhishma • Arjuna
• Drona • Bhima
• Karna • Dhrshtadyumna
• Shalya • Abhimanyu
• Kripacharya • Ghatotkach
• Ashwatthama • Shikhandi
• Duryodhan • Satyaki
 Background
P d
Pandavas :

Exiled for 13 years. Have no kingdom. Their main strength both in terms of
political and financial power
po er depends on their friends and relati
relatives
es : The
Pancalas, The Yadavas, The Magadhas and The Chedis.

Kauravas :

In power for 13 years. Duryodhan has been a benevolent king. Theres no

guarantee that the Subjects really miss the Pandavas.
Pandavas Not only have they
the wealth and power of Hastinapur, but also that of Indraprastha, the
kingdom that the Pandvas had taken such labors to build and which had
p
surpassed the Hastina of old in all degrees.
g Karna had g
gone on a nation-
wide conquering on behalf of Duryodhana. They are the national sovereigns
 Motivation
Kauravas :
“Without war, will concede not a needle-prick of earth.” - Duryodhna

Duryodhana was completely focused on the War War.It

It was his moment of truth
truth. He
had usurped a kingdom, and he meant to keep it. He had resorted to any
means, foul or fair to get the kingdom, which he believed to be rightfully his,
and he was in no mood to give it up.

Pandavas :
“We fight over a Kingdom, as dogs over a piece of meat.”-Yudhisthira

The Pandavas had been humiliated, their wife insulted, their kingdom taken.
But…still they wanted to avoid the War. The three elder Pandavas were
against
g the War. They
y even went as far as making g an offer that they
y will
stop the War in exchange of 5 villages.
 Result
War Lasted : 18 Days
Days. 10 Days (Bhisma)
(Bhisma), 3 Days(Drona),
Days(Drona) 1½ Days (Karna) ½
Day (No General),1 Day (Shalya), 1 Night(Ashwatthama)

18th Night of the War :

Ashwatthama slaughtered the Pandava camp in sleep.

Before That :

Kauravas :
Bhishma, Drona, Karna and his sons, Shalya, Bhagadutta, Bhurisrava,
S h
Susharma, JJayadrath,
d h D Duhsasana
h and
d allll off D
Duryodhana’s
dh ’ bbrothers,
h
Shakuni and Ulooka.

Pandavas :
Drupad, Virat and his sons, Abhimanyu, Ghatotkach and Iravan.
 SO
HOW
DID
THE
PANDAVAS
WIN
?????
 Preparation
Kauravas :

• Karna went on a country-wide military mission, subdued the different

kingdoms and acquired wealth. But it meant a loss in terms of both men and
money and creation of new enemies.

Pandavas : Though in exile they turned their attention to improving over their
weakness
k
• Arjuna set out on a mission to acquires Divyastras.
• Bhima met his brother Hanuman and got a blessing of enhanced strength.
• Yudhisthira acquired teachings from the various wise rishis
rishis, and also learnt
the Game of Dice from Gandharava Chtrasena, lest he was challenged to
yet another dice game. Its said that he had become undefeatable in Dice.

Turn your weakness into your Strength.

 Allies
Kauravas : Centralized power system
system. The greatest empire of the timetime. But not many
powerful allies, except from old relations from far off places like Gandhara(Shakuni),
Sindhu(Jayadrath) and Kambodia(Camboja - Bhagadutt)

Pandavas : No wealth
wealth. No power of their own
own. But powerful allies all over India
India.
• Panchala through Marriage with Darupadi.
• Dwarka through marriage with Arjuna and Subhadra.
g
• Magadh through
g marriageg of Shadeva and Vijaya.
j y
• Chedi through marriage of Nakula and Karenmayi.
• Kasi through marriage of Bhima and Balandhara.
• Kekaya through marriage of Yudhisthira and Devika.
• Matsya through marriage of Abhimanyu and Uttara
Uttara.
• The Rakshasas through marriage of Bhima and Hidimba.
• The Nagas through marriage of Arjuna and Uloopi.

Make Powerful Allies.

 Leadership
Kauravas : Centralized leadership
leadership. One Head of Army at a time
time, who has supreme
authority of 11 akshouhini of army. Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Shalya and
Ashwatthama.

Pandavas : Distributed leadership.

leadership Seven commanders for the seven divisions.(1
divisions (1 man
command 1 akshouhini each).
• Virat (King of Matsya).
• Drupad (King of Pancala).
• Sahadeva(King of Magadha).
• Dhrshtaketu (King of Chedi).
• Satyaki (Only warrior from Dwarka).
• Shikhandi (Prince of Pancala)
Pancala).

Dhrshtadymna – Commander in Chief.

Arjuna –Supreme Commander.
Krishna – Arjuna’s charioteer and counselor.

Share y
your responsibilities.
p
 Team Spirit
Kauravas : No team spirit.
spirit They all fought their individual wars.
wars
• Bhishma : For his Vow to protect the throne Hastinapur.
• Drona and Kripa : They owed allegiance to the throne.
• Shalya : Simply cheated by Duryodhana to be there. Was originally a Pandava ally.
• Karna : To prove his mantle against Arjuna. Friendship for Duryodhana.
They didn’t gel well with each other. Bhishma and Karna. Bhisma and Shakuni. Karna nd
Shakuni. Karna and Shalya. Shalya and Bhishma. It was like a bees, hornets and
q
mosquitoes p
put together
g in a jjar.

Pandavas : One team. One Goal. As men, they all had huge respect for Krishna and
Yudhisthira. While as warriors they were in complete awe of Bhima and Arjuna. Most
of them were close relatives – cousins, brother-in-laws, father-in-laws. More than that
they all were part of the decision-making process. It was their “common” war.

Teamwork succeeds where Individual effort fails

fails.
 Individual Motives
Kauravas : Except for Duryodhana nobody wanted the War.War All the 4 main generals had strong ties
with the Pandavas.
• Bhishma(grandchildern) – Wont kill the panadavas. Will kill a thousand soldiers each day.
• Drona (students) – Wont kill the Pandavas. Will capture them only.
• Shalya (Nakula
(Nakula-Shadeva’s
Shadeva s maternal uncle) : Loved the Pandavas and covertly helped them by
humiliating Karna
• Karna (brother to the Pandavas) : Promised not to kill any of the other Pandavas save Arjuna.
A Team of Traitors.

Pandavas : Common goal. But the individuals had their individual targets. Their own agenda, which
just became one with the teams’ agenda.
• Dhratsadyumna : Drona.
• Shikhandi : Bhisma.
• Satayaki – Bhurisravas.
• Arjuna – Karna.
• Bhima – Duryodhana and his brothers.
• Sahadeva – Shakuni and his sons.
• Nakula –Karna’s sons.

The Right team is made by selecting the Right

Individuals Get the right man for the right job.
Individuals. job
 Commitment
Kauravas : Already said the Big 4 had big emotional attachment with the 5 Pandavas. Looking further
on their commitment.
• Bhisma himself g gave awayy the secret of killing
g him to the Pandavas.He p prolonged
g the War by y
killing only inconsequential soldiers. He did not fight a warrior like Shikhandi because of his
personal bias.
• Drona too indirectly gave away his secret, by saying he was invulnerable as long as he held a
weapon. Moreover he abandoned weapons as soon as he knew his son had died.
• Karna did not kill Yudhisthira and BHima when he got the chance
chance. He gave away his Kavac and
Kundala prior to his War. Karna fled innumerous times from the War when he was hurt. He didn’t
save Duhsasana when Bhima was killing him.
• Shalya kept on insulting Karna while in Battle.

Pandavas :
• Abhimanyu , a 16 year old kid. Ventured beyond enemy lines alone. This was suicide mission but
he still went in and took a great part of the army down with him. It took the combined effort of 7
Maharathis to take him down.
• Gh t tk h even iin d
Ghatotkach death,
th ttook
k with
ith hi
him almost
l th
halflf th
the army.
• Yudhisthira, he knew he couldn’t face Karna in War, but still went in to set an example.
Yudhitshira didn't hesitate to tell a lie or a twisted truth when faced with the decision of whether to
stick to his personal integrity or welfare of the team.
• Krishna took up arms twice and almost entered the War War, inspite of his promise
promise, only to be stopped
by Arjuna.

The interests of the Individual should never exceed the Team

interest.
interest
The best man for a Job is not the one with the best capabilities but
one with the greatest commitment.
 Right Managers
Krishna : The Greatest Crisis Manager the world has seen
seen.

Yudhisthira : Low-key strategist.

• On the first day of the War,
War he played a Master game.
game Went over to the
Enemy side to seek blessings from Elders. In reality he made a covert deal
with them, wherein all of them agreed to help him and unfolded the secrets
of defeating them.
• While
Whil coming i back,
b k heh took
t k a calculated
l l t d risk.
i k HHe made
d an offer
ff tto allll th
the
assembled people to change sides if they wanted to. He knew well of the
lack of cohesiveness among the Kauravas. Yuyutsu, son of Dhrtarashtra
crossed
c ossed over
o e to the
t e Pandavas.
a da as Thiss exposed
e posed tthe
e weakness
ea ess o of tthe
e Kauravas
au a as
for all to see.
Know your enemies weaknesses and exploit them.
Take Calculated risks
risks.
Inspire, invigorate, counsel your own team in moments of
need.
 The Roots
Kauravas : Princes brought up in the comfort of the Royal Palace
Palace, matured on
romanticized ideals of Power, Fame, Courage and Valor. No experience of ground
reality.

Pandavas :
• Spent the greater part of their lives in Poverty. Childhood in the Himalayan foothills
among Rishis. One year exile among the poor people of Kuru-Panchala. 12 years of
Vanvas and 1 year of Agyatvas.
• Experinced
E i d with
ith th
the ground
d reality.
lit C Contact
t t with
ith people
l ffrom various
i strata
t t off th
the
society. Sannyasis (celibate monks), Acharyas(Householders, teachers), poor
Brahmanas, lower-class Potter.
• Different races of people. Rakshasas, Gandharavas, Apsaras, Nagas. People from
different regions Uttarkuru,
Uttarkuru Bengal etcetc.
• A Sense of Sharing. A sense of Brotherhood.

Know ground realities

realities.
Know different ideologies.
Share.
 Women Empowerment
Kauravas : Patriarchal structure.
structure Bhishma
Bhishma, Drona
Drona, Kripa
Kripa, Dhratarashtra
Dhratarashtra, Vidur
Vidur, Shakuni
Shakuni,
Duryodhana, Karna, Duhsasana. No women in the decision making process.
Gandhari retreated to the Inner Chambers. Nobody listened to her.

Pandavas : Matriarchal Structure.

• Kunti was the authority supreme for the Pandavas.
“Whatever my mother says is Dharma to me” : Yudhisthira.
• Draupadi was a companion in whatever the Pandavas did did. She had a big role in all
the decision making. Without her the Pandavas would have most probably reclined to
the forests.
• Even the younger Pandavas : Ghatotkach, Abhimnanyu and Iravan were brought up
byy their mothers. So the female influence was huge.
g

Women = Better Half. Any team which doesn't have women

is unbalanced, for the Masculine traits of Aggression and
Dominance should be balanced by the Feminine traits of
Harmony and Sustenance.
 Recap
• Turn your weaknesses into strengths.
• Turn enemies into allies.
• Sh
Share your responsibilities.
ibiliti
• Teamwork scores over Individual Effort.
• Right Team = Right set of Individuals. The right man for the right job.
• Commitment scores over Competence.
• Team interests over Individual interests..
• Know yyour enemy/challenges.
y g Exploit
p its weaknesses. Take
calculated risks.
• The Right Managers : To inspire, invigorate, counsel in crisis .
• Know Ground realities. Accept p different ideologies.
g Cooperate.
p
• Empower Women. The Gender Balance is required for stability and
administration.
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