When Lord Krishna comes to the court of Duryodhana, asking him to give the Pandavas what is due to them, Duryodhana does not even rise from his seat to welcome Him. He instructs everyone in his court to show disrespect to Krishna. He warns them that if anyone shows respect to Krishna, he will face the wrath of the king.
Krishna is unperturbed by all this. He tells Duryodhana that He sees no difference between Duryodhana and Himself. Duryodhana had once come to Dwaraka, seeking a favour from Krishna. He had come volitionally. Krishna had not invited. In the same way, Krishna says that He is now there in Duryodhana's capital - Hastinapura, seeking a favour from Duryodhana for the Pandavas. The Lord too has come uninvited. Krishna refers to past incidents when He talks to Duryodhana and draws his attention to Duryodhana's visit to Dwaraka, said C.V. Seshadri in a discourse.
When Duryodhana arrived at Krishna's palace, Krishna was asleep, or so He pretended. Duryodhana was let in by the guards, and he seated himself near Krishna's head. Arjuna also arrived to ask for Krishna's help, and he sat at Krishna's feet. Krishna opened His eyes and looked at Arjuna and welcomed him. An angry Duryodhana pointed out that he had come there first. That being the case, how could Krishna talk to Arjuna first? Krishna said that since Arjuna was at His feet, naturally, when He opened His eyes, He had seen Arjuna first.
Arjuna asked the Lord to find out what Duryodhana wanted. Duryodhana asked Krishna to fight on his side in the war. Krishna explained that He had vowed not to pick up weapons in the war. So Duryodhana was given a choice. He could either have an unarmed Krishna on his side, or all of Krishna'a army. Duryodhana thought that Krishna without His weapons would not be of much use in the war, and so he opted for Krishna's army.
Duryodhana was arrogant and did not know the value of the Lord's presence on his side. Blinded by his pride, he not only sat near the Lord's head, but also chose unwisely. He paid the price for his arrogance, and his entire family was wiped out in the war that followed.
