Duryodhana counts his heroes

Where we are

In the previous reading, the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra asked his minister Sañjaya what was happening at Kurukshetra, and Sañjaya, who can see the battlefield through a gift of divine sight, began his report. Prince Duryodhana, leader of the Kaurava side, had hurried over to his old archery teacher Droṇa and started pointing out the great fighters in the Pāṇḍava army. In these four verses he finishes that list, then turns to his own side and names its commanders, beginning with Droṇa himself.

The verses

1. 1.5

   There are Dhṛṣṭaketu and Cekitāna, and the valiant king of Kāśī; there are Purujit and Kuntibhoja, and Śaibya, a towering figure among men.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.5

   धृष्टकेतुश्चेकितानः काशिराजश्च वीर्यवान् ।
   पुरुजित्कुन्तिभोजश्च शैब्यश्च नरपुङ्गवः ॥ ५ ॥

   dhṛṣṭaketuś cekitānaḥ kāśirājaś ca vīryavān
   purujit kuntibhojaś ca śaibyaś ca narapuṃgavaḥ

   Say it

   drish-tuh-kay-toosh chay-ki-taa-nuh-huh kaa-shi-raa-jush chuh veer-yuh-vaan
   poo-roo-jit koon-ti-bho-jush chuh shai-byush chuh nuh-ruh-poon-guh-vuh-huh

   Word by word

   dhṛṣṭaketuḥ

   Dhṛṣṭaketu, king of the Cedis

   cekitānaḥ

   Cekitāna

   kāśirājaḥ

   the king of Kāśī (Varanasi)

   ca

   and

   vīryavān

   valiant, mighty

   purujit

   Purujit

   kuntibhojaḥ

   Kuntibhoja

   śaibyaḥ

   Śaibya

   nara-puṃgavaḥ

   a bull among men, the finest of men

2. 1.6

   There are bold Yudhāmanyu and mighty Uttamaujas, Subhadrā's son, and the sons of Draupadī. Every one of them is a great chariot-warrior.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.6

   युधामन्युश्च विक्रान्त उत्तमौजाश्च वीर्यवान् ।
   सौभद्रो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्व एव महारथाः ॥ ६ ॥

   yudhāmanyuś ca vikrānta uttamaujāś ca vīryavān
   saubhadro draupadeyāś ca sarva eva mahārathāḥ

   Say it

   yoo-dhaa-mun-yoosh chuh vi-kraan-tuh oot-tuh-mau-jaash chuh veer-yuh-vaan
   sau-bhud-ro drau-puh-day-yaash chuh sur-vuh ay-vuh muh-haa-ruh-thaa-haa

   Word by word

   yudhāmanyuḥ

   Yudhāmanyu

   vikrāntaḥ

   bold, daring

   uttamaujāḥ

   Uttamaujas

   vīryavān

   mighty

   saubhadraḥ

   Subhadrā's son (Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son)

   draupadeyāḥ

   the sons of Draupadī

   sarve eva

   every one of them

   mahā-rathāḥ

   great chariot-warriors

3. 1.7

   But now, best of Brahmins, take note of the finest on our side as well, the commanders of my army. I will name them for you so you have them clearly in mind.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.7

   अस्माकं तु विशिष्टा ये तान्निबोध द्विजोत्तम ।
   नायका मम सैन्यस्य संज्ञार्थं तान्ब्रवीमि ते ॥ ७ ॥

   asmākaṃ tu viśiṣṭā ye tān nibodha dvijottama
   nāyakā mama sainyasya saṃjñārthaṃ tān bravīmi te

   Say it

   us-maa-kum too vi-shish-taa yay taan ni-bo-dhuh dvi-jot-tuh-muh
   naa-yuh-kaa muh-muh sain-yuh-syuh sun-gyaar-thum taan bruh-vee-mi tay

   Word by word

   asmākam

   of ours, on our side

   tu

   but, now

   viśiṣṭāḥ ye

   those who are the most distinguished

   tān nibodha

   take note of them, know them

   dvija-uttama

   best of the twice-born (of Brahmins)

   nāyakāḥ

   leaders, commanders

   mama sainyasya

   of my army

   saṃjñā-artham

   for your information, so you have them in mind

   tān bravīmi te

   I name them to you

4. 1.8

   There is you yourself, sir, and Bhīṣma, Karṇa, and Kṛpa, who wins every battle he fights; there are Aśvatthāman and Vikarṇa, and Somadatta's son as well.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 1.8

   भवान्भीष्मश्च कर्णश्च कृपश्च समितिञ्जयः ।
   अश्वत्थामा विकर्णश्च सौमदत्तिस्तथैव च ॥ ८ ॥

   bhavān bhīṣmaś ca karṇaś ca kṛpaś ca samitiṃjayaḥ
   aśvatthāmā vikarṇaś ca saumadattis tathaiva ca

   Say it

   bhuh-vaan bheesh-mush chuh kur-nush chuh kri-push chuh suh-mi-tin-juh-yuh-huh
   ush-vut-thaa-maa vi-kur-nush chuh sau-muh-dut-tis tuh-thai-vuh chuh

   Word by word

   bhavān

   your honour, you yourself

   bhīṣmaḥ

   Bhīṣma, the family's great elder

   karṇaḥ

   Karṇa

   kṛpaḥ

   Kṛpa

   samitim-jayaḥ

   victorious in battle

   aśvatthāmā

   Aśvatthāman, Droṇa's son

   vikarṇaḥ

   Vikarṇa, one of Duryodhana's brothers

   saumadattiḥ

   the son of Somadatta (Bhūriśravas)

   tathā eva ca

   and likewise

Context and commentary

These verses can read like a roll-call, but almost every name carries a story from the Mahābhārata. On the Pāṇḍava side, “Subhadrā's son” is Abhimanyu, Arjuna's teenage son, who will later die trapped inside an enemy battle formation; the “sons of Draupadī” are the five sons of the Pāṇḍava brothers' shared wife; Kuntibhoja is the king who adopted Kuntī, the Pāṇḍavas' mother, so he is family too. On Duryodhana's side, Aśvatthāman is Droṇa's own son and Kṛpa is Droṇa's brother-in-law, himself a teacher of the princes. Karṇa is the most poignant name: he is secretly the eldest son of Kuntī, born before her marriage and given away, which makes him the Pāṇḍavas' unknown elder brother. In the epic he refuses to fight while Bhīṣma commands, so naming him here is partly hopeful. The order of the list is telling. Duryodhana starts with bhavān, “you yourself”, putting Droṇa ahead of Bhīṣma, the actual commander-in-chief. Many readers take this as flattery meant to bind a teacher whose affection for the Pāṇḍavas, especially his star pupil Arjuna, was well known; calling him dvijottama, “best of the twice-born”, may also remind the Brahmin teacher which side he has chosen to serve (interpretation). The classical commentators, Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja and Madhva, treat Chapter 1 mainly as narrative setting and save their close reading for Krishna's teaching. Readers who take the battle as an inner allegory, as Gandhi did, sometimes see these crowded lists as the many competing forces in a single mind (interpretation).