THE HO LY GITA

                                                                          Arjuna Vishada Yoga

                                                                           Verses four to seven

VERSE NUMBER 4

HERE ARE MIGHTY ARCHERS, PEERS IN WARFARE TO HEROIC ARJUNA AND BHIMA; YUYUDHANA, VIRATA AND DRUPADA THE GREAT CHARIOT-WARRIOR. 

VERSE NUMBER 5

DHRSHTAKETU, CHEKITANA AND THE VALIANT KING OF KASI, PURUJIT, KUNTIBHOJA AND SAIBYA, THE BEST AMONG MEN;

VERSE NUMBER 6

THE COURAGEOUS  YUDHAMANYU, THE BRAVE UTTAMANJA, SAUBHADRA AND THE SONS OF DRAUPADI-ALL BEING GREAT CHARIOT-WARRIORS.

VERSE NUMBER 7

KNOW YOU, O THE BEST OF THE TWICE-BORN, ALL THOSE WHO ARE OUR DISTINGUSHED CHIEFS, THE LEADERS OF MY ARMY: I NAME THEM FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

                                                                           COMMENTS:

According to Swamy Chidbhavananda of Thiruparaithurai, near Thiruchirapalli, Duryodhana, after having gone through the list of formidable warriors on the other side, in the seventh verse addresses Drona, as invested with the sacred thread, literally meaning twice-born, subtly draws his attention to his being a Brahmana, and accordingly timid in nature, and thus continues with his censure.

Dr. Radhakrishnan gives a list of the valiant warriors and introduces them to the foreign readers; since it is very helpful even to the Indian readers, I am gratefully reproduce his commentary for the seventh verse:

BHIMA  is Yudhisthira’s Commander-in-chief, though nominally Dhrstadymna holds that office.

ARJUNA is the friend of Krishna and the great hero of the Pandavas.

YUYUDHANA is Krishna’s charioteer, also called  Satyaki.

VIRATA is the prince of in whose state the Pandavas lived for some time in disguise.

DHRSHTAKETU is the king of the Cedis.

CHEKITANA is a famous warrior in the army of the Pandavas.

PURUJIT and KUNTIBHOJA  are two brothers . Sometimes they are taken as one person.

SHAIBYA is a king of the Shibi tribe.

Apart from Duriyodhana’s attempt to censure his master, Drona, for having taught the art of warfare to his sworn enemies and cousins, the Pandavas, there is another purpose in this listing out of the important Pandava warriors through Duriyodhana:

And that is the dramatic purpose. We are reintroduced to the warriors on the Pandavas side through their enemies tongue, and we now are going to be, from the eighth verse introduced to the warriors on his own side. The samvaadha form or the conversational or catechism form is employed by all great thinkers like Plato too. It leads up the reader to the conclusion as though they are personally taught in a class room. There is much drama that is going to come in the form of the Lord Krishna’s reinstating the rasa or important essence of all the Upanishads through his own tongue. So, this dramatic method is employed very effectively to add drama to it. And the dramatic technique fully serves the purpose. Along with Sanjaya, it is as though, we too are given an extra sensory power to witness the war that is going to take place!