Srimad BhagavadGita

In these 3 ślokas, Duryodhana talks to Droṇācārya about the greatness of the Pāṇḍava army.

“In their army are many skilled warriors and great bowmen equal to Arjuna and Bhīma in warfare, Yuyudhāna, Virāta, Drupada- the great warrior, Dṛṣṭaketu, Cekitāna- the valiant King of Kāsi, Purujit and Kuntibhoja, Śaibhya- the best among men, the courageous Yudhāmanyu and the powerful Uttamaujas, Abhimanyu and the Upa-pāṇḍavas who are all mahārathis.”

atra śūrāḥ There, in the Pāṇḍava army are kings who are powerful warriors.

maheṣvāsaḥ ‘iṣvaḥ asyante ēbhiḥ iti iṣvāsāḥ’ An arrow 'iṣva' is shot from a bow, hence the bow is called iṣvāsā. ‘mahāntaḥ iṣvāsāḥ yeṣām te’ possessors of big bows are maheṣvāsas. By this derivation the word maheṣvāsa means great bowmen or archers.

Yuyudhānaḥ Yuyudhānaḥ means a steady fighter in a war. The Gītārtha Saṃgraha Dīpika (a lucid commentary on Srimad Bhagavad Gītā by Sri Varavara Muni following Sri Rāmānuja's teachings) states that this adjective is used for Sātyaki. Yuyudhāna is another name for Sātyaki, a close and dear servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Virātaḥ Virāta was the king of Matsya, under whose protection the Pāṇḍavas spent their last year of exile living incognito. His daughter Uttarā later married Arjuna's son Abhimanyu. Virāta was killed in the battle along with his sons Uttara, Śveta and Śankha.

Drupadaḥ Drupada was the king of Pāncāla who hated Droṇa and prayed for a son who would kill him. He performed a yagña (sacrifice) for this purpose and a son was born from it whom he named Dṛṣṭadyumna. Dṛṣṭadyumna later became the disciple of Droṇa. Even though Droṇa knew very well that the boy would eventually kill him, he still taught Dṛṣṭadyumna all that he knew about martial arts. So Duryodhana’s tone here was one of sarcasm.

Śaibyaḥ Śaibya was the father of Devika, one of Yudhiṣṭhira’s wives. He was known as ‘the best among men’ because of his exceptional military prowess.

​Saubhadraḥ Kṛṣna's sister Subhadra was married to Arjuna. Her son Abhimanyu was called Saubhadra. He studied martial arts under Arjuna and his uncle Balarāma. Only sixteen years of age at the time of the war, he was the one who could penetrate the Chakra-vyūha military formation of Droṇa in the absence of his father, but he had not learnt how to break out of it. Trapped inside the formation, he was mercilessly killed by seven great mahārathis including Droṇa, Kṛpa and Karṇa.

Draupadeyāḥ These were the five sons born to Draupadi, one with each of the five Pāṇḍavas. Their names were Prativindhya, Śutasoma, Śrutakarma, Śatānika and Śrutasena. They were murdered in their sleep by

Aśvatthāma in order to please his friend Duryodhana.

Cekitānaḥ He was one of Sri Kṛṣna’s yādava/vṛṣni clansmen, a very chivalrous warrior who was killed by Duryodhana during the battle.

​Kāśirājaḥ The King of Kāsi was born as a partial manifestation of the asura Dīrghjihva.

Purujit and Kuntibhojaḥ They were both brothers of Arjuna’s mother Kunti. Both met their end at the hands of Droṇa.

​Yudhāmanyuḥ and Uttamaujaḥ They were both brothers and were princes of the Pāncāla kingdom. They died at the hands of Aśvatthāma.

sarva eva mahārathāḥ These words tell us that all the Kings in the Pāṇḍava army were mahārathis without exception. ‘ekādaśa sahastrāni yodhyēdyastu dhanvinām| śastraśāstrapravīṇaścha sa mahāratha ucyate|| amitāṇ yodhyēdyastu samproktotirathastu saḥ| Rathenekena yo yoddhā sa nyūnortharathottamaḥ||’ (One who is capable of fighting eleven thousand bowmen alone and is proficient in yuddhaśāśtras (science of warfare) is called a mahārathi. One who can fight with many is called an atirathi. One who can fight with only one rathi (chariot mounted warrior) is called artharathi. He ranks least amongst the powerful.)

These definitions for the terms mahārathi, atirathi, rathi, artharathi when recollected, help us in understanding the scene on the battlefield. Usage of the words śūrāḥ, maheṣvāsaḥ, bhīmārjuna samāyudhiḥ, sarva eva mahārathāḥ by Duryodhana give us the insight that the Pāṇḍava army was stronger than the Kaurava army.