This is an ongoing series on my reflections on The Bhagavad Gita. I will post 2-5 posts a week, each post talking about 1 verse. You can find links for the entire series here.

Chapter 1 – Arjun Viṣhād Yog (अर्जुन विषाद योग) – Lamenting the Consequence of War – Verse 4

This post talks about the fourth verse of the first chapter.

Verse:

अत्र शूरा महेष्वासा भीमार्जुनसमा युधि

युयुधानो विराटश्च द्रुपदश्च महारथ: || 4||

Translation:

Here are powerful warriors and great bowmen who are equal to Bheem and Arjun in military prowess including Yuyudhana, Virat and Drupada who are all maharathis

Reflection:

This verse is also spoken by King Duryodhana to Acharya Drona.

Being unsettled by the military formation of Pandavas, he told his teacher about the great warriors that the Pandavas had assembled.

These warriors were no less than Bheema and Arjuna, who Duryodhana knew to be brilliant and therefore became the benchmarks against which he evaluated others in the Pandava’s army. They were maharathis i.e. warriors who were so powerful that they could take on 10000 soldiers single-handedly and defeat them.

Duryodhana mentioned valiant warriors – Yuyudhana also known as Satyaki, King Virata and Drupada (Arjuna’s father-in-law) to Dronacharya. The reason that Duryodhana took the time to mention this to Dronacharya was to reiterate that the army of Kurus was facing tough competition and they weren’t invincible.