Chapter 1, Verses 4-6
atra śūrā maheṣvās
bhīmārjuna sama yudhi
yuyodhāno virāṭaśca
drupadaśca mahārathaḥ
dhṛṣṭaketus-cekitānaḥ
kāśi-rājaśca vīryavān purujit-kunti-bhojaśca
śaibyaśca nara-pungavaḥ
yudhāmanyuśca vikrānta
uttamaujāśca viryavān
saubhadro draupadeyāśca
sarva eva mahārathāḥ
Here in this mighty army are heroes and great bowmen who are equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna. Yuyudhana, Virat and Drupada of the great chariot, Dhrishlaketu, Chekitana and the valiant prince of Kashi, Purujit and Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya, foremost among men; Yudhamanyu, the strong, and Uttamauja, the victorious; Subhadra's son (Abhimanyu) and the sons of Draupadi; all of them of great prowess.
Here Duryodhan continued talking to Drona. In this verse, you'll see that the words merge: bhīmārjuna sama yudhi. The merging of the words bhīmārjuna means that the war had not yet started: Bhima and Arjuna were still discussing. Bhima and Arjuna were the great ones and there were others in this army equal to them. Bhima was the most powerful, and Arjuna was the wisest.
"Yuyudhana, Virat and Drupada of the great chariot." Yuyudhana was another name of Satyaki. He was a disciple of Arjuna and was very dear to Krishna. He could fight any number of warriors single-handed and was very powerful. Satyaki is the quality that is present in men as truthfulness. Virat is bravery, virtue. The Pandavas stayed incognito for one year in Virat's kingdom and it was Virat's daughter, Uttara, that Abhimanyu married. Duryodhan again reminded Drona, "Here is also Drupada, your friend." Dhrishlaketu was the son of Shishupala, who was killed by Krishna. Chekitana was a great, powerful king, a commander. He commanded all the seven akshauhinis of the Pandavas. He had great control and understanding. "And the valiant prince of Kashi": in this verse, the name of the King of Kashi is not mentioned, but in reality, it was Krodhaantha. 'Kroda' means anger, and 'anta', the one who destroys - 'the destroyer of anger.
Purujit and Kuntibhoja came from Kunti-Bhoja, the kingdom that Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, came from. Purujit represents the quality that conquers material desire. They were the maternal uncles of the Pandavas. Shaibya was the father-in-law of Yudhishtir. He was a very powerful fighter and a man of great character. That's why he was called 'foremost among men', 'best among men'; in human qualities he represents contentment. "Yudhamanyu, the strong, and Uttamauja, the victorious", the mighty and valiant. They were two princes, great fighters, and had great strength. What do they represent? Yudhamanyu represents loyalty and Uttamauja represents sincerity.
Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra: Subhadra was the wife of Arjuna, the sister of Krishna. Abhimanyu represents leadership, excellence. Abhimanyu was killed very atrociously by the Kauravas.
The sons of Draupadi: Draupadi had five sons, one from each of her husbands. The name of the son of Yudhishtir was Prativindhya. He represents eternalness. Sutasoma from Bhima represents flexibility; Srutakarma from Arjuna represents purification; Satanika from Nakul represents excellence and calmness; Srutasena from Sahadev represents tolerance and patience.
They were all great heroes who were well-versed in the scriptures and in the science of arms. Even when they were still young, these commanders were all capable of commanding 10,000 bowmen. That was why they were called Maharathi: sarva eva mahārathāh. They had great control. They were fighters.
Duryodhan here again tried to remind Drona, "How powerful these people are and how strong! Even if their army is small, they have strength." Seeing that Drona was not touched by all this, Duryodhan continued to flatter him. He tried to use beautiful words and flattery, trying to find a way to influence Drona.
Bhagavad Gita
