अत्र शूरा महेष्वासा भीमार्जुनसमा युधि। युयुधानो विराटश्च द्रुपदश्च महारथः॥
atra śūrā maheṣvāsā bhīmārjunasamā yudhi / yuyudhāno virāṭaś ca drupadaś ca mahārathaḥ
Duryodhana catalogues the Pandava heroes — naming his fears, one by one.
Word by word (9)
- atra
- — here / in this army
- śūrāḥ
- — heroes / mighty warriors
- mahā-iṣu-āsāḥ
- — great bowmen / masters of the great bow
- bhīma-arjuna-samāḥ
- — equal to Bhima and Arjuna in battle
- yudhi
- — in battle
- yuyudhānaḥ
- — Yuyudhana (Satyaki), Krishna's kinsman
- virāṭaḥ
- — Virata, king who sheltered the Pandavas in exile
- drupadaḥ
- — Drupada, father of Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi
- mahā-rathaḥ
- — great chariot-warrior (a military rank)
Duryodhana continues: 'In their army there are great warriors — archers as powerful as Bhima and Arjuna themselves: Yuyudhana (Satyaki), Virata, and Drupada — all commanders of great chariots.'
A modern analogy
Before a major negotiation or competition, many people list out the strengths of the opposition — half because it's tactically necessary, half because naming a fear makes it slightly less overwhelming. Duryodhana is doing both.
Take with you
- Naming what we fear — being specific about it — is a healthy first step toward facing it.
- The greatest heroes in any field have those who are 'equal to them' — excellence is never alone.
- Duryodhana respects the Pandava warriors even as he opposes them. Respecting your opponent's strengths is both wisdom and maturity.
Verses 4–11 are Duryodhana's catalogue of both armies' warriors. In Sanskrit literary tradition, such catalogues (nāma-pāṭha, listing of names) serve a specific function: they establish the stakes. Each name is a claim on reality. By naming great warriors on the Pandava side, Duryodhana is actually making an implicit case for why this war matters — the quality of the opposition elevates the significance of the conflict. Yuyudhana (Satyaki) was Krishna's kinsman and a great Yadava warrior. Virata was the king in whose court the Pandavas hid during their final year of exile. Drupada, father of Draupadi (Arjuna's wife) and Dhrishtadyumna, was a powerful king who had once been Drona's friend and then became his sworn enemy — another karmic arc that ripples through this war.
Modern parallels
In competitive intelligence — the formal business practice of researching your competitors — the quality of your intelligence reveals the quality of your judgment. Duryodhana has good intelligence: he names the right people and assesses their capabilities accurately. His failure is not of perception but of values.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Here are heroes, mighty archers, equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna: Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada, of the great car. [4]
Yuyudhan, Virata, Drupada, — these and others, mighty bow-men — match for Bhima's self and Arjun. [7]
Here in this army are many heroes, great bowmen equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna — Yuyudhana, Virata, and Drupada, all great car-warriors. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
More allies enumerated — every hero named is a responsibility Duryodhana must account for.
Having surveyed the enemy, Duryodhana now needs to reassure himself by listing his own assets.
Those who respected you will assume you left out of fear — and in their eyes, you will shrink from hero to coward.
No effort on this path is ever wasted — even a little progress protects you from great fear.
Immeasurable anxieties till death, sense-pleasure as the highest value, firmly certain that 'this is all there is.'
A grandfather blows his conch to lift a grandson's spirits — love and war entangled.