Chapter 1. Observing the Armies
on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra (Continued) TEXT 6 yudhamanyus ca vikranta uttamaujas ca viryavan
saubhadro draupadeyas ca
sarva eva maha-rathah
SYNONYMS
yudhamanyuh--Yudhamanyu; ca--and; vikrantah--mighty;uttamaujah--Uttamauja; ca--and; virya-van--very powerful;saubhadrah--the
son of Subhadra; draupadeyah--the sons of Draupadi;ca--and; sarve--all; eva--certainly; maha-rathah--great chariot fighters. TRANSLATION
There
are the mighty Yudhamanyu, the very powerful Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra and
the sons of Draupadi. All these warriors are great chariot fighters.
The attribute vikrantah meaning valiant is given to Yudhamanyu
and again the attribute viryavan which is heroic is given to Uttamauja. Saubhadrah is Abhimanyu the son of Subhadra who
is the wife of Arjuna. Draupadeyah are the five sons of Draupadi who are:
Pratibindha, Srutasena, Srntakirti, Satanika and Srutavarma and by the use of
the word ca it refers to Bhima's son Ghatatkacha
and others.
As for the
Pandavas themselves Duryodhana did not mention them at all as their name and
fame was known by everybody. The names of these 17 heroes mentioned and all
those in favor of the Pandavas are all maha-rathas. By the use of the word sarve meaning all, Duryodhana instigates and
agitates the fighting mood of Drona, by adding even those warriors who are atirathas and placed them in the class of maha-rathas as well.
The defintion
of maha-ratha is he who can fight against 10,000
bowmen all at the same time and not be defeated and is a master in the science
of warfare and the use of all weapons. An ati-ratha is a hero who can fight against
innumerable bowmen but less than 10,000 at the same time and remain undefeated.
A yoddha-ratha is the hero who can fight against one
bowmen at a time and remain undefeated and one who cannot even fight against
one bowman successfully is called an arddha-ratha.
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