Sanskrit
धृष्टकेतुश्चेकितानः काशिराजश्च वीर्यवान् । पुरुजित्कुन्तिभोजश्च शैब्यश्च नरपुङ्गवः ॥
dhṛṣṭaketuś cekitānaḥ kāśirājaś ca vīryavān purujit kuntibhojaś ca śaibyaś ca narapuṅgavaḥ
Translation
Drishtaketu, Chekitâna and the valiant King of Kâshi, Purujit and Kuntibhoja, and Shaivya, bull among men;
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The roll call continues with five more Pândava commanders. The sheer density of proper names across verses 4–6 is itself doing rhetorical work — Duryodhana isn’t just informing Drona, he’s building a case for how serious this army is, ahead of his own anxious admission in verse 10.
Study deeper
Word by word
- dhṛṣṭaketuśधृष्टकेतुश्
- Dhṛṣṭaketu
- cekitānaḥचेकितानः
- Cekitāna
- kāśirājaś caकाशिराजश् च
- and the king of Kāśī
- vīryavānवीर्यवान्
- valiant
- purujitपुरुजित्
- Purujit
- kuntibhojaś caकुन्तिभोजश् च
- and Kuntibhoja
- śaibyaś caशैब्यश् च
- and Śaibya
- narapuṅgavaḥनरपुङ्गवः
- a bull among men
Commentary
Site Commentary
Across this whole roster, notice what Duryodhana never once does: give a headcount. He names person after person instead of citing a number, and named individuals carry more weight than any aggregate figure would — a pattern persuasion has always exploited, for better and for worse.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Notice that a single named, specific case moves you more than a statistic ever does — when weighing a real risk or opportunity for yourself, use that pull deliberately instead of just being swept by it.
Professional
- When you need to build a case — for budget, for urgency, for a change — a specific named example persuades harder than an aggregate statistic; use it honestly, and stay aware of the gap between a vivid anecdote and the full picture.
Family & Social
- When trying to help a family member see a risk or opportunity clearly, a specific named story lands harder than a general statistic — use that honestly, without overstating what one story actually proves.
Ask yourself
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