Chapter 1 · Verse 5·Spoken by Sanjaya
धृष्टकेतुश्चेकितानः काशिराजश्च वीर्यवान्। पुरुजित्कुन्तिभोजश्च शैब्यश्च नरपुङ्गवः
dhṛiṣhṭaketuśhchekitānaḥ kāśhirājaśhcha vīryavān purujit kuntibhojaśhcha śhaibyaśhcha nara-puṅgavaḥ yudhāmanyuśhcha vikrānta uttamaujāśhcha vīryavān
Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, and the valiant king of Kashi; Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya, the best of men.
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Sanskrit recitation by Swami Brahmānanda
Audio from the Gītā Supersite, IIT Kanpur
Synthesis · a glossed leaf
machine-assisted draft, pending review
Convergence
his verse continues Sanjaya's roll call of the great warriors fighting on the Pandava side. It is a list of names: Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, the valiant king of Kashi (Varanasi), Purujit, Kuntibhoja, and Shaibya. The commentators treat the verse first and foremost as exactly that, a naming of further chiefs added to the warriors already mentioned in the previous verses. One Advaita reader simply notes that the verse is plain, and another counts that it lists six names, signaling that the line works at the level of plain narration before it works at any level of meaning.
Śrī Ānandagiri · Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī
Most of these names are taken to be straightforward proper names that carry their own sense and need no unpacking. One commentator states the principle directly: many of these names are mere designations, self-explanatory, and so not worth expounding; only those names where some special point emerges on following out the sense are explained at all. So the verse is not meant to be mined for hidden doctrine in every word. It is a muster, and the names function largely as names.
Śrī Bhāskara
Where the commentators do pause, it is over the descriptive epithets attached to certain warriors, and several read these epithets the same way. The king of Kashi is called valiant or valorous, which is glossed as being endowed with the power of energy and firm resolve. Shaibya is called a 'bull among men,' an idiom for the best or foremost of men, here explained as fitting him because he is joined to the highest warrior-qualities such as valor. Some names are even read for their built-in meaning: Purujit is so named because he conquers much, that is, conquers many; Kuntibhoja is the one who dwells among the Kunti people; Shaibya is the king of the Shivi people.
Śrī Bhāskara · Śrī Puruṣottama · Śrīdhara Svāmī
The cumulative point of the verse, drawn out most fully by the modern reader, is the sheer martial weight being assembled. Taking the surrounding verses together, these are no ordinary fighters: they carry great bows, which requires great strength to draw and to release, and an arrow loosed by such a warrior with full force does heavy execution. They are described as equals of Bhima and Arjuna in battle, equal to Bhima in strength and to Arjuna in skill at arms. The list is therefore not idle detail; it conveys that the army facing Duryodhana is formidable, brave, and battle-worthy.
Swami Ramsukhdas · Śrī Bhāskara
Divergence
Here the commentators are of one mind.
A Seeker Asks
Why does the Gita spend whole verses simply listing warrior names, and what is a spiritual seeker supposed to take from a battlefield roster?
The honest answer the commentators give is that much of this verse is plain narration, not hidden teaching. Most of the names are ordinary proper names that carry their own sense, and one commentator says outright that such self-explanatory designations are not worth expounding; only the few names with a special meaning get explained at all. So a seeker is not missing some secret here. The line is doing the work of setting the scene.
Śrī Ānandagiri · Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha · Śrī Bhāskara
What the roster does accomplish is to establish the real weight of the moment. These are warriors equal to Bhima in strength and to Arjuna in skill, men who carry great bows and whose arrows do heavy execution. By naming them one after another, the text makes the coming battle concrete and formidable rather than abstract. The crisis Arjuna is about to face is genuine, and the size and gravity of that crisis is exactly what makes the teaching that follows necessary.
Swami Ramsukhdas · Śrī Bhāskara
Pull up a chair.
You have come to sit with this verse. When you are ready to hear the translators and the commentators in full, tap a name in The seating.