Gita 01.05 – Affiliations Were Shaped By Long-Term Affinity Not Short-Term Antipathy
dhṛṣṭaketuś cekitānaḥ
kāśirājaś ca vīryavān
purujit kuntibhojaś ca
śaibyaś ca nara-puṅgavaḥ
Word-for-Word:
dhṛṣṭaketuḥ — Dhṛṣṭaketu; cekitānaḥ — Cekitāna; kāśirājaḥ — Kāśirāja; ca — also; vīrya-vān — very powerful; purujit — Purujit; kuntibhojaḥ — Kuntibhoja; ca — and; śaibyaḥ — Śaibya; ca — and; nara-puṅgavaḥ — hero in human society.
Translation:
There are also great heroic, powerful fighters like Dhṛṣṭaketu, Cekitāna, Kāśirāja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Śaibya.
Explanation:
Duryodhana continues describing the Pandava forces and lists the warriors as follows:
Dhrishtaketu: He was the son of Shishupal, the king of the Chedis. Shishupal was an anomaly in his dynasty, which was not demoniac. When Shishupal was born, he had extra heads and hands, which fell away when Krishna saw him. His mother had known from a prophecy that the person who caused this would eventually kill Shishupal. She asked Krishna for a benediction to not kill Shishupal even if he offended him. Krishna agreed, saying he would tolerate up to a hundred offenses. However, during the Rajasuya yajna, Shishupal, on learning that Krishna had been chosen as the most worshippable person in the exalted assembly (agra-puja), insulted Him more than a hundred times. This prompted Krishna to use the Sudarshan Chakra to behead him without spilling a drop of blood, preserving the sanctity of the yajna.
Krishna’s actions weren’t just the result of being insulted. The real issue was Shishupal’s demoniac mentality, which was evident in his speech. Despite many opportunities to reform and exercise restraint, Shishupal did not change; so, Krishna decided to purify him by separating him from his sinful body.
Shishupal’s eldest son, Drishtaketu, was subsequently enthroned as the king. Drishtaketu’s alignment with the Pandavas might seem odd, but Shishupal was an out-of-character person in their overall virtuous dynasty. Shishupal’s animosity was directed towards Krishna, not the Pandavas. This was evident by the fact that before the Rajasuya yagna, Shishupal welcomed the Pandavas and respected Yudhishthira as a virtuous ruler and offered tribute without a fight. However, his animosity towards Krishna intensified when the Pandavas selected Krishna to receive the Agra Puja. After Shishupal was killed, his son Drishtaketu, though grief-stricken, understood that it was the duty of any self-respecting man to not let public insults go unchallenged. Shishupal had invited his own death, and Krishna had tolerated his behavior significantly, keeping his word to Shishupal’s mother. Despite his father’s death during the Pandavas’ Rajasuya yajna, Drishtaketu did not hold any resentment towards the Pandavas and sided with them. Drishtaketu was a formidable commander, which is why Duryodhana mentions him.
Drishtaketu fought gallantly on the side of the Pandavas and was eventually killed by Drona in an extremely fierce battle. Slaying Drishtaketu was one of Drona’s heroic achievements, as he was not an easy opponent to slay.
Cekitana: Cekitana is the son of Drishtadyumna. Srila Prabhupada explains that both Krishna and Arjuna were over 100 years old, indicating that the generation had sufficiently grown up to have sons and grandsons who also fought in the war. Cekitana was one of the formidable commanders of the Pandava army. There were seven akshahunis on the Pandava side, each led by commanders like Drupada, Virat, Bhima, Drishtadyumna, Shikhandi, Satyaki (also called Yuyudhana), and Cekitana. Cekitana fought valiantly and was killed by Duryodhana in a final desperate act of heroism. One of Duryodhana’s few heroic acts was killing Cekitana. Both Cekitana and his father gave up their lives for the Pandavas on the battlefield. The relationship between the Pandavas and the Chedis was cordial, with Drishtaketu’s sister Karenumati married to Nakula.
Kasiraja: “kāśirājaś ca vīryavān” – “Viryavan” refers to one who possesses great strength (virya), similar to how “bhagyavan” refers to someone very fortunate, and “dhanavan” refers to a possessor of wealth (dhana). The term “kāśirājaś ca vīryavān” indicates a powerful king of Kashi, a sacred and influential place. The king’s name is not specified in the Mahabharata, but being the ruler of Kashi itself was significant, and the fact that he was fighting from the Pandavas’ side was a matter of concern to Duryodhana.
Purujith: Not much is described about Purujith, but the name suggests a conqueror of a kingdom.
Kuntibhoja: The word Kunti is closely associated with the mother of the three elder Pandavas, Kunti, who is often considered the mother of all the Pandavas as she took care of all of them after Madri, the mother of Nakul and Sahadev, passed away in their childhood. Kunti’s name originates from the kingdom of Kunti, ruled by the Bhoja dynasty. The ruler, Kuntibhoja, was a close friend of Surasena, the father of Vasudeva (Krishna’s father). Despite having a flourishing kingdom, Kuntibhoja was childless. Out of affection, Surasena gave him his own daughter, who was initially named Pritha. When she came to Kuntibhoja’s kingdom, she accepted him as her father for all practical purposes. However, whenever anyone called her Pritha, it reminded her and others of her birth father, Vasudeva, which somewhat minimized Kuntibhoja’s role as her adoptive father.
Kunti, sensitive and respectful to her adoptive father, decided to adopt a name that would reinforce her connection with Kuntibhoja. She put aside the name Pritha and came to be known as Kunti. This act reinforced her bond with Kuntibhoja, emphasizing that he was her father in all practical ways.
Kuntibhoja is also a formidable warrior who fought on the side of the Pandavas. Despite being her adoptive father, Kuntibhoja was respected and regarded as Kunti’s actual father. The name change reinforced Kunti’s connection with Kuntibhoja. This act is similar to taking initiation in spiritual traditions, where adopting a new name signifies the deep relationship with one’s spiritual master, who is akin to a spiritual father. Naming the child is one of the primary privileges of a parent, giving an identity to a person. While the soul has its own identity, in this world, we are known through our bodies, and hence giving a person an identity is one of the deepest acts of intimacy of relationship between two people. Just as parents name their children, the spiritual master names the disciples, creating a profound bond. Although Pritha already had a name, she adopted the name Kunti to make her bond with her adoptive father, Kuntibhoja, more intimate.
Saibya: Saibya is a name used for descendants of King Sibi, who was renowned and celebrated in the Bhagavatam for his sacrifices for others. The Saibya mentioned here was a male commander fighting for the Pandavas. This common name was also used by Mitravinda, one of Krishna’s eight queens (ashtabharya), indicating that some Vedic names are not gender-specific and can be used by both males and females.
Nara-pungava: The term “nara-puṅgava” is often translated as “leaders among men” or “most eminent,” but it literally means “bull among men.” In traditional Vedic culture, bulls were revered for their strength and power, much like lions are among wild animals. Bulls were decorated and celebrated, and bull fights and rodeos were popular and dangerous sports, highlighting the bull’s formidable nature. Comparing a king to a bull was a mark of respect, not minimization, as it might seem to modern minds. A bull symbolized leadership, strength, and respect, making “nara-pungava” a laudatory term. Duryodhana uses this adjective to emphasize the eminence of the warriors.
In this way, Duryodhana speaks about the formidable warriors on the Pandavas’ side to alert Drona and his forces to fight cautiously and fiercely, knowing the strength of their opponents. He will continue outlining the Pandava forces in the next verse.
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