BG 1.4 Listen

Duryodhana points out the most formidable warriors in the opposing army - Bhima and Arjuna - and notes that there are many others of such exceptional military prowess on their side.

Yuyudhana

Yuyudhan (most commonly known as Satyaki) is a prominent warrior and a key ally of the Pandavas during the Kurukshetra War. He comes from Krishna's familial clan (the Yadavas), and is a disciple of Arjuna. Yuyudhan is renowned for his valor, skill in battle, and loyalty to the Pandavas - especially to his cousin Krishna. During the war, Yuyudhan has a fierce battle with Dronacharya (the esteemed teacher who is being addressed in this verse). Despite Drona’s immense skills, Yuyudhan managed to hold his ground and fight valiantly. Later in the war, Yuyudhan kills Bhurishrava, one of the eleven commanders of the Kaurava army.

After the war, Dhritarashtra's wife Gandhari (mother of the Kauravas) curses Krishna that his Yadava clan will be destroyed 36 years later in a fratricidal massacre. In the final chapters of the Mahabharata, the Yadava clan meets their prophesied end in a drunken brawl between various prominent members of the clan, some of whom sided with Krishna and the Pandavas, while others like Kritavarma sided with the Kauravas.

Virata

Virata was the king of the Matsya Kingdom, who sheltered the Pandavas for a year during their period of exile. He is the titular character of the Virata Parva, fourth book of the Mahabharata epic. His daughter is married to the son of Arjuna, and his grandson Parikshit would go on to become Yudhishthira's successor to the throne of the kingdom.

His son Uttara would be killed on the first day of battle, and another one of his sons would be killed by Drona on the seventh day. On the fifteenth day of battle, he is killed by Dronacharya in a fierce battle along with Drupada.

Drupada

Drupada is a king of the Panchala Kingdom and father of Draupadi, who is the shared wife of the five Pandava brothers. He is a childhood friend of Drona from their education under the sage Bharadvaja. After returning to his kingdom, he is approached for financial assistance by the impoverished Drona some time later, to which Drupada responds:

Oh Brahmana (Drona), your intelligence is scarcely of a high order, if you are to say to me so suddenly that you are my friend. Great kings can never be friends with such luckless and indigent people as you! It is true that there had been friendship between us before, for at that time, we shared the same circumstance. But time, that erodes everything in its course, impairs friendship as well. In this world, friendship never endures in any heart. Time wears it away, and anger destroys it.

Therefore, cast away that worn-out friendship, and think of it no longer. The friendship I shared with you was for a particular purpose. Friendship can never be maintained between a poor man and a rich one, between an educated man and an illiterate one, between a hero and a coward.

There may be friendship or hostility between people equally wealthy or powerful, but the rich and the poor can neither be friends nor quarrel with one another. One of impure birth can never be a friend to one of pure birth, one who is not a warrior cannot be friends with one who is not, and one who is not a king can never have a king for a friend. Therefore, why do you desire the continuation of our friendship?

Drona becomes infuriated and vows revenge. He becomes an esteemed teacher, and is hired by Bhishma to train the princes of the Kuru kingdom (the Pandava and Kaurava brothers). Upon completion of their military education, he asks them to defeat and capture Drupada as his gurudakshina (a traditional payment made to a guru upon completion of an education under them). While Drupada (a mighty warrior in his own right) is able to defeat all the Kaurava princes, the Pandava prince Arjuna manages to capture him and bring him to Drona. His kingdom is divided in half, with Drona taking control of one half and agreeing to a renewed friendship between the two.

However, Drupada does not forget his insult, and performs a fire sacrifice to obtain a son capable of defeating Drona. From the sacrificial fire, Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi emerge, followed by a divine prophecy that Dhrishtadyumna would kill Drona and Draupadi would bring about the end of the Kauravas.

In the Kurukshetra war, he is killed by Drona on the fifteenth day of battle after a prolonged encounter, along with Virata. Upon witnessing the death of his father, his son Dhrishtadyumna swore an oath:

Let me lose all merits of my religious acts, my status as a warrior, and my Brahma energy, if Drona escapes me today with life, or if he succeeds in vanquishing me!