Duryodhana begins listing the most notable commanders of the Kaurava army, starting with Drona and Bhishma (bhavānbhīṣhmaśhcha – "you and Bhishma"). The characters listed in this verse are major figures in the Mahabharata story, and are all killed in the upcoming battle. The demise of Bhurishrava leads to the fratricidal extermination many years later of Krishna's own clan, due to the controversial circumstances around his death.

Mahabharata characters

Bhishma

Bhishma, also known as Gangaputra (son of Ganga) and born with the name Devavrata ("one who is devoted to the gods"), is a major figure in the Mahabharata story, and the only character to witness the entirety of its events. He earned the name Bhishma (भीष्म), which means "extreme" or "fierce", from an austere vow of celibacy (bhishma pratigya) undertaken voluntarily on behalf of his father.

Bhishma's childhood is a central storyline of the first book of the Mahabharata. His father Shantanu is the king of the Kuru kingdom and member of a lineage descending from Moon deities. While he was on a hunting trip, Shantanu sees a beautiful woman on the banks of the Ganga river and asks for her hand in marriage. The woman agrees on the condition that he will never question her actions, and promises that she will abandon him if this condition is ever broken. Shantanu agrees, and eventually has a child with her - however, as soon as his first son is born, his wife drowns him in the Ganga river. One by one, seven sons are born and immediately drowned in the river. Just as she is about to throw his eighth son into the river, Shantanu is unable to contain himself and confronts her about her actions.

Upon confronting his wife and breaking the condition of their marriage, she reveals herself to be the river goddess Ganga, and the seven drowned infants to be divine beings who were cursed to the mortal realm for their transgression against the sage Vashishtha and the sacred cow Nandini. This eighth infant (a reincarnation of Dyu, who was deemed to be more guilty than the other seven) was cursed to endure a longer life on Earth. His mother (Ganga) provided him with an education under various divine figures like Indra and Brihaspati, after which he returned to the mortal realm as Shantanu's son, Devavrata.

Shantanu once again finds himself enamored by a beautiful woman (Satyavati) at the banks of a river (this time, the Yamuna), and asks her father (the village chief) for her hand in marriage. The father replies that he would only agree to the marriage if Shantanu promises that the first son born to his daughter would be made heir to his kingdom. Shantanu rejects the offer, as he had already promised the throne to Devavrata, and falls into a deep depression. For the sake of his father's happiness, Devavrata voluntarily goes back to Satyavati's father, cedes his claim to the throne, and further assuages him by taking a vow of lifelong brahmacharya (celibacy), earning the name "Bhishma" (one who has taken a terrible vow).

Bhishma takes Satyavati back to his father and is rewarded with the boon of iccha mrityu - control over the time of one's death. Satyavati's sons, Chitranganda and Vichitravirya, would go on to take up the throne. Vichitravirya's sons, Dhritarashtra and Pandu, are the respective patriarchs of the Kauravas and Pandavas.

Karna

Karna is a tragic hero in the Mahabharata, symbolizing a good man who is rejected by those who should love him. He is the half-brother of the five Pandava brothers, born out of wedlock to their mother Kunti. Kunti is given a divine ability to bear children with the deity of her choosing, and some time before her marriage to Pandu, invokes the sun god Surya to test her ability. Karna is secretly born to Kunti, and out of fear of backlash over her premarital pregnancy, Kunti sets the infant child adrift in a basket on the Ganga river. He is found and adopted by commoners, and grows up to become an accomplished warrior and gifted speaker. His loyal friendship with the Kuru prince Duryodhana leads him to side with the Kauravas against his half-brothers, the Pandavas.

Before the onset of war, Krishna visits Karna and informs him about his biological mother. As the eldest Pandava, he would be recognized as the rightful king, and could put an end to the events that would culminate in the Kurukshetra war. Karna offers a harsh rebuke to Krishna and his biological mother:

I was abandoned by you as soon as I was born. This great injury to me, involving risk to life itself, has diminished my achievements and fame. If I am indeed a Kshatriya (warrior), I have been deprived of all the rites of a Kshatriya. What enemy would have done me a greater injury? Without showing me mercy, at the time when you should have shown it, you would lay your command on me today! You have never before sought my welfare as a mother should, yet you address me today desiring to do good to yourself.

Karna then makes a promise to his biological mother (Kunti), after reaffirming his loyalty to the sons of Dhritarashtra.

For the sake of Dhritarashtra’s son (Duryodhana), I shall fight against your sons to the best of my strength and might. However, I will not abandon kindness and righteous conduct. Your words, however beneficial, cannot be obeyed by me - but your solicitation to me will not yet be fruitless. Except Arjuna, your other sons shall not yet be slain by me. It is with Arjuna alone, among all the combatants of Yudhishthira, that I will fight. Slaying Arjuna in battle, I shall achieve great merit, and if I am slain by him, I shall also attain glory. The number of your sons will never be less than five - either myself or Arjuna shall be slain.

After Karna's death at the hands of Arjuna, Krishna and the Pandavas (along with many of the surviving characters and several deities) honor Karna as a satpurusha ("highest spirit" or "true, honest, good man") and remember him as the best among those who understand and uphold dharma. Most importantly, Karna suggests a social debate between birthright and deserved status, a debate which is relevant even today. Life is unfair to Karna, from a childhood where he is not allowed to train in weaponry due to his low social status, to an adulthood where he chooses loyalty to his lifelong friend over Krishna's recommendation to regain his royal status through legal means (i.e. dharmaśāstra, a code of laws designed to uphold dharma).