Bg. 1.6

“This small army arranged by Dṛṣṭadumnya will be easily conquered by us. Do not fear.” “But in that army, there are great warriors who have bows (iṣvāsā) which cannot be cut by the enemy. They are innumerable warriors who have skill in fighting.” He then lists the warriosr on the opposing side. Yuyudhāna refers to Sātyaki. Sātyaki, Viṛata and Drupada were all mahārathas. Dhṛṣṭaketu, Cekitānaḥ and Kāśirāja were all couragous (vīryavān). Purujit, Kuntibhoja and Śaibya were all the best among men (nara pūṁgavaḥ). Yudhāmanyu was valiant (vikranta) and Uttamaujā was brave (vīryavān). Saubhadra refers to Abhimanyu. Draupadeya refers to the five sons of Draupadī born from each of the Pāṇḍavas: Prativindhya, Śrutasena, Śrutakīrti, Śatānīka and Śrutakarma. The word ca indicates other sons such as Ghaṭotkaca. The five Pāṇḍavas were so famous that they are not even mentioned. The seventeen men mentioned, and others on their side not mentioned, were all mahārathas. The description of mahārathas also indicates the presence of other fighters such as atirathas. Their qualities are mentioned: eko daśa sahasrāṇi yodhayed yas tu dhanvinām śastra-śāstra-pravīṇaś ca mahāratha iti smṛtaḥ amitān yodhayed yas tu samprokto’tirathas tu saḥ rathī caikena yo yudhyet tan-nyūno’rdha-rathaḥ smṛtaḥ A mahāratha is one man who can fight alone with ten thousand archers, who is expert in both weapons and scripture. An atiratha is one who fights with unlimited troops (or sixty thousand archers according one source). A ratha is one who fights with one opponent. One who does less than that (cannot deal with one opponent alone) is called ardha ratha. [Note: Source of the quote is unknown. By the sequence, atiratha would seem to be less than mahāratha, however Arjuna was an aitratha, and in the commentary Bhīṣma is described as atiratha, so this would make the atiratha superior to the mahāratha. The drop from mahāratha to rathī, who fights with only one archer seems rather drastic. Ekena is taken by some as “fighting with one thousand archers.”]