न तं युद्धेषु पश्यामि यो विभिन्द्याच् छिखण्डिनम् ॥
शस्त्रेण समरे राजन् संनद्धं स्यन्दने स्थितम् ॥
द्वैरथे विषहेन् नान्यो भीष्मं राजन् महाव्रतम् ॥
शिखण्डिनम् ऋते वीरं स मे सेनापतिर् मतः ॥
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
सर्वस्य जगतस् तात सारासारं बलाबलम् ॥
सर्वं जानाति धर्मात्मा गतम् एष्यच् च केशवः ॥
यम् आह कृष्णो दाशार्हः सो ऽस्तु नो वाहिनीपतिः ॥
कृतास्त्रो ह्य् अकृतास्त्रो वा वृद्धो वा यदि वा युवा ॥
एष नो विजये मूलम् एष तात विपर्यये ॥
अत्र प्राणाश् च राज्यं च भावाभावौ सुखासुखे ॥
na taṃ yuddheṣu paśyāmi yo vibhindyāc chikhaṇḍinam ||
śastreṇa samare rājan saṃnaddhaṃ syandane sthitam ||
dvairathe viṣahen nānyo bhīṣmaṃ rājan mahāvratam ||
śikhaṇḍinam ṛte vīraṃ sa me senāpatir mataḥ ||
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
sarvasya jagatas tāta sārāsāraṃ balābalam ||
sarvaṃ jānāti dharmātmā gatam eṣyac ca keśavaḥ ||
yam āha kṛṣṇo dāśārhaḥ so 'stu no vāhinīpatiḥ ||
kṛtāstro hy akṛtāstro vā vṛddho vā yadi vā yuvā ||
eṣa no vijaye mūlam eṣa tāta viparyaye ||
atra prāṇāś ca rājyaṃ ca bhāvābhāvau sukhāsukhe ||
"I do not see in battle anyone who could pierce Shikhandin with a weapon, O king, as he stands armed upon his chariot. In single combat none other could withstand the great-vowed Bhishma, O king, save the hero Shikhandin; he, in my opinion, should be our commander." Yudhishthira said: "My son, righteous Keshava knows the essence and non-essence of the whole world, its strength and weakness, all that is past and all that is to come. Whomever Krishna-Dasharha names, let him be our commander of the forces, whether he is trained in arms or not, whether old or young. He is the root of our victory, my son, and he is likewise the root of our defeat. In this rests our lives, our kingdom, being and non-being, happiness and unhappiness."
d5907131ace7 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:17:17 AM UTC
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In this chapter the peace negotiations finally give way to the organizing of war. The Pandavas choose their military leader not out of pride but through counsel, experience, and trust in Krishna; their advance toward Kurukshetra is then described as orderly, sacrificially prepared, and surrounded by allies. Dharma shows itself here not as a refusal to act but as the right ordering of an inevitable duty.