संजय उवाच
धार्तराष्ट्राण्य् अनीकानि दृष्ट्वा व्यूढानि पाण्डवः ॥
अभ्यभाषत धर्मात्मा धर्मराजो धनंजयम् ॥
महर्षेर् वचनात् तात वेदयन्ति बृहस्पतेः ॥
संहतान् योधयेद् अल्पान् कामं विस्तारयेद् बहून् ॥
सूचीमुखम् अनीकं स्याद् अल्पानां बहुभिः सह ॥
अस्माकं च तथा सैन्यम् अल्पीयः सुतरां परैः ॥
एतद् वचनम् आज्ञाय महर्षेर् व्यूह पाण्डव ॥
तच् छ्रुत्वा धर्मराजस्य प्रत्यभाषत फल्गुणः ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
dhārtarāṣṭrāṇy anīkāni dṛṣṭvā vyūḍhāni pāṇḍavaḥ ||
abhyabhāṣata dharmātmā dharmarājo dhanaṃjayam ||
maharṣer vacanāt tāta vedayanti bṛhaspateḥ ||
saṃhatān yodhayed alpān kāmaṃ vistārayed bahūn ||
sūcīmukham anīkaṃ syād alpānāṃ bahubhiḥ saha ||
asmākaṃ ca tathā sainyam alpīyaḥ sutarāṃ paraiḥ ||
etad vacanam ājñāya maharṣer vyūha pāṇḍava ||
tac chrutvā dharmarājasya pratyabhāṣata phalguṇaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: "Having seen the arrayed forces of the sons of Dhritarashtra, the righteous-souled Dharmaraja addressed Dhananjaya: 'Dear one, by the word of the great rishi they report the counsel of Brihaspati: the few should fight massed together, while the many may be spread out at will. For the few against the many, the needle-point array is fitting; our army too is far smaller than the enemy's. Having understood this word of the maharishi, array the troops, O son of Pandu.' Hearing these words of Dharmaraja, Phalguna replied."
2d6f75a6e4c1 · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:47:28 PM UTC
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Yudhishthira acts not out of panic but through knowledge drawn from the shastras: numerical weakness calls for a different form of order. Here the dharma of the king shows itself as the capacity to accept reality, turn to knowledge, and entrust its execution to one able to act.