Shloka 12
Droṇa–Arjuna Yuddha; Trigarta-Āvaraṇa; Bhīmasena Gajānīka-bheda
Droṇa and Arjuna Engage; Trigarta Containment; Bhīma Breaks the Elephant Corps
अर्जुनेन यमाभ्यां वा भीमसेनेन वा पुन: । राजधर्म पुरस्कृत्य राजा राजानमारछति
sañjaya uvāca |
arjunena yamābhyāṃ vā bhīmasenena vā punaḥ |
rājadharmaṃ puraskṛtya rājā rājānam ārcchati |
kathayāmāsa durdharṣo viniḥśvasya punaḥ punaḥ |
Sañjaya sprach: „Ob gegen Arjuna, oder gegen die Zwillingssöhne Yamas (Nakula und Sahadeva), oder auch gegen Bhīmasena—unter Wahrung der Königspflicht soll ein König nur einen König zum Gegner haben.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds rājadharma: in warfare, a king should uphold royal propriety—ideally confronting an equal (another king) rather than violating the ethical hierarchy of combat. It frames battle not merely as force, but as conduct governed by duty.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana, distressed and repeatedly sighing, approaches Bhīṣma and recounts events of the war, invoking the principle of rājadharma while speaking about whom one should properly fight—Arjuna, the twins Nakula-Sahadeva, or Bhīma—yet emphasizing that a king should meet a king.