Shloka 42
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 54: फल्गुन-प्रतिरोधः, सौबली-व्यूह-विध्वंसः, दुर्योधन-भीष्म-संवादः
यथोक्तः स नृदेवेन विष्णुर्वज्ञभूता यथा । (बा्हस्पत्येन विधिना व्यूहमार्गविचक्षण: ।) प्रभाते सर्वसैन्यानामग्रे चक्रे धनंजयम्
sañjaya uvāca | yathoktaḥ sa nṛdevena viṣṇur vajrabhūtā yathā | (bārhaspatyena vidhinā vyūhamārgavicakṣaṇaḥ |) prabhāte sarvasainyānām agre cakre dhanañjayam |
Sañjaya said: Just as Lord Viṣṇu might be addressed by Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt, so too—after the king among men (Yudhiṣṭhira) had spoken as previously described—Dhṛṣṭadyumna, skilled in the paths of battle-formations, arranged the army’s formation at dawn according to the method taught by Bṛhaspati, and he placed Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) at the very front of all the forces.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Competent leadership in dharmic conflict requires disciplined preparation and adherence to proven counsel: the army is arranged at dawn by a commander skilled in formations, following an authoritative method (attributed to Bṛhaspati), and the foremost warrior is positioned where responsibility is greatest.
After Yudhiṣṭhira’s prior instruction, Dhṛṣṭadyumna organizes the Pandava forces into a battle-array before sunrise, using the formation-method associated with Bṛhaspati, and he stations Arjuna at the head of the combined troops.