Shloka 17
Adhyāya 78 — Bhīṣma’s Advance, Duryodhana’s Rally, and Concurrent Duels (भीष्मस्याभ्युद्यमः, दुर्योधनस्योत्साहवचनम्, विविधयुद्धवर्णनम्)
कृतवर्मा तु सहित: काम्बोजवरबाद्निकै: । शिरस्यासीन्नरश्रेष्ठ: श्रेष्ठ: सर्वधनुष्मताम्,काम्बोज और बाह्लिकदेशके उत्तम सैनिकोंके साथ समस्त थधनुर्धरोंमें श्रेष्ठ नरप्रवर कृतवर्मा व्यूहके शिरोभागमें स्थित हुए
kṛtavarmā tu sahitaḥ kāmbojavarabāhlikaiḥ | śirasy āsīn naraśreṣṭhaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ sarvadhanuṣmatām ||
Sañjaya said: Kṛtavarmā, accompanied by the finest warriors of Kāmboja and Bāhlīka, took his position at the head of the battle-array. That foremost of men—renowned as the best among all archers—stood in the vanguard, embodying the Kaurava side’s deliberate ordering of force and skill as the war’s violence was methodically set in place.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war is prosecuted through disciplined organization and the placement of capable leaders; it implicitly contrasts martial excellence and strategic order with the grave ethical weight of deploying such power in a fratricidal conflict.
Sañjaya reports the Kaurava battle-array arrangement: Kṛtavarmā, supported by elite Kāmboja and Bāhlīka fighters, is stationed at the very front/head of the formation as a leading archer and commander.