Shloka 3
भीमसेन-दुर्योधन-प्रहारः तथा घटोत्कचमायाप्रादुर्भावः | Bhīmasena–Duryodhana Clash and the Manifestation of Ghaṭotkaca’s Māyā
ततो दुर्योधनो राजा चित्रसेनो विविंशति: । भीष्मश्न रथिनां श्रेष्ठो भारद्वाजश्न वै नूप
tato duryodhano rājā citraseno viviṁśatiḥ | bhīṣmaś ca rathināṁ śreṣṭho bhāradvājaś ca vai nṛpa naraśvara |
Sañjaya said: Then King Duryodhana, along with Citrasena and Viviṁśati, and Bhīṣma—the foremost among chariot-warriors—together with Droṇa of the Bhāradvāja lineage, prepared themselves in disciplined readiness. Armouring for battle, they began arranging the vast Kaurava host into a battle-formation to engage the Pāṇḍavas—an image of organized martial resolve set against the looming moral weight of a fratricidal war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined preparation and strategic organization in war, while implicitly reminding the listener that even orderly martial excellence operates within the heavier ethical tension of a destructive kin-war—where capability and duty (kṣatriya conduct) do not automatically resolve questions of righteousness (dharma).
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana, with key Kaurava warriors—Citrasena, Viviṁśati, Bhīṣma, and Droṇa—arm themselves and begin arranging the Kaurava forces into a battle-formation (vyūha) in order to fight the Pāṇḍavas.