Shloka 4
व्यूढं दृष्टवा सुपर्ण तु भारद्वाजकृतं तदा । व्यूहेन मण्डलार्धेन प्रत्यव्यूहद् युधिष्ठिर:,द्रोणाचार्यके बनाये हुए गरुड़व्यूहको देखकर युधिष्ठिरने अपनी सेनाका मण्डलार्धव्यूह बनाया
sañjaya uvāca |
vyūḍhaṃ dṛṣṭvā suparṇaṃ tu bhāradvājakṛtaṃ tadā |
vyūhena maṇḍalārdhena pratyavyūhad yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing at that time the Suparṇa (Garuḍa) battle-formation arranged by Bhāradvāja (Droṇa), Yudhiṣṭhira countered it by drawing up his own forces in a half-circle formation—meeting strategy with strategy amid the demands of righteous war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even within warfare, leadership requires alertness, restraint, and proportionate response: Yudhiṣṭhira does not act rashly but counters an enemy formation with an appropriate defensive arrangement, reflecting the ethic of measured action in a dharma-framed conflict.
Droṇa (called Bhāradvāja) has arranged the Kaurava army in the Suparṇa/Garuḍa formation. Observing this, Yudhiṣṭhira organizes the Pāṇḍava forces into a maṇḍalārdha (semi-circular) formation to counter Droṇa’s tactical setup.