Shloka 14
Abhimanyu-śravaṇa-prastāva and Cakravyūha-vinyāsa
Prelude to Abhimanyu’s Account and the Wheel-Formation Deployment
तं च व्यूहं विधास्यामि यो<भेट्यस्त्रिदशैरपि । योगेन केनचिद् राजन्नर्जुनस्त्वपनीयताम्,“राजन! आज उस व्यूहका निर्माण करूँगा, जिसे देवता भी तोड़ नहीं सकते; परंतु किसी उपायसे अर्जुनको यहाँसे दूर हटा दो
taṃ ca vyūhaṃ vidhāsyāmi yo bhetsy astridaśair api | yogena kenacid rājann arjunas tv apanīyatām ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, I shall now arrange such a battle-formation as cannot be broken even by the gods. Yet, by some stratagem, Arjuna must be drawn away from here.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension in war between valor and stratagem: even an invincible formation is presented as effective only if the chief defender (Arjuna) is removed by some device, showing how outcomes depend not merely on strength but on calculated means—raising questions about dharma when strategy borders on deception.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhritarashtra that the Kaurava side intends to construct a formidable battle-array, said to be unbreakable even by the gods, but that its success requires first drawing Arjuna away from the main field so he cannot counter or break the formation.