Shloka 23
धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — सैन्यप्रशंसा, भेदनवृत्तान्त-प्रश्नः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Praise of the Host and Inquiry after the Breach
आचार्य द्रोणने चक्रगर्भ शकटव्यूहका निर्माण किया था, जिसकी लम्बाई बारह गव्यूति (चौबीस कोस) थी और पिछले भागकी चौड़ाई पाँच गव्यूति (दस कोस) थी ।। नानानृपतिभिवीरिस्तत्र तत्र व्यवस्थितै: । रथाश्चवगजपत्त्योघैद्रोणेन विहित: स्वयम्,यत्र-तत्र खड़े हुए अनेक नरपतियों तथा हाथीसवार, घुड़सवार, रथी और पैदल सैनिकोंद्वारा द्रोणाचार्यने स्वयं उस व्यूहकी रचना की थी
sañjaya uvāca | nānānṛpatibhir vīrais tatra tatra vyavasthitaiḥ | rathāś ca aśva-gaja-patty-oghair droṇena vihitaḥ svayam ||
Sañjaya said: With many heroic kings stationed at various points, and with dense masses of chariots, cavalry, elephants, and infantry, Droṇa himself arranged that battle-formation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how organized power and strategic intelligence can shape the battlefield; ethically, it sharpens the Mahābhārata’s recurring question: when great skill and authority are deployed in war, the moral weight depends on the cause and the adherence to dharma, not merely on competence.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa personally set up a battle-formation by positioning many kings and arranging large contingents of the fourfold army—chariots, cavalry, elephants, and infantry—at different points to create a coordinated fighting array.