Shloka 1
पाण्डवसेनानायकाभिषेकः तथा बलरामागमन-उपदेशः | Appointment of Pandava Commanders and Balarama’s Counsel
भीकम (2 अमान पञ्चपञ्चाशर्दाधिकशततमो& ध्याय: दुर्योधनके द्वारा सेनाओंका विभाजन और पृथक्-पृथक् अक्षौहिणियोंके सेनापतियोंका अभिषेक वैशम्पायन उवाच व्युष्टायां वै रजन्यां हि राजा दुर्योधनस्तत: । व्यभजत् तान्यनीकानि दश चैकं च भारत,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! रात बीतनेपर जब सबेरा हुआ, तब राजा दुर्योधनने अपनी ग्यारह अक्षौहिणी सेनाओंका विभाग किया
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
vyuṣṭāyāṃ vai rajanyāṃ hi rājā duryodhanas tataḥ |
vyabhajat tāny anīkāni daśa caikaṃ ca bhārata ||
Vaiśampāyana said: When the night had passed and dawn had come, King Duryodhana then divided those battle-formations—ten and one, O Bhārata—thus organizing his forces for the coming war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that large-scale harm begins with deliberate planning: leadership decisions—how forces are organized and deployed—carry ethical responsibility, because intention and preparation are part of the moral causality of war.
At dawn, Duryodhana organizes his forces by dividing the military formations—understood in context as the arrangement of his eleven akṣauhiṇīs—preparing the Kaurava side for the impending conflict.