Shloka 12
अब्रवीत क्षत्रियांस्तत्र धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर: । अभिद्रवत संयत्ता: कुम्भयोनिं महारथा:
abravīt kṣatriyāṁs tatra dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | abhadravata saṁyattāḥ kumbhayoniṁ mahārathāḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Là, le roi Yudhiṣṭhira—gardien du dharma—s’adressa aux kṣatriyas rassemblés : « Foncez, tout armés, contre Kumbhayoni (Droṇa) ! » Ainsi exhorta-t-il les grands combattants de char à avancer, donnant à l’ordre de bataille la forme d’un devoir dicté par le dharma au cœur des dures nécessités de la guerre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a ruler famed for dharma must sometimes issue severe commands in war; the verse highlights the kṣatriya obligation to act decisively while keeping the moral weight of such action in view through Yudhiṣṭhira’s epithet ‘Dharmarāja’.
Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the warriors and orders them—fully armed and ready—to charge against Droṇa, here called Kumbhayoni, urging the great chariot-fighters to press the attack.