Shloka 43
उपायधर्म-सेनायोगः
Upāya-dharma and Senāyoga: Expedient Ethics & Army Deployment
अग्रतः पुरुषानीकमसिचर्मवतां भवेत् । पृष्ठठ: शकटानीकं कलत्र॑ मध्यतस्तथा
agratāḥ puruṣānīkam asi-carmavatāṁ bhavet | pṛṣṭhataḥ śakaṭānīkaṁ kalatraṁ madhyatas tathā ||
Bhishma dit : « À l’avant, qu’on place une avant-garde d’hommes portant épées et boucliers. À l’arrière, qu’on poste la garde des chariots. Et au milieu, de même, qu’on tienne les femmes de la maison royale. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler/commander must arrange protection ethically: place trained armed defenders at the front, secure logistics and the rear with a wagon-guard, and keep vulnerable dependents—here, the royal women—safely in the center. It expresses rājadharma as responsibility and prioritization of protection.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on rājadharma and practical governance. Here he gives a concrete guideline for organizing a marching or battle formation: vanguard of sword-and-shield men, rear guarded by wagons, and the household women positioned in the protected middle.