Shloka 18
Sainyavinyāsa–Lakṣaṇa (Disposition of Armies and Battlefield Omens) | सैन्यविन्यास–लक्षणम्
संव्यूह् मानुषं व्यूहं दैवं गान्धर्वमासुरम् दिवसे दिवसे प्राप्ते भीष्म: शान्तनवोडग्रणी:
saṃvyūhya mānuṣaṃ vyūhaṃ daivaṃ gāndharvam āsuram | divase divase prāpte bhīṣmaḥ śāntanavo 'grāṇīḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Raja, setiap kali hari berganti, Bhīṣma putra Śāntanu—yang terdepan di antara para pemimpin—menyusun bala Kaurava dalam formasi demi formasi: manusia, ilahi, gandharwa, dan asura. Ia berdiri di muka pasukan, menetapkan siasat hari itu, dan dengan disiplin serta daya tempur yang menggentarkan, menentukan irama perang.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined leadership and strategic order in war: day by day, the commander adapts formations to circumstances. Ethically, it underscores the kṣatriya sphere where duty is carried out through organization and resolve, even amid morally fraught conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma, leading the Kauravas, arranges the army each day in different named formations—human, divine, gandharva, and asura—taking position at the front as the battle’s guiding commander.