Shloka 47
उपायधर्म-सेनायोगः
Upāya-dharma and Senāyoga: Expedient Ethics & Army Deployment
संहतान् योधयेदल्पान् काम॑ विस्तारयेद् बहुन् । सूचीमुखमनीकं स्यादल्पानां बहुभि: सह
saṁhatān yodhayed alpān kāmaṁ vistārayed bahūn | sūcīmukham anīkaṁ syād alpānāṁ bahubhiḥ saha ||
毗湿摩说道：若兵力寡少，当令其紧密结阵，同心合力而战；若勇士众多，则可随意铺陈，广布于辽阔战线之上。若以少敌众，则名为“针锋阵”（Sūcīmukha，“针尖”）的战阵最为相宜——聚力成一锐尖以穿刺破敌，而非分散消耗。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches adaptive leadership in warfare: concentrate a small force into a cohesive, disciplined mass, but deploy a large force with breadth and flexibility. When outnumbered, use a formation like Sūcīmukha that focuses power into a penetrating point, minimizing the disadvantages of being few.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhishma advises the king on practical conduct of war and army deployment. Here he gives a rule-of-thumb for arranging troops based on relative numbers and recommends the Sūcīmukha formation when a smaller contingent must face a larger one.