सञ्जय उवाच । एवमुक्त्वार्जुनः सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् । विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥ १-४७॥

Sanjaya then said - After having said all this, Arjuna in the mid of the battlefield has kept his bow and arrows aside and sat down in distress and sorrow.

Sanjaya who can be related to a a state sponsored broadcasting mechanism from the battlefield was covering everything that he viewed from the battlefield. Selection of news and the subject was solely decided by him as per his wisdom and liking when it came to what to report at what time. At this time, when Arjuna was trying to justify as to why he should not fight the battle as it would cause devastating losses on both the sides and finally when he kept his weapons aside and decided not to fight, it was an important news to be disseminated back home as it had definite psychological impact on the Kauravas. In any form of warfare, it is important to raise the morale of your own Army with positive news for them to become more vibrant and valiant.

यदि मामप्रतीकारमशस्त्रं शस्त्रपाणयः । धार्तराष्ट्रा रणे हन्युस्तन्मे क्षेमतरं भवेत् ॥ १-४६॥

Arjun continues with his narrative for avoiding war and says - Even if the sons of Dhritarashtra fully equipped with weapons kil me when I donot hold a weapon in hand, even that situation is acceptable to me.

In an attempt to create narrative to justify ones action which later would not result into ones criticism is justifiable in the Hybrid form of warfare. The basic fact that "Hybrid" involves all the faculty of war - the physical domain, the psychological domain, the diplomacy domains as well as the overt and the covert tactical domains, every aspect of war needs to be considered before stepping into one of this kind. In most modern forms of warfare, the narratives would start building up much ahead of the setting up the stage for a war because no commander would like to take blame of the death and destruction that is sure to follow as a result of the war. Social Media and other digital frameworks are the medium that would be instrumental in bouncing the information from platform to platform.

अहो बत महत्पापं कर्तुं व्यवसिता वयम् । यद्राज्यसुखलोभेन हन्तुं स्वजनमुद्यताः ॥ १-४५॥

Arjuna continues - It is a matter of grief that despite being knowledgeable about the subject of concern we are ready to commit such sin of killing our own people for the sake of kingdom.

Any form of warfare, be it the physical battle space, electronic or hybrid battlefield, there ought to be losses on both sides and therefore justification of the same at a later date post war scenario, would be a difficult proposition as many would take it as an excuse given at a later date. The commanders should therefore be completely aware regarding the losses and gains that would result from the war. Assessment of what one is willing to forego in return for the war has to be very carefully assessed. War should be resorted to only after assessment that ultimately puts you in an advantageous position which should also account for a positive perception and social acceptability in the post war-scenario. Therefore, propaganda and narratives would be an important parameter to consider as an outcome of the war

उत्सन्नकुलधर्माणां मनुष्याणां जनार्दन । नरके नियतं वासो भवतीत्यनुशुश्रुम ॥ १-४४॥

Arjuna continues - The families whose Family Dharma are destroyed they rot in the hell for ever.

All the justifications are aligned towards the process of a narrative building that the war has been imposed on Arjuna and the other Pandavas and they should not be held responsible for the ill-outcomes of the war. When the assets and the information system in the current context get altered, it is very difficult to revive and check the sanctity of the product thereafter. Since the new signature is taken as a new genuine signature of the assets, the originality is lost and it becomes difficult to predict the behaviour of the assets in the future time to come. The exposition of the systems and assets during the war enables a number of foreign systems to touch and alter the basic fabric, some are resisted by the asset while some get altered conveniently.

दोषैरेतैः कुलघ्नानां वर्णसङ्करकारकैः । उत्साद्यन्ते जातिधर्माः कुलधर्माश्च शाश्वताः ॥ १-४३॥

Arjuna continues - Due to the evils of impurity of breed the families of the corrupted ones and the caste Dharma etc get destroyed

While during any form of warfare, the destruction of assets and resources are obvious, but during this process of war, a number of stop gap arrangements are made in order to temporarily secure the assets. However, when such stop-gap arrangements are made it is likely to corrupt and alter the basic configuration of the systems thereby destroying its sanctity and integrity in the longer run. In fact at a later date since this stop gap arrangement forms part of the main system and sub system, these stop gap arrangements become inseparable from the main core assets functioning.

सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च । पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रियाः ॥ १-४२॥

Arjuna continues - The impurity in the family leads to the hell. Where there is impurity in blood, their rites like Shraadh (Paying tribute to ancestors) and Tarpan (offer water for their peace) etc are not performed due to which even our forefathers fall into hell.

As stated in the previous verse interpretation with reference to the Asset Discovery and infection, the current verse can be interpreted in continuation. When an asset is compromised through war quality payloads and malwares, it becomes difficult to identify such attack surface during war and latent malwares infected are difficult to detect leading to destruction, degradation, denial and disruption of services at a later date or then. Also, maintenance of the system becomes difficult as over time it disallows other systems to upgrade or even perform health checks of the systems. Thus, when an infection enters into the system during war, gradually it spreads to other systems and the entire eco-system is exposed to risk and hybrid warfare is no exception to it.

अधर्माभिभवात्कृष्ण प्रदुष्यन्ति कुलस्त्रियः । स्त्रीषु दुष्टासु वार्ष्णेय जायते वर्णसङ्करः ॥ १-४१॥

Arjun continues - When sins surpass levels, the ladies of the family get corrupted and destroyed. O Lord Krishna, the corrupt women produce generations of impure breed

The ladies of the family in the current interpretation may be related to assets that are kept as secrets and include various patents and trade secrets. The learning from the verse is that the wars often lead to exploitation and venturing into hidden and classified domains and accidental discovery of the same may result into wide scale damages in terms of the production of new and innovative stuffs in future. The design considerations of products are deviated when the same is exposed during the conduct of a war. Therefore, Hybrid form of warfare does provide an excuse to explore the unexplored areas of wisdom and therefore discovery of trade crafts and patents become more rampant at this stage.

कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः । धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत ॥ १-४०॥

Arjun continues - The Destruction of family line leads to the destruction of the Sanatana family Dharmas and rites which results into an increase in sins and degradation of the family

The current Shlok is more spiritual in nature, however there is a great learning from this Shloka. The control on use of weapons is ensured only such time it has not been put to use once in its life cycle. Deterrence is applicable only such time it is not tested. The threshold of triggering a war reduces drastically after a precedence is set for the war. In this verse, it has been clearly spelt out that once the rules are broken and the war is initiated, the killings of their own people , death and destruction would be a normal routine as one would just create narrative to initiate a war. Therefore, the theories of peaceful coexistence and live without fear would be a distant thought and the trigger point for such activities would be very low.

कथं न ज्ञेयमस्माभिः पापादस्मान्निवर्तितुम् । कुलक्षयकृतं दोषं प्रपश्यद्भिर्जनार्दन ॥ १-३९॥

Arjun continues - O Janardana, we clearly see the sin attached to the destruction of the dynasty that would accrue from this war, then why don't we keep off the war and not save ourselves from the sin that we are about to commit

While there is a clearcut understanding that there would be a bloodshed and unmeasurable losses to both the sides, des[pite that the war would be fought and losses incurred. What is being justified is - "Who is at fault". Arjuna is very clearly defining the contours and the outcome of the battle that is at hand, he also contemplates that the losses are far too many and the war must be avoided to save from such damages. A narrative at this stage is being set that - We are not responsible for the death and destruction that would be caused but the other side as we tried to avoid the war till last moment. In the current day war scenario, we often see such kind of narrative build ups just before the war, so that one of the outcome of the war is for sure ascertained - the Global Perception

यद्यप्येते न पश्यन्ति लोभोपहतचेतसः । कुलक्षयकृतं दोषं मित्रद्रोहे च पातकम् ॥ १-३८॥

Even if these (Kauravas) completely motivated by greed for land do not see the sin that they are committing by being instrumental in the Fratrucide and also sin for being our enemy.

Self Justification for war - As we see over the last couple of verses that Arjuna was trying to justify and spell out as to how he was not inclined to fight giving out several justifications of having been forced into war. Similar conditions exist in modern day warfare where we see both sides trying to justify as to how they are forced into war by the other side. Each of the sides try to portray their innocence and being right. We have seen the same in the recent Russia-Ukraine war where most of the social media are filled with claims and counter-claims. Hybrid Warfare therefore would have an added pillar of "Transposing of Information" to ensure that along with the might and strength of a nation, global perceptions would be an important consideration

तस्मान्नार्हा वयं हन्तुं धार्तराष्ट्रान्स्वबान्धवान् । स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव ॥ १-३७॥

Arjun says - Killing the sons of Dhritarashtra who are our own brother will not be a graceful act on our part. How shall we find happiness with blood of our own people on our hands ?

War goosebumps are every natural phenomenon and Arjuna was no exception. Just before the war, his continued arguments of justifying his acts as graceful and aligned with the right and the acts of Kauravas as that against the law and wrong is about creation of perception against the enemy and in favour of oneself. The basic fact that this attempt is being made by Arjuna at a time just before the war is set to begin, suggests that even the last thoughts before entering the war was made and thought of before going into war that was scheduled to take many lives for which the Pandavas should not be blamed. Since the destruction was slated to be huge and on the both sides, the commander abrogates himself for any sin that might appear at a later dates as an aftermath of the war.

निहत्य धार्तराष्ट्रान्नः का प्रीतिः स्याज्जनार्दन । पापमेवाश्रयेदस्मान्हत्वैतानाततायिनः ॥ १-३६॥

Arjun justifying his decision not to fight says to Lord Krishna - "Even if we kill al the sons of Dhritarashtra, what happiness would it bring to us. By killing these tyrants we would only become a bigger sinner.."

Emotion Weakens (Clouding of Ethos) - A number of reasons being put forward by Arjuna is reflective of the fact that no body actually wants to take the onus of the war and the destruction and devastation that it carries on both the sides. Each of the sides try to justify that it is not them who are the causative factor for the war. Both the sides wish to portray and generate a sentiment that they have been forced into the war and any death, destruction and devastation is due to the issues created and caused by the other side. This, in the Hybrid form of warfare is greatly utilized in the modern day context. During the war, whole of efforts to malign and create misinformation around the basic cause of war can easily be seen on social media and fast propagating mediums, mostly created as a part of the statecraft.

एतान्न हन्तुमिच्छामि घ्नतोऽपि मधुसूदन । अपि त्रैलोक्यराज्यस्य हेतोः किं नु महीकृते ॥ १-३५॥

Arjun justifying his decision not to fight says to Lord Krishna - "Even if they kill me, even for all the three worlds in exchange, I donot want to kill them and just for this Earth the question of killing them does not arise at all."

Emotion Weakens (Clouding of Ethos) - The wars are normally fought with a return in mind. No wars are fought in the world if there are no motives of getting back something in return - be it the older wars of the past or the latest in the century around "Oil and Natural Gas" or like wise. Wars have wide scale sacrifices on both the sides and therefore the evaluation of the same is an important consideration, but these are exercises to be done before declaring war and are not a subject of discussion while at war. The justification at this point coming from Arjuna only defines that some sense of fear is setting in within him, but as would be evident later - Krishna is not worried about the outcome and losses during the war, because he is above all the wars. In the current world order too, these kinds of dynamics can be seen, where there are select few nations who benefit and gain both ways during wars.

आचार्याः पितरः पुत्रास्तथैव च पितामहाः । मातुलाः श्वशुराः पौत्राः श्यालाः सम्बन्धिनस्तथा ॥ १-३४॥

Arjuna continues identifying the teachers, elders, uncles, sons, paternal and maternal grandfathers, maternal uncles, father-in-law, grandsons, brother-in-law and other relatives.

Emotion Weakens (Clouding of Ethos) - In the battlefield when casualties that would accrue become visible and fathomable, best of the warriors start losing faith in their strengths and might and begin to start looking for alternatives to the war as the wars are always uncertain and what is certain is the death and destruction on both the sides. At this time, the commanders become weak and start justifying as to how the war would be disastrous for all. Such kinds of strategies are normally adopted by the weaker side who by all means try to evade the situation of a war. The emotional cards often lead to a sympathetic eco system and therefore many a times may lead to strategic and diplomatic win

येषामर्थे काङ्क्षितं नो राज्यं भोगाः सुखानि च । त इमेऽवस्थिता युद्धे प्राणांस्त्यक्त्वा धनानि च ॥ १-३३॥

All those people for whom we wish kingdom, luxuries, happiness etc are here in the battle field for fighting war and have given up hope for life and wealth.

Emotion Weakens (Clouding of Ethos) - Wars lead to destruction on both sides and therefore a thought about the losses and gains that may accrue as a result of war is very natural. The war commander often evaluates the pros and cons of the war and the destruction that it is likely to cause, but when the war field is set and a trigger is expected, thinking about losses and gains during warfare is undesirable. These are somethings that need to be care of much ahead of the setting up of stage of war. Retracting and moving backward at this stage is cowardice and is often taken as a weakness of the force and therefore once decided about the war, it must be fought valiantly and not get emotionally weak by thoughts of losses and benefits.

न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च । किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा ॥ १-३२॥

O Krishna, I donot want to be victorious, nor do I wish to have the kingdom and luxuries. What is the use of such kingdom, luxuries or life ?

Emotion Weakens (Clouding of Ethos) - More and more you start getting emotionally charged in the battlefield, more you start getting clogged with ideas and thoughts that deter you from giving a tough fight during the battle. While the battlefield is all set, one must generate ideas that cause force multiplier to the moral and ethos of your forces with a singular aim of winning the war. The evaluation in terms of its results and returns are somethings that need to be carefully evaluated before the stage is set for the war and not during the war. More and more one starts dwelling into these aspects, the clouding of thoughts begin and the warrior goes into a dilemma of fighting or not fighting the war - which is detrimental to the morale of the forces.

निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव । न च श्रेयोऽनुपश्यामि हत्वा स्वजनमाहवे ॥ १-३१॥

O Keshava, I see all unfavourable signs. I donot see any good in killing own people in the battle.

Fear of Losses in the Battlefield - When the battle field is all set and the warriors are facing each other, thinking beyond at times culminates into weaknesses. Fear of losing some of the most loved ones as a collateral damage accruing out of the war may take the front seat and such emotions and love for the assets that may become the victims of war make the commander weak. In an attempt to somehow protect them by even migrating from your own strategies may lead to a disastrous planning and therefor, when the battlefield is set, there is no room for emothions thereafter.

गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्चैव परिदह्यते । न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मनः ॥ १-३०॥

Arjuna said -My bow is slipping from my hand and I am burning and am not able to stand any more. My mind is not stable.

Emotion in Karmabhoomi weakens - Emotions are the natural character of a human being, though, while at work, it makes you weak and non-responsive to situations. Looking at the members of his own family ready to fight him in the battlefield, Arjuna gets emotionally charged and it results into weakening of his mind and makes him unstable. Strength and the might of a human reduces drastically when taken over by emotions and empathy in the battlefield.

अर्जुन उवाच । दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् ॥ १-२८॥ सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति । वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ॥ १-२९॥

Arjuna said - O Lord Krishna, Seeing my near and dears present here, eager and ready to fight me, my limbs are trembling and my mouth drying up. I am getting goosebumps

Place for Emotion in War - In an event of a war, the war commanders may face a situation wherein they find one of their assets changing sides and some of their most trusted systems and assets may become rogue and confront you as an opponent. The emotionally charged environment may make one weak as it takes time to realize that your own systems are now playing against you and the mere fear of losing such assets and systems begin to get heavy on your heart. One must realize that the war is the actual calibrator of your friends and foes in the real time and therefore one must learn to accept it.

श्वशुरान्सुहृदश्चैव सेनयोरुभयोरपि । तान्समीक्ष्य स कौन्तेयः सर्वान्बन्धूनवस्थितान् । कृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत् ॥ १-२७॥

Father in law and well wishers in the armies of both the sides - seeing all of the near and dear, the son of Kunti (Arjun) was grieved with compassion

Place for Emotion in War - As would be evident soon when Lord Krishna would explain further in the context that there is no place for emotion while at war. Its the business of war and winning at any cost even if it means collateral damages on ones side. The damages in war are called "Sacrifice" and therefore it must be made to win over wars. Emothinal attachments makes one weak and can further lead to more damages than expected. A tough stand against the right and committment therefore is required in a war rather than compassion and emotion.

तत्रापश्यत्स्थितान्पार्थः पितॄनथ पितामहान् । आचार्यान्मातुलान्भ्रातॄन्पुत्रान्पौत्रान्सखींस्तथा ॥ १-२६॥

Then, Partha (Another name for Arjuna) saw present there uncles, grand fathers, elders, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers a, sons, gradsons and friends

Collateral Assets - Any form of war results into collateral damages on both the sides. Arjuna while identifying his relatives and friends on the other side was starting to get emotional towards the subjects. Identifying the collateral damages that are likely to happen also lets one evaluate the feasibility of the war with respect to the losses that would accrue over the gains from the war. The return on the collateral damages help you decide whether or not the war is inevitable. Therefore, in modern form of warfare too one must identify the losses that would come one's way as an outcome to the war, which could be on several fronts - financial, economic, well being of people, diplomatic, Psychology and many such fronts.

भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतः सर्वेषां च महीक्षिताम् । उवाच पार्थ पश्यैतान्समवेतान्कुरूनिति ॥ १-२५॥

Lorn Krishna told Arjuna - Look at the large Kaurava dynasty kings mainly led by Bhishma and Drona

Enemy Identification and Marking - While in the battlefield, one must know his army and its strength, an equally important factor is to know your enemy's strength and weaknesses. By re-iterating the fact that Dronacharya and Bhisma are the main pillars of the enemy force apart from other Kaurava dynasty kings suggest that the battle could be easily won if one finds a way to break or dent these pillars, therefore Aruja was time and again reminded of his target by Lord Krishna so that his focus remains on the main pillars of the enemy forces in order to take all measures to dent the same.

सञ्जय उवाच । एवमुक्तो हृषीकेशो गुडाकेशेन भारत । सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये स्थापयित्वा रथोत्तमम् ॥ १-२४॥

Sanjay (the narrator) then said - After Arjuna spoke to Lord Krishna, he placed the finest of the chariot in mid of the two armies

Clarity of Command - A clear understanding between the warrior and the navigator is an essential ingredient of a battlefield. The clarity of thought is very important in a battlefield, however it is equally important to convey the same with clarity to the subjects that are to deal with war. Positioning of Arjuna's chariot at the appropriate place for taking a realistic estimation of the battlefield was the responsibility of Lord Krishna as his "Sarathi" and therefore the synchronization between the command and execution as well as understanding of the motives behind move must be adequately and properly communicated for fine execution of battlefield plans.

योत्स्यमानानवेक्षेऽहं य एतेऽत्र समागताः । धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्बुद्धेर्युद्धे प्रियचिकीर्षवः ॥ १-२३॥

Arjuna continues - Let me see as to who all have assembled here and would be fighting on the side of the evil minded Duyodhana to please him.

Asset Marking - It is evident that there would be a number of latent assets that would get exposed at the time of battle. It is important to mark those assets at such time. Arjuna knew all the warriors from the other side who were all related to him, despite that he needed to identify as to who were the assets that sided with the enemy at the time of test. War time actually lets you identify and distinguish between friends and foes and therefore it becomes an opportunity for clearly characterizing assets in terms of its quality.

यावदेतान्निरीक्षेऽहं योद्धुकामानवस्थितान् । कैर्मया सह योद्धव्यमस्मिन् रणसमुद्यमे ॥ १-२२॥

Arjuna said to Lord Krishna to place his chariot in the mid of the two armies so that he can see all those desirous of figthing him. He also requests Lord Krishna to suggest him as to who he should fight with.

Enemy Engagement Planning - The basic fact that Arjuna was desirous of seeing as to who all are desirous of fighting him and who he himself should engage with during the battle suggests that picking up the target for scuttle is also a strategic decision to be made. Not all targets are worthy of engaging with while one looks at his own might and capabilities. One must choose the targets that are comparable and worthy of being engaged and not waste time and energy on those targets that can be dealt with smaller usage of power and weapons. Selection of weapons as well as targets are therefore a subject of careful consideration.

अर्जुन उवाच । सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये रथं स्थापय मेऽच्युत ॥ १-२१॥

Arjuna said - O Achyuta (another name for Shri Krishna), please take my chariot in the middle of the two armies.

Situational Awareness - A holistic view of the battlefield is a necessity in all modern forms of warfare. It not only provides a wholesome view of the weapons and the assets but also gives an ability to the commander to ascertain the matching components on the two sides that must be confronted together. By placing himself in the mid of the battlefield, Arjuna wanted to have the macro view of the two sides where he could compare the forces together and understand what is to come from where. Also, the strike ranges, the lethality of the weapons and the abilities of various commanders would be easily estimated so that the war may be fought efficiently and effectively

अथ व्यवस्थितान्दृष्ट्वा धार्तराष्ट्रान् कपिध्वजः । प्रवृत्ते शस्त्रसम्पाते धनुरुद्यम्य पाण्डवः । हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते ॥ १-२०॥

Thereupon, looking at the situation of the sons of Dhritarashtra, Arjuna, who had Lord Hanuman on his flag, just before releasing his arrows spoke to Lord Krishna

Commitments and Approvals - In the modern form of warfare where causalities are to be mutual, it is important to evaluate both pros and cons before the war begins. Both the sides must be ready to take a toll and therefore the commanders final go ahead must be ensured so that one is clear about the outcome - both favorable as well as unfavorable. Also, the resolve and commitment to take on the war with all its losses and gains put together is an important call to make and therefore must be carefully analyzed and approached

स घोषो धार्तराष्ट्राणां हृदयानि व्यदारयत् । नभश्च पृथिवीं चैव तुमुलोऽभ्यनुनादयन् ॥ १-१९॥

The sounds of the conchshells blown by the Pandavas and their allies resonated both on the Earth as well as the Sky. The great sound thus produced shatterred the hearts of the sons of Dhritarashtra

Psychological Pressure - The battles are normally fought with might of an Army, however a major factor for winning a war is the morale of the forces. Building up Psychological Pressure on the opposite Army, not only reduces the morale of the opposing Army but puts them under tremendous amount of pressure that reduces the ability of the brain to think optimally, thereby taking sub-optimal decisions during the war. While raising the morale of ones own Army through blowing of conchshells and presenting the great warriors on ones side, shattering the morale of the opposing Army is equally important in war.

काश्यश्च परमेष्वासः शिखण्डी च महारथः । धृष्टद्युम्नो विराटश्च सात्यकिश्चापराजितः ॥ १-१७॥ द्रुपदो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्वशः पृथिवीपते । सौभद्रश्च महाबाहुः शङ्खान्दध्मुः पृथक्पृथक् ॥ १-१८॥

The King of Kashi, an excellent Archer, Shikhandi - a mighty commander, Dhrishtadyumn, Virata, Satyaki - the unconquered, Drupad and the sons of Draupadi, son of Shubhadra (Abhimanyu) armed heavily - blew their respective conchshells

Chain of Command - Blowing of their respective conchshells is indicative of establishment of a clear identification of the respective leaders in their domains. The leaders who blew their conchshells had an active role to play in the battlefield and had in the past exhibited and established TRUST with the Pandavas. King Virata was the one who helped Pandavas hide during their AGYAATVAAS period and hence had exhibited high levels of integrity towards the Pandavas.

अनन्तविजयं राजा कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिरः । नकुलः सहदेवश्च सुघोषमणिपुष्पकौ ॥ १-१६॥

The son of Kunti - King Yudhisthir blew his conchshell named ANANTVIJAYA, Nakula and Sahdeva blew the Sughosha and Manipushpaka

Chain of Command - In order to establish a clear chain of command in the battlefield, all the warrior kings blew their respective conchshells to ascertain their prowess in their respective domains. ANATVIJAYA means "An Unending Victory". By blowing Anantvijaya, Yudhisthir probably wished to raise the morale of his people that since he is attributed with an unending victory, people on his side must stay ensured of their victory. SUGHOSH means "making a pleasant sound" probably signifies that one must not worry and stay assured of their victory with so many strong warriors on their side, they must be relaxed. MANIPUSHPAKA means 'bracelet studded with jewels' signifies that the war would result into prosperity and wealth for all and therefore, all the systems must fight their respective part with ethos and interests.

पाञ्चजन्यं हृषीकेशो देवदत्तं धनञ्जयः । पौण्ड्रं दध्मौ महाशङ्खं भीमकर्मा वृकोदरः ॥ १-१५॥

Shri Krishna blew his PANCHJANYA, Arjuna his DEVDUTTA and Bheema sounded his great conchshell PONDRAM PANCHJANYA is the divine conch that emerged from the Samudra Manthan by the gods and the demons. Lord Vishnu received the conch and is a fire-emanating conch that means - "Possessing Control over the five classes of beings" (Lord Vishnu, Sun|Moon, Varuna-the god of waters, Prajapati-progenitor of all beings and river goddess Ganga and Saraswati)

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE - Over the next five Shlokas we would find that a reference of all the conches blown by respective players are elaborated. Every conchshell had some significance and reflects unique positioning in the battlefield. It probably reflects the respective areas of control and identification of the leader in those sectors or domains. Blowing of Conchshells in the current context can be viewed as the CLARITY OF LEADERSHIP and chain of commands in the battlefield so that it can eliminate the possibility of creation of a Fog of War.

ततः श्वेतैर्हयैर्युक्ते महति स्यन्दने स्थितौ । माधवः पाण्डवश्चैव दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतुः ॥ १-१४॥

Thereafter, Madhava(Krishna) and sons of Pandu(Pandavas) riding great chariots yoked with white horses also blew their divine conches.

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE - When the commander tries to enhance the morale of his own Army and psychologically win over the opposite side , it is important for the other side to try and undo the Psychological impact caused to his own army as well as negate the morale of the other side. Therefore, it is seen that before setting up the stage in the modern forms of warfare, a narrative is built on the media and other social network platform regarding the respective strengths of the warring sides. Both sides try to play a win over the other depending upon the respective control that they have on the media platforms.

ततः शङ्खाश्च भेर्यश्च पणवानकगोमुखाः । सहसैवाभ्यहन्यन्त स शब्दस्तुमुलोऽभवत् ॥ १-१३॥

Thereafter,conchshells, large and small drums, kettledrums, horns etc were simultaneously blown and the combined sound of all these was great.

ASSET RESPONSE - When Bhishma roared like a lion and blew his conchshell, in response to him the other supports of his also raised the voices to reciprocate him and through this act pledged their respective supports to him. Similarly in the hybrid battlefield, a re-assurance must come from all quarters and sectors of economy regarding their preparedness for war. The hybrid wars rest their assumptions on multiple pillars where a cascading effect is caused by deploying each of the sector at the opportune time. Therefore health check and re-assurance from all the assets have to be perfected and duly tested regarding their response and lethality.

तस्य सञ्जनयन्हर्षं कुरुवृद्धः पितामहः । सिंहनादं विनद्योच्चैः शङ्खं दध्मौ प्रतापवान् ॥ १-१२॥

In order to raise the moral and enthuse Duryodhan, Dronacharya who was the eldest among the Kauravas, roared like a lion and blew his conchshell.

ASSET RESPONSE - While the assets and the infrastructures that are to be deployed during the war are important to be listed, the response of the assets regarding their preparedness and readiness for the war is essential to be captured. Therefore, while one prepares an asset for war fighting, one must along side prepare a mechanism by which a health check of the assets can be done to ensure that the asset would contribute positively during the war fighting.

अयनेषु च सर्वेषु यथाभागमवस्थिताः । भीष्ममेवाभिरक्षन्तु भवन्तः सर्व एव हि ॥ १-११॥

Duryodhana takes assurances from Dronacharya that since the Kauravas Army is protected by Bhishma and therefore all must stay at their respective positions and protect Bhishma.

REASSURANCES - While it is understood that a battle is set with a view to create and deploy strategies best suited to winning the battle, it is equally important to re-establish faith and trust in the assets that one possesses. The re-assurance check sometimes can give out the vulnerable positions much before it is tested in the real time scenario. Technical assets in the current world that are to be deployed in real time scenarios must have a quality check with verifiable parameters to ensure success in the real battle field.

अपर्याप्तं तदस्माकं बलं भीष्माभिरक्षितम् । पर्याप्तं त्विदमेतेषां बलं भीमाभिरक्षितम् ॥ १-१०॥

Duryodhan estimates the overall strength of his army and says - Our Army is invincible as it is protected by Bhishma. On the other side, Pandavas Army has the protection of Bheema who can be tackled easily

ESTIMATON OF STRENGTH - The next important aspect in a hybrid battlefield is to do a careful estimation of ones strength. It is important to have a very careful estimation at this juncture and compare the comparables rather than estimating strengths on the basis of comparison of non-comparables. In the curent case, Bhishma compared to Bheem is an example of a faulty assessment and estimation. It is therefore important to compare the respective strengths of the domain on the basis of the comaparable parameters of the similar or identical domains on the other side. Bhishma and Bheem had no similarity - neither in terms of their might nor in terms of their weapons in hand and therefore led to a faulty assessment of the outcome of the war.

अन्ये च बहवः शूरा मदर्थे त्यक्तजीविताः । नानाशस्त्रप्रहरणाः सर्वे युद्धविशारदाः ॥ १-९॥

Duryodhana goes on defining his strengths to Dronacharya and says that there are many other heroes apart from the main ones who are determined to lay their lives for his sake and are all armed with various weapons, very well skilled in the battlefield

KNOW YOURSELF - Defining the contours of the war as well as the assets that enable or are likely to enable victory in the war is to be identified prior to the setting up of the battlefield. The assets, their abilities both to defend and offend, react to situations as it may set in, as well as the intentions of the assets to be a support during the battle is what adds to your reflective database while in the zone of conflicts.

भवान्भीष्मश्च कर्णश्च कृपश्च समितिञ्जयः । अश्वत्थामा विकर्णश्च सौमदत्तिस्तथैव च ॥ १-८॥

Duryodhan continues identiying his own strenghts and briefs Dronacharya that the warriors on his side include Dronacharya himself, Bhishma, Karna, Kripacharya who has always been victorious in war, Ashwatthama, Vikarna and also the son of Somadatta. The interesting fact here was that the son of Somdatta - Bhurishrava was a great warrior and a natural ally to the Kauravas as their animosity against Yadavas and Vrishni (helped Vasudeva against Somadatta) go back from the date of the Swayamvar of Devaki who marrier Vasudeva - Krishna's father. On the 14th day of the war, when Arjuna was busy fighting to kill Jayadratha, Bhurishrava driven by his old desire to avenge his father's defeat went that extra mile to fight Satyaki (Vrishni Prince) and killed his ten sons before his hand was chopped off by Arjuna

KNOW YOURSELF - Identification of the assets that are naturally justifiable as ally or resources need to be identified during war. While symmetric resources are required for the matching of weaponry in the battlefield, there are great usages of asymmtric resources that are not merely driven by their strengths but also driven by other factors such as emotions, revenge and other non-tangible factors that act as catalyst in the war. Therefore usage of natural enemies to the enemy force in the right way and time definitely has asymmetric and extraordinary advantages in the battlefield.

अस्माकं तु विशिष्टा ये तान्निबोध द्विजोत्तम । नायका मम सैन्यस्य संज्ञार्थं तान्ब्रवीमि ते ॥ १-७॥

Duryodhan continues - Among us too there are many valiant warriors and generals that you (Dronacharya) must take note of and I would list them for you

KNOW Yourself - While one must understand the strengths and weaknesses of the foe, it is equally important to match your own strength against the enemy strength. This matching plays two folds - On one side, it helps you understand as to what needs to be done to nullify the strengths of your enemy force and on the other hand it helps you understand as to how one would leverage on their own strength to inflict asymmetric damages in the battlefield. Also, it keeps the ethos of the allies high

युधामन्युश्च विक्रान्त उत्तमौजाश्च वीर्यवान्‌ । सौभद्रो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्व एव महारथाः ॥

The strong Yudhamanyu, the brave Uttamauja, sons of Subhadra and Draupadi are all the divisional commanders

KNOW Your Enemy - Yudhamanyu and Uttamauja were the body guards of Arjuna during the battle. During the war they acted like a firewall to access to Arjuna and therefore formed the first core security periphery to Arjuna. Knowing the features, weaknesses and strengths of the access control system and the security architecture around the main enemy assets therefore is important parameter to consider during war.

धृष्टकेतुश्चेकितानः काशिराजश्च वीर्यवान्‌ । पुरुजित्कुन्तिभोजश्च शैब्यश्च नरपुङवः ॥

Duryodhana continued identifying - Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, and the valiant king of Kashi, Purujit and Kuntibhoja and Saibya as the best of men.

KNOW Your Enemy - A careful assessment of the forces including assets that are vulnerable and could be exploited is very important in a hybrid battlefield. Dhrishtaketu was son of Shishupal who was slained by Krishna but was on the sides of Pandavas. A weakness of the system, even if patched is a likely candidate for re-exploitation and therefore a system breached once needs to be assessed periodically

अत्र शूरा महेष्वासा भीमार्जुनसमा युधि । युयुधानो विराटश्च द्रुपदश्च महारथः ॥ १-४॥

In this large and impressinve army of Pandavas there are archers with great bows and includes many warriors a mighty as Bheema and Arjuna. Among them are Satyaki, Virata, Chariot -borne King Drupada

KNOW Your Enemy - While assessing the strengths of the opposing party one must identify the critical pillars, dent on which shall cause decisive damage to the enemy structures. Asymmetric battles are won by damaging the enemy with least effort and self-damage and therefore the dent on a critical infrastrucure (Pillar) is what causes the systems to collapse as a cascading effect

पश्यैतां पाण्डुपुत्राणामाचार्य महतीं चमूम्‌ व्यूढां द्रुपदपुत्रेण तव शिष्येण धीमता ॥ १-3॥

Duryodhan asked Dronacharya to see the ring shaped formation of the Pandava that was created by his own disciple - son of Drupad - Dhrishtadyumn

As a part of the "Know Your Enemy", the first introduction of the strength of the enemy force is with reference to the shape, expanse and strucutre. Introduction of Dhrishtadyumn as the first actor in this sequence explains the importance of the SUPPLY CHAIN. Dhrishtadyumn being the integrator of the forces, therefore forms an important part of the entire supply chain and therefore the strength and the vulnerability of the INTEGRATOR is the first call for assessement of the strength and weaknesses of the enemy.

सञ्जय उवाच । दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा । आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत् ॥ १-२॥

Sanjay Spoke - After seeing the battle formations of the Pandavas, Duryodhan (the son of Dhritarashtra) briefed Guru Drona and explained the structure along with their introductions

First hand assessment of the battlefield is a must in any forms of warfare. It enables the warriors to re-align and make adjustments to their battle field strategies. It is important for the stake holder (Duryodhan) to completely align the leader of the team with what is needed to be done after carefully assessing the respective strengths of the two warring groups.

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच । धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः । मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥ १-१॥

Dhritrashtra asked his minister Sanjaya , O Sanjaya, What are my sons and sons of Pandu are doing who have gathered in the HOLY grond of Kurukshetra ?

Ability to view events remotely Existence of Specialists for Vision Real time assessment of the situation Communication Abilities Trust and Credibility of Media (Sanjaya as a Media Anchor) Selective Dissemination of Information. These are some of the very important aspects of any form of warfare and has a decisive role to play in future battlefields