अनीकं दशसाहस्रं कुञ्जराणां तरस्विनाम् ॥
मागधो येन नृपतिस् तद् रथानीकम् अन्वयात् ॥
रथानां चक्ररक्षाश् च पादरक्षाश् च दन्तिनाम् ॥
अभूवन् वाहिनीमध्ये शतानाम् अयुतानि षट् ॥
पादाताश् चाग्रतो ऽगच्छन् धनुश्चर्मासिपाणयः ॥
अनेकशतसाहस्रा नखरप्रासयोधिनः ॥
अक्षौहिण्यो दशैका च तव पुत्रस्य भारत ॥
अदृश्यन्त महाराज गङ्गेव यमुनान्तरे ॥
anīkaṃ daśasāhasraṃ kuñjarāṇāṃ tarasvinām ||
māgadho yena nṛpatis tad rathānīkam anvayāt ||
rathānāṃ cakrarakṣāś ca pādarakṣāś ca dantinām ||
abhūvan vāhinīmadhye śatānām ayutāni ṣaṭ ||
pādātāś cāgrato 'gacchan dhanuścarmāsipāṇayaḥ ||
anekaśatasāhasrā nakharaprāsayodhinaḥ ||
akṣauhiṇyo daśaikā ca tava putrasya bhārata ||
adṛśyanta mahārāja gaṅgeva yamunāntare ||
The king of Magadha accompanied that chariot host with a force of ten thousand swift elephants. Amid the army were the guards of the chariot wheels and the guards of the elephants' feet — six myriads of hundreds. Ahead marched many hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers with bows, shields, and swords in hand, armed with claw-weapons and spears. The eleven akshauhinis of your son's army, O Bharata, were seen, great king, like the Ganga beside the Yamuna.
8623c360e316 · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:47:28 PM UTC
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The chapter's close renders the splendor in sheer scale: elephants, chariots, dedicated guards, and hundreds of thousands of infantry come together into eleven akshauhinis. The comparison to the Ganga and Yamuna conveys the breadth and flow of this army, but what lies ahead of it is not purification — it is collision with another river of destiny.