Akshauhini
Sign in to saveAn akshauhini ( akṣauhiṇī) is described in the Mahabharata (Adi Parva 2.15-23) as a battle formation consisting of 21,870 chariots (Sanskrit ratha); 21,870 elephants (Sanskrit gaja); 65,610 horses (Sanskrit turaga) and 109,350 infantry (Sanskrit pada sainyam). Thus one akshauhini consisted of 218,700 warriors (not including the charioteers, who didn't fight). The ratio is 1 chariot: 1 elephant: 3 cavalry: 5 infantry soldiers. In each of these large number groups (65,610, etc.), the digits add up to 18.
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Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Composition
- Kaurava army and their allies
- Pandava army and their allies
- See also
- References
An akshauhini ( akṣauhiṇī) is described in the Mahabharata (Adi Parva 2.15-23) as a battle formation consisting of 21,870 chariots (Sanskrit ratha); 21,870 elephants (Sanskrit gaja); 65,610 horses (Sanskrit turaga) and 109,350 infantry (Sanskrit pada sainyam). Thus one akshauhini consisted of 218,700 warriors (not including the charioteers, who didn't fight). The ratio is 1 chariot: 1 elephant: 3 cavalry: 5 infantry soldiers. In each of these large number groups (65,610, etc.), the digits add up to 18.
It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that in the Kurukshetra War the Pandava army consisted of seven akshauhinis (1,530,900 warriors), and the Kaurava army had eleven akshauhinis (2,405,700 warriors).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Akshauhini” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.