Shloka 26
पाण्डवसेनानायकाभिषेकः तथा बलरामागमन-उपदेशः | Appointment of Pandava Commanders and Balarama’s Counsel
एवं व्यूढान्यनीकानि कौरवेयेण धीमता । अक्षौहिण्यो दशैका च संख्याता: सप्त चैव ह
evaṁ vyūḍhāny anīkāni kauraveyeṇa dhīmatā | akṣauhiṇyo daśaikā ca saṅkhyātāḥ sapta caiva ha ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: So ordnete der kluge Sohn der Kuru-Linie (Duryodhana) seine Schlachtaufstellungen in gereihter Ordnung. Auf dem Feld von Kurukṣetra ergaben „zehn und eins“—zusammen mit „sieben“—achtzehn akṣauhiṇī versammelter Truppen; dies kennzeichnet die ungeheure Größe des heraufziehenden Krieges und das schwere moralische Gewicht, den Konflikt der Versöhnung vorzuziehen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the immense, organized mobilization for war—implying that when leaders choose hostility over reconciliation, the resulting conflict becomes vast and morally weighty, affecting countless lives.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Duryodhana has arranged the Kaurava forces in battle formations, and the total forces gathered at Kurukṣetra are counted as eighteen akṣauhiṇīs (eleven on one side and seven on the other).