Shloka 22

समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः

Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī

Devanagari script

चमूस्तु पृतनास्तिस्नस्तिस्रश्नम्बस्त्वनीकिनी । अनीकिनीं दशगुणां प्राहुरक्षौहिणीं बुधा:,तीन पृतनाकी एक “चमू”, तीन चमूकी एक “अनीकिनी” और दस अनीकिनीकी एक 'अक्षौहिणी' होती है। यह विद्वानोंका कथन है

Transliteration

camūs tu pṛtanās tisras tisraś camūs tv anīkinī | anīkinīṁ daśaguṇāṁ prāhur akṣauhiṇīṁ budhāḥ ||

Translation

Rāma said: “Three pṛtanās make one camū; three camūs make one anīkinī; and ten anīkinīs constitute an akṣauhiṇī. Thus do the learned define the graded measures of an army.”

Word by Word

चमूःarmy-division (chamū)

तुbut/and (emphatic)

पृतनाarmies, divisions (pṛtanāḥ)

तिस्रःthree

नामby name/indeed (called)

तुand/but

अनीकिनीa larger army-division (anīkinī)

अनीकिनीम्anīkinī (as object)

दशगुणाम्tenfold (having ten times)

प्राहुःthey said/declare

अक्षौहिणीम्akṣauhiṇī (a full army unit)

बुधाःthe wise/learned

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Rāma

pṛtanā

camū

anīkinī

akṣauhiṇī

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse standardizes how armies are measured in the epic tradition, grounding descriptions of war in an accepted hierarchy of units as affirmed by learned authorities (budhāḥ).

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker identified as Rāma explains the conventional composition of progressively larger military formations—pṛtanā, camū, anīkinī, and akṣauhiṇī—so later accounts of forces and battles can be understood precisely.