Shloka 25

भीष्मसेनासंनिवेशः — Bhīṣma’s Mobilization, Omens, and the Kaurava Array

Devanagari script

अनेकशतसाहस्रमनीकमनुकर्षत:

Transliteration

anekaśata-sāhasram anīkam anukarṣataḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: “The vast battle-array—numbering in many hundreds and thousands—was being drawn forward, as the host pressed on in ordered advance toward the clash of war.”

Word by Word

• अनेकशतसाहस्रम्: consisting of many hundreds and thousands (i.e., innumerable)
• अनेकशतसाहस्रम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक-शत-साहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अनीकम्: army, host, troop
• अनीकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनीक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अनुकर्षत्: drew along, dragged, led after (him)
• अनुकर्षत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-√कृष्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• anīka (army/battle-array)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the immense scale and disciplined movement of the armies, highlighting how collective action and martial order propel events in a dharmic crisis—where duty and consequence unfold through organized human effort.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield situation: a very large military formation is being drawn forward/advancing, indicating the armies closing in and the confrontation intensifying.