Shloka 16
Sainyavinyāsa–Lakṣaṇa (Disposition of Armies and Battlefield Omens) | सैन्यविन्यास–लक्षणम्
साग्रं शतसहस््रं तु नागानां तव भारत । नागे नागे रथशतं शतमश्चा रथे रथे,भारत! आपकी सेनामें एक लाखसे अधिक हाथी थे। एक-एक हाथीके साथ सौ-सौ रथ थे और एक-एक रथके साथ सौ-सौ घोड़े थे
sāgraṁ śatasahasraṁ tu nāgānāṁ tava bhārata | nāge nāge rathaśataṁ śatamaś ca rathe rathe ||
Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, your army had a little more than a hundred thousand elephants. With each elephant there were a hundred chariots, and with each chariot a hundred horses.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the vastness of material and military power, implicitly setting the stage for the Mahābhārata’s ethical inquiry: even overwhelming force does not guarantee righteousness or victory when dharma is compromised.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Bhārata) the scale and structure of his forces, enumerating elephants and their associated chariots and horses as part of the broader description of the armies assembled for battle.