Shloka 14
नृशंस-लक्षणनिर्णयः | Determining the Marks of Cruel Conduct
Nṛśaṃsa
अक्षौहिण्यो दशैका च सप्त चैव महाद्युते । बलेन न समा राजजन्नर्जुनस्य महात्मन:,महातेजस्वी नरेश! अठारह अक्षौहिणी सेनाएँ भी बलमें महात्मा अर्जुनके समान नहीं हैं
akṣauhiṇyo daśaikā ca sapta caiva mahādyute | balena na samā rājan arjunasya mahātmanaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “O mighty king, even ten and one, and seven more—indeed all eighteen akṣauhiṇīs of armies—are not equal in strength to the great-souled Arjuna.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Numerical superiority alone does not guarantee victory; concentrated excellence—skill, resolve, and righteous or divinely aligned power—can outweigh vast forces. The verse highlights the ethical lesson that true strength is qualitative, not merely quantitative.
Bhīṣma addresses a king and emphasizes Arjuna’s unmatched martial potency, declaring that even the combined strength of eighteen full army-divisions (akṣauhiṇīs) cannot equal Arjuna’s might.