Shloka 226
सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies
स च सम्प्राप्य कौरव्यं तत्रैवान्तर्दधे तदा । राजन! कम्बोजनरेश सुदक्षिण भी यवनों और शकोंके साथ एक अक्षौहिणी सेना लिये दुर्योधनके पास आया। उसका सैन्य-समूह टिड्डियोंके दल-सा जान पड़ता था। वह सारा सैन्य-समुदाय कौरव-सेनामें आकर विलीन हो गया
sa ca samprāpya kauravyaṃ tatraivāntardadhe tadā | rājan! kambojanareśaḥ sudakṣiṇaḥ saha yavanaiḥ śakaiś caikākṣauhiṇīṃ senām ādāya duryodhanam upāgamat | tasya sainyasamūhas tu ṭiḍḍikādalasaṃnibhaḥ pratibhāti sma | sa sarvaḥ sainyasamudāyaḥ kauravasenāyām āgatya vilīnaḥ ||
Having reached the Kaurava prince, he then disappeared there itself. O King, the Kamboja ruler Sudakṣiṇa came to Duryodhana, bringing with him a full akṣauhiṇī of troops along with Yavanas and Śakas. His massed host looked like a swarm of locusts. That entire ocean of soldiers, arriving, merged into the Kaurava army.
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how large-scale violence is enabled by accumulating alliances and manpower; when leaders pursue power without dharmic restraint, even distant groups are drawn in, and the conflict swells beyond control—symbolized by the army merging into the Kaurava host like a vast, consuming tide.
In Udyoga Parva’s war-preparation sequence, the Kamboja king Sudakṣiṇa arrives to support Duryodhana, accompanied by Yavanas and Śakas and bringing an entire akṣauhiṇī. His troops appear innumerable like locusts, and they join the Kaurava forces, increasing Duryodhana’s military strength.