Shloka 27
सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies
तिस्रोडन्या: समवर्तन्त वाहिन्यो भरतर्षभ । भरतश्रेष्ठ) तदनन्तर इधर-उधरसे समस्त महामना नरेशोंकी तीन अक्षौहिणी सेनाएँ और आ पहुँचीं ।। एवमेकादशावृत्ता: सेना दुर्योधनस्य ता:
tistro 'nyāḥ samavartanta vāhinyo bharatarṣabha | bharataśreṣṭha tad-anantaraṃ idhar-udharataḥ samasta-mahāmanā nareśānāṃ trayaḥ akṣauhiṇī-senāś ca samupāgaman || evaṃ ekādaśāvṛttāḥ senā duryodhanasya tāḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O bull among the Bharatas, then three more divisions of troops assembled. After that, from various directions, three akṣauhiṇīs belonging to the great-minded kings arrived as well. Thus, Duryodhana’s forces came to be complete—amounting in all to eleven akṣauhiṇīs.”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how collective ambition and political alignment rapidly consolidate into overwhelming military power; ethically, it foreshadows that when rulers prioritize victory and alliance-building over reconciliation, conflict becomes structurally inevitable.
Additional troops arrive: three more army divisions assemble, and then three akṣauhiṇīs from various great-minded kings join, bringing Duryodhana’s total force to eleven akṣauhiṇīs.