Shloka 15
Adhyāya 195 — Arjuna’s Capability and Restraint Regarding Divyāstras
Udyoga Parva
दश चाश्वसहस्राणि द्विसहस्राणि दन्तिनाम् । अयुतं च पदातीनां रथा: पठचशतं तथा
daśa cāśvasahasrāṇi dvisahasrāṇi dantinām | ayutaṃ ca padātīnāṃ rathāḥ pañcaśataṃ tathā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “There were ten thousand horses, two thousand elephants, ten thousand foot-soldiers, and likewise five hundred chariots.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war is often approached through quantifiable strength—troop counts and equipment—inviting reflection on the contrast between material power and the ethical demands of dharma that should restrain violence.
Vaiśampāyana reports a numerical description of forces—horses, elephants, infantry, and chariots—within the Udyoga Parva context of mobilization and preparation leading toward the Kurukṣetra war.