Shloka 4.38.30
उद्योगप्रवर्तनम् (Mobilization and Counsel on Kingship)
शतैश्शतसहस्रैश्च वर्तन्ते कोटिभिश्च प्लवङ्गमाः।अयुतैश्चावृता वीराश्शङ्कुभिश्च परन्तप ।।4.38.30।।अर्बुदैरर्बुदशतैर्मध्यैश्चान्त्यैश्च वानराः।समुद्रैश्च परार्धैश्च हरयो हरियूथपाः।।4.38.31।।आगमिष्यन्ति ते राजन्महेन्द्रसमविक्रमाः।मेरुमन्दरसङ्काशा विन्ध्य मेरुकृतालयाः।।4.38.32।।
śataiś śata-sahasraiś ca vartante koṭibhiś ca plavaṅgamāḥ |
ayutaiś cāvṛtā vīrāḥ śaṅkubhiś ca parantapa || 4.38.30 ||
arbudair arbuda-śatair madhyaiś cāntyaiś ca vānarāḥ |
samudraiś ca parārdhaiś ca harayo hari-yūthapāḥ || 4.38.31 ||
āgamiṣyanti te rājan mahendra-sama-vikramāḥ |
meru-mandara-saṅkāśā vindhya-meru-kṛtālayāḥ || 4.38.32 ||
O scorcher of foes! The hosts of the plavaṅgamas are arriving in numbers—by hundreds, by hundreds of thousands, and even by koṭis; also in ayutas and in vast, uncountable multitudes.
O scorcher of enemies! the vanara troops in hundred thousand crores, ayutas, sanku, arbuda, hundreds of arbudas, madhyas, antyas, samudras and parardhas (100000000000000000), are expected. O king ! they are residents of Vindhya and Meru mountains, comparable to lord Indra in courage and appear like mountains Meru and Mandara.
Sugriva speaks to Rama as a king bound by his word: the detailed enumeration of troops underscores a truthful assurance that help will indeed arrive, reinforcing the ethic that alliances must be upheld through honest commitment.
The hyperbolic yet purposeful counting supports the narrative dharma of protecting the righteous cause: Rama’s mission against adharma requires adequate support, and Sugriva’s pledge to mobilize an immense force frames assistance to dharma as a royal duty fulfilled through organized, collective effort.