Shloka 25

समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः

Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī

Devanagari script

ज्ञेय शतसहस््रं तु सहस्नाणि नवैव तु । नराणामपि पजञ्चाशच्छतानि त्रीणि चानघा:,निष्पाप ब्राह्मणो! एक अक्षौहिणीमें पैदल मनुष्योंकी संख्या एक लाख नौ हजार तीन सौ पचास (१,०९,३५०) जाननी चाहिये

Transliteration

jñeyaṃ śatasahasraṃ tu sahasrāṇi navaiva tu | narāṇām api pañcāśacchatāni trīṇi cānaghā ||

Translation

«Sache-le : le nombre des fantassins est de cent mille, plus neuf mille encore, et trois cent cinquante hommes de surcroît, ô toi sans tache.» Ici, l’orateur fixe la mesure canonique de l’infanterie dans une akṣauhiṇī, afin que la guerre, si elle doit être menée, soit pensée comme une entreprise réglée et comptable, non comme une violence sans bornes.

Word by Word

ज्ञेयम्to be known, should be known

शतसहस्रम्a hundred-thousand (100,000)

तुbut/indeed

सहस्राणिthousands

नवnine

एवonly/just

तुand/indeed

नराणाम्of men/foot-soldiers

अपिalso/even

पञ्चाशत्fifty

शतानिhundreds

त्रीणिthree

चand

अनघO sinless one

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Rama (as speaker label: राम उवाच)

akṣauhiṇī (implied by the explanatory note: one akṣauhiṇī’s infantry count)

narāḥ (men/foot-soldiers)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys the importance of fixed standards and clear accounting in matters as grave as warfare—armies are defined by agreed measures (here, the infantry count), implying that power should be structured and answerable rather than chaotic.

What is happening in the narrative?

A formal description of an akṣauhiṇī is being given; this line specifies the exact number of foot-soldiers (infantry) that constitute the infantry component: 100,000 + 9,000 + 350 = 109,350.