Shloka 29

अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira

Devanagari script

अक्षौहिण्यो महाराज दशाष्टौ च समागता:

Transliteration

akṣauhiṇyo mahārāja daśāṣṭau ca samāgatāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana dit : «Ô roi, dix-huit akṣauhiṇīs, des divisions entières d’armée, s’étaient rassemblées pour cette guerre. Et pourtant, en dix-huit jours seulement, les plus grands champions des Kaurava—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa et d’autres—ainsi que le magnanime Karṇa, avec les héros principaux de l’armée des Pāṇḍava—Sātyaki, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Bhīmasena, Arjuna, Nakula et Sahadeva—amenèrent la ruine de tous.»

Word by Word

• अक्षौहिण्यः: armies (akṣauhiṇīs)
• अक्षौहिण्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षौहिणी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• दश: ten
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अष्टौ: eight
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• समागताः: assembled / came together
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-गम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Past passive participle (क्त)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Mahārāja (the king addressed, i.e., Janamejaya in the frame narrative)
• Kauravas
• Pāṇḍavas
• Bhīṣma
• Droṇa
• Kṛpācārya
• Karṇa
• Sātyaki
• Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• Bhīmasena
• Arjuna
• Nakula
• Sahadeva
• akṣauhiṇī (army division)
• the war (Kurukṣetra war)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the vast scale of the Kurukṣetra war and its rapid devastation, implying the fragility of worldly might and the grave ethical cost when conflict overwhelms dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana reminds the king that eighteen akṣauhiṇīs gathered for the war, and that the principal warriors on both sides—named here—were instrumental in the near-total annihilation within eighteen days.