Shloka 20

सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies

Devanagari script

तेषामक्षौहिणी सेना बहुला विबभौ तदा

Transliteration

teṣām akṣauhiṇī senā bahulā vibabhau tadā

Translation

ແລ້ວໃນເວລານັ້ນ ກອງທັບຂອງພວກເຂົາ—ທີ່ນັບໄດ້ເປັນອັກເສົາຫິນີຄົບຖ້ວນ—ປາກົດວ່າກວ້າງໃຫຍ່ ແລະນ່າກະຫຼັ່ງກະເຫຼືອມ, ບອກເຖິງແຮງຜັກດັນທີ່ພອງພູນໄປສູ່ສົງຄາມ ແລະນ້ໍາໜັກທາງທໍາມະອັນຫນັກໜ່ວງຂອງການປະທະທີ່ກໍາລັງຈະເກີດຂຶ້ນ.

Word by Word

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, plural

• अक्षौहिणी: consisting of an akṣauhiṇī (a full army-division)
• अक्षौहिणी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षौहिणी
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• सेना: army
• सेना: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेना
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• बहुला: great, abundant, numerous
• बहुला: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहुल
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• विबभौ: shone forth, appeared splendid
• Type: Verb
• Root: भा
• Form: perfect (liṭ), 3rd, singular

• तदा: then, at that time
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

वैशमग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• akṣauhiṇī (army division)
• senā (army)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how the sheer magnitude of armed power can become a visible sign of impending adharma-driven escalation: when forces gather in overwhelming numbers, the ethical stakes intensify, and the responsibility to seek peace and restraint becomes even more urgent.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the assembled forces as an akṣauhiṇī-based host that looks immense and formidable at that moment, emphasizing the scale of mobilization as the story moves toward open conflict.