Shloka 28
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
एतया संख्यया हासन् कुरुपाण्डवसेनयो: । अक्षौहिण्यो द्विजश्रेष्ठा: पिण्डिताष्टादशैव तु,श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणो! इसी गणनाके अनुसार कौरव-पाण्डव दोनों सेनाओंकी संख्या अठारह अक्षौहिणी थी
etayā saṅkhyayā hāsan kurupāṇḍavasenayoḥ | akṣauhiṇyo dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ piṇḍitā aṣṭādaśaiva tu ||
हे द्विजश्रेष्ठ! या गणनेनुसार कौरव आणि पांडव—दोन्हींच्या सेना मिळून अठरा अक्षौहिणी होत्या.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the immense, formally organized scale of the impending conflict—eighteen akṣauhiṇīs in total—inviting reflection on the ethical weight of war and the responsibility of rulers when violence is systematized and magnified.
The speaker addresses a brāhmaṇa/sage and concludes a numerical reckoning of forces, stating that the combined Kuru and Pāṇḍava armies amounted to eighteen akṣauhiṇīs, thereby setting the stage for the magnitude of the Kurukṣetra war.