Shloka 18
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 18: सेनानिनादः, ध्वज-दीप्तिः, भीष्मरक्षण-व्यवस्था च
Battle Muster: Soundscape, Banners, and the Protection of Bhīṣma
अक्षौहिण्यो दशैका च तव पुत्रस्य भारत । अदृश्यन्त महाराज गड़ेव यमुनान्तरा
sañjaya uvāca | akṣauhiṇyo daśaikā ca tava putrasya bhārata | adṛśyanta mahārāja gaṅgeva yamunāntarāḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Bharata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), wahai raja agung! Sebelas akṣauhiṇī tentera puteramu tampak seperti Sungai Gangga ketika bertemu Yamunā: suatu arus kekuatan bersenjata yang luas, berterusan, seakan-akan tidak tertahan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming concentration of worldly power (eleven akṣauhiṇīs) through a river-confluence metaphor, implicitly reminding that sheer force and numbers do not determine righteousness; the ethical weight of dharma and the results of adharma remain decisive in the epic’s moral universe.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra what is seen on the battlefield: the Kaurava host, totaling eleven akṣauhiṇīs, appears as a single immense mass—likened to the Ganga mingling with the Yamuna—emphasizing the scale and unity of the assembled army.