Mahabharata 6.121.25 — Bhishma Parva, Adhyaya 121, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

नराणां च महायुद्धे सहस्राणि चतुर्दश । दन्तिनां च सहस्राणि हयानामयुतं पुन:

Transliteration

narāṇāṁ ca mahāyuddhe sahasrāṇi caturdaśa | dantināṁ ca sahasrāṇi hayānām ayutaṁ punaḥ ||

Translation

సంజయుడు అన్నాడు—ఆ మహాయుద్ధంలో పద్నాలుగు వేల కాలాళ్లు ఉన్నారు; అలాగే ఏనుగులు వేలల్లో, మరల గుర్రాలు పది వేల సంఖ్యలో ఉన్నాయి.

Word by Word

• नराणाम्: of men
• नराणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• महायुद्धे: in the great battle
• महायुद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महायुद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दश
• Form: Indeclinable (numeral), N/A, N/A

• दन्तिनाम्: of elephants (tusked ones)
• दन्तिनाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्तिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• हयानाम्: of horses
• हयानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अयुतम्: ten thousand
• अयुतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• पुनः: again; moreover
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• foot-soldiers (narāḥ)
• war-elephants (dantinaḥ)
• horses (hayāḥ)
• the great battle (mahāyuddha; Kurukṣetra context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: by enumerating troops and animals, it underscores the vast scale of the conflict and the human and material forces mobilized—an implicit ethical reminder of the immense cost and gravity of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the composition/strength of forces in the great battle, listing counts of infantry, elephants, and horses as part of a broader battlefield account.