Mahabharata 7.80.23 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 80, Shloka 23

ध्वजवर्णनम् | Dhvaja-varṇanam

Description of War Standards

Devanagari script

अक्षौहिण्यो हि ता: सर्वा रक्षिष्यन्ति जयद्रथम्‌

Transliteration

akṣauhiṇyo hi tāḥ sarvā rakṣiṣyanti jayadratham

Translation

సంజయుడు అన్నాడు—నిశ్చయంగా ఆ సమస్త అక్షౌహిణీ సేనలు జయద్రథుని కాపాడుతాయి।

Word by Word

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

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• ताः: those
• ताः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• रक्षिष्यन्ति: will protect
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष्
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), Third, Plural

• जयद्रथम्: Jayadratha
• जयद्रथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun (Proper)
• Root: जयद्रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Jayadratha
• Akṣauhiṇīs (battle-formations/army divisions)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how immense collective power can be organized around protecting a single pivotal figure, illustrating the ethical tension in war between loyalty to one’s side and the disproportionate costs imposed on many for the sake of one strategic objective.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the Kaurava forces—described as multiple akṣauhiṇīs—are committed to guarding Jayadratha, indicating a deliberate defensive arrangement to keep him safe amid a critical phase of the battle.