Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तस्मात्‌ सेनाविभागं मे कुरुध्वं नरसत्तमा: । अक्षौहिण्यश्व सप्तैता: समेता विजयाय वै,“अत: नरश्रेष्ठ वीरो! अब तुमलोग भी अपनी सेनाका विभाग करो। ये सात अक्षौहिणी सेनाएँ एकत्र हो गयी हैं, जो अवश्य ही हमारी विजय करानेवाली होंगी

Transliteration

tasmāt senāvibhāgaṃ me kurudhvaṃ narasattamāḥ | akṣauhiṇyaś ca sapta etāḥ sametā vijayāya vai ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Vì thế, hỡi những bậc ưu tú trong loài người, hãy sắp đặt việc phân chia quân đội theo lời ta. Bảy đạo akṣauhiṇī nay đã tụ hội—quả thật là vì chiến thắng.

Word by Word

तस्मात्therefore/from that reason

सेना-विभागम्division/arrangement of the army

मेof me / my

कुरुध्वम्do/make (you all)!

नर-सत्तमाःO best of men!

अक्षौहिण्यःarmy-units (akṣauhiṇīs)

चand

सप्तseven

एताःthese

समेताःassembled/together

विजयायfor victory

वैindeed/surely

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

seven akṣauhiṇīs

army divisions (senā-vibhāga)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes disciplined preparation and orderly organization before conflict: victory is linked not merely to numbers, but to proper structuring of forces under responsible leadership—an aspect of kṣatriya-dharma in the context of impending war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a directive to the assembled leaders to arrange the army into divisions, noting that seven akṣauhiṇī formations have gathered and are expected to secure victory.