Sutra 5

Devanagari script

संहतानीकं हस्तिभिर्भेदयेत् ॥ कZ_१०.३.०५ ॥

Transliteration

saṃhatānīkaṃ hastibhir bhedayet

Translation

密集结阵的敌军应以战象冲破瓦解。

Word by Word

• संहत-अनीकम्: the compact (close-formed) battle-array
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनीक
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, द्वितीया; समासः—संहत (ppp of √हन्/√हृ? here adjectival ‘compact/close-formed’) + अनीक ‘army/array’

• हस्तिभिः: by elephants / with war-elephants
• Type: Noun
• Root: हस्तिन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, बहुवचन, तृतीया (करण)

• भेदयेत्: should cause to be broken / should breach
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भिद्
• Form: कारणार्थक-णिच् (भेदय-), विधिलिङ्/आज्ञार्थे optative; परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Entities Mentioned

• elephants
• enemy formation (anīka)

More Details

FAQs

What is the operational purpose of using elephants against a compact formation?

To rupture cohesion and create gaps so follow-on troops can exploit disorder; elephants act as a shock arm against dense arrays.