Shloka 21

समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः

Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī

Devanagari script

त्रयो गुल्मा गणो नाम वाहिनी तु गणास्त्रय: । स्मृतास्तिस्रस्तु वाहिन्य: पृतनेति विचक्षणै:,तीन गुल्मका एक “गण” होता है, तीन गणकी एक “वाहिनी' होती है और तीन वाहिनियोंको सेनाका रहस्य जाननेवाले विद्वानोंने 'पृतना” कहा है

Transliteration

trayo gulmā gaṇo nāma vāhinī tu gaṇās trayaḥ | smṛtās tisras tu vāhinyaḥ pṛtaneti vicakṣaṇaiḥ ||

Translation

“三‘古尔玛’（gulma）为一‘伽那’（gaṇa）；三‘伽那’为一‘瓦希尼’（vāhinī）；三‘瓦希尼’，据精通军阵之学者，称为‘普利塔那’（pṛtanā），即一支完整的战斗军力。”

Word by Word

त्रयःthree

गुल्माःtroops/companies (gulmas)

गणःa group (gana)

नामindeed/by name

वाहिनीan army-unit (vahini)

तुbut/and

गणाःgroups (ganas)

त्रयःthree

स्मृताःare called/are remembered as

तिस्रःthree

तुand/but

वाहिन्यःarmy-units (vahinis)

पृतनाan army (prtanā)

इतिthus

विचक्षणैःby the learned/wise

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

gulma

gaṇa

vāhinī

pṛtanā

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse preserves a traditional, expert-defined hierarchy of military units, emphasizing disciplined structure and precise terminology in matters of warfare and statecraft.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker explains how smaller troop formations combine into progressively larger divisions—gulma to gaṇa to vāhinī to pṛtanā—clarifying the technical vocabulary used by knowledgeable authorities.