An ''akshauhini'' ( sa, अक्षौहिणी ''akṣauhiṇī'') is described in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

(

Adi Parva The ''Adi Parva'' or ''The Book of the Beginning'' is the first of eighteen books of the Mahabharata. "Adi" ( आदि, Ādi) is a Sanskrit word that means "first". Adi Parva traditionally has 19 parts and 236 adhyayas (chapters). The critical edi ...

2.15-23) as a

battle formation The Battle Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation of Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present throughout much of the central Alberta plains, wh ...

consisting of 21,870 chariots (Sanskrit ''ratha''); 21,870 elephants (Sanskrit ''gaja''); 65,610 horses (Sanskrit ''turaga'') and 109,350 infantry (Sanskrit ''pada sainyam''). Thus one akshauhini consisted of 218,700 warriors (not including the charioteers, who didn't fight). The ratio is 1 chariot : 1 elephant : 3 cavalry : 5 infantry soldiers. In each of these large number groups (65,610, etc.), the digits add up to 18. It is mentioned in the ''Mahabharata'' that in the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

army consisted of seven ''akshauhinis'' (1,530,900 warriors), and the

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...

army had eleven ''akshauhinis'' (2,405,700 warriors).

Composition

:Patti (company) : 1 Elephant (Gaja) + 1 Chariot (Ratha) + 3 Horse (Ashwa) + 5 Foot Soldiers (Padati)=10 Warriors :Senamukha = (3 x Patti) : 3 Elephant + 3 Chariot + 9 Horse + 15 Foot Soldiers = 30 Warriors :Gulma = (3 x Senamukha) : 9 Elephant + 9 Chariot + 27 Horse + 45 Foot Soldiers = 90 Warriors :Gana = (3 x Gulma) : 27 Elephant + 27 Chariot + 81 Horse + 135 Foot Soldiers = 270 Warriors :Wahini = (3 x Gana) : 81 Elephant + 81 Chariot + 243 Horse + 405 Foot Soldiers = 810 Warriors :Pritana/Prutana = (3 x Wahini) : 243 Elephant + 243 Chariot + 729 Horse + 1215 Foot Soldiers = 2,430 Warriors :Chamu = (3 x Pritana/Prutana) : 729 Elephant + 729 Chariot + 2187 Horse + 3645 Foot Soldiers = 7,290 Warriors :Anikini = (3 x Chamu) : 2187 Elephant + 2187 Chariot + 6561 Horse + 10935 Foot Soldiers = 21,870 Warriors :Akshauhini = (10 x Anikini) : 21870 Elephant + 21870 Chariot + 65610 Horse + 109350 Foot Soldiers = 218,700 Warriors

Kaurava Army and their Allies

Kuru Army is a coalition of 11 ''akshauhinis'' formed by the kingdom of Hastinapura in alliance with races like the

Samsaptakas The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

Trigartas Trigarta kingdom was an ancient kingdom in northern Indian region of the Indian subcontinent with its capital at Prasthala (modern Jalandhar), Multan and Kangra. Trigarta was founded and ruled by the vrishni Dynasty. Mention in Mahabharata Tri ...

, the Narayana army, the Sindhu army and Shalya of Madra. *

Bhagadatta Bhagadatta ( sa, भगदत्त) was the son of Narakasura, and the king of Pragjyotisha. Bhagadatta was born from a limb of the asura called Bāṣkala. He was a renowned warrior, and was known to be a great friend of Indra. When Arjuna emba ...

, king of

Pragjyotisha Kingdom Pragjyotisha is a mythological kingdom that is mentioned in a multitude of Hindu Epics. It came to be associated with the historical Kamarupa after Bhaskaravarman of the Varman dynasty by drawing his lineage from Naraka/ Bhagadatta of the leg ...

- 1 Akshauhini *

Shalya In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', King Shalya ( sa, शल्य, lit. ''pointed weapon'') was the brother of Madri (mother of Nakula and Sahadeva), and the ruler of the Madra kingdom. Skilled with the mace and a formidable warrior, he was tric ...

, king of Madra (

Madri In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Madri is the princess of Madra Kingdom and the second wife of the king Pandu. She is the mother of the youngest Pandavas - the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva. The word ''Mādrī'' means 'woman of Madra'. ...

) - 1 Akshauhini *

Bhurishravas Bhoorishravas (Sanskrit: भूरिश्रवस् / भूरिश्रवा) was a prince of a minor kingdom''Essential Hinduism'' by Steven J. Rosen and Graham M. Schweig. Greenwood Publishing, 2006, page 96Google books linkaccessed May ...

, Prince of the

Bahlika Kingdom Bahlika may refer to : * Ancient Bactria * Bahlikas, ancient country/region * modern Balkh * Bahlika (Mahabharata) Bahlika (Sanskrit: बाह्लिक), also spelled as Vahlika, was the king of Bahlika kingdom. He was the elder brother ...

and the grandson of the king

Bahlika (Mahabharata) Bahlika (Sanskrit: बाह्लिक), also spelled as Vahlika, was the king of Bahlika kingdom. He was the elder brother of Shantanu, who was a king of Hastinapur and the uncle of Bhishma. He was the oldest warrior to fight in the Kuruksh ...

- 1 Akshauhini *

Kritavarma Kritavarma ( sa, कृतवर्मा, translit=Kṛtavarmā) is a Yadava warrior in Hinduism. He appears as a minor character in the Mahabharata, fighting in the Kurukshetra war for the Kauravas. According to F.E. Pargiter, he was the son o ...

(who leads

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Narayani Sena Narayani Sena or Gopayan or Yadava Sena, the army of Lord Krishna of Dwarka Kingdom is called as the supreme Sena of all time. The ''Mahabharata'' describes its soldiers as being of the Abhira people. They were the basic threat to the rival k ...

consisting of Yadava clans of Andhakas, Vrishnis, Kukuras, Bhojas and the Shainyas offered prior to the war) - 1 Akshauhini *

Jayadratha Jayadratha () is the king of the Sindhu kingdom featured in the Mahabharata. He was married to Dushala, the only sister of the hundred Kaurava brothers. The son of the king Vriddhakshatra, he is killed by Arjuna. He has a son named Suratha. Et ...

(king of the

Sindhu Kingdom Sindhu Kingdom or simply Sindhu was an ancient kingdom on the Indian subcontinent. It stretched the banks of river Sindhu (Indus). It was mentioned in the epic ''Mahabharata'' and in the ''Harivamsa Purana,'' often alongside the Sauvira Kingdom ...

) - 1 Akshauhini *

Sudakshina Sudakshina ( sa, सुदक्षिण) was a king of the Kambojas and is featured in the Indian epic the Mahabharata. On the 14th day of battle, Arjuna, with his charioteer Krishna, attempts to reach Jayadratha. Dronacharya and Duryodhana arra ...

, king of Kambhoja - 1 Akshauhini (has Yavanas & Sakas in his troops) *

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

, king of

Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...

- 1 Akshauhini *

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

Forces - 1 Akshauhini *

Shakuni Shakuni ( sa, शकुनि, , ) plays a key role in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is one of the main antagonists of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the prince of the kingdom of Gandhara when introduced, later becoming its king a ...

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...

- 1 Akshauhini *

Susharma Susharma (Sanskrit: सुशर्मा) was the 234th Katoch king of Trigarta (present-day Kangra) and cousin brother of Bhanumati. He brutally attacked Virata, king of Matsya Kingdom because all Pandavas were living in disguise in his ...

Trigarta Trigarta kingdom was an ancient kingdom in northern Indian region of the Indian subcontinent with its capital at Prasthala (modern Jalandhar), Multan and Kangra. Trigarta was founded and ruled by the vrishni Dynasty. Mention in Mahabharata Tri ...

- 1 Akshauhini * Kurus and other Allies - 1 Akshauhini

Pandava Army and their allies

Pandava Army is a coalition of 7 ''akshauhinis'', primarily the Panchala and

Matsya Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya m ...

forces, the Rakshasa forces of Bhima's son, Ghatotkacha and Vrishni -Yadava heroes. Army of Pandavas

Satyaki Yuyudhana ( sa, युयुधान, '), better known as Satyaki ( sa, सात्यकि, ), was a powerful Yadava chieftain of Narayani Sena, belonging to the Vrishni clan to which Krishna also belonged. According to the Puranas, he was ...

of the Vrishni clan - 1 ''akshauhini'' * Malaydhwaja king of Early Pandyas having a Conjugated armed force of Pandyas,

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

and Cheras- 1 ''akshauhini'' * Dhrishtaketu, king of Chedis - 1 ''akshauhini'' *

Sahadeva Sahadeva (Sanskrit: सहदेव) was the youngest of the Pandava brothers, the five principal protagonists of the epic ''Mahabharata''. He and his twin brother, Nakula, were blessed to King Pandu and Queen Madri by invoking the twin gods Ash ...

, son of

Jarasandh Jarasandha was a powerful king of Magadha, a minor antagonist in Mahabharata. He was the son of king Brihadratha, the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to popular lore, the descendants of Brihadratha ruled Magadha for 260 ...

a - 1 ''akshauhini'' (from

Magadh Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

a) *

Drupada Drupada (Sanskrit: द्रुपद, lit. ''firm-footed'' or ''pillar''), also known as Yajnasena (Sanskrit: यज्ञसेन, lit. ''he whose army is sacrificial''), is a character in the Mahābhārata. The son of King Prishata, he wa ...

with his sons - 1 ''akshauhini'' *

Virata Virata ( sa, विराट, IAST ''virāṭa''), was the king of the Matsya Kingdom, in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. Virata was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and Pr ...

the king of

- 1 ''akshauhini'' *

Ghatotkacha Ghatotkacha ( sa, घटोत्कच, , literally: "Bald Pot") is a prominent character in the story of ''Mahabharata''. His name comes from the fact that his head was hairless (''utkacha'') and shaped like a ghatam, or a pot. Ghatotkacha ...

and other allies - 1 ''akshauhini'' The 4 types of units that make up an ''akshauhini'' can also be seen in

Chaturang Chaturanga ( sa, चतुरङ्ग; ') is an ancient Indian strategy game. While there is some uncertainty, the prevailing view among chess historians is that it is the common ancestor of the board games chess (European), xiangqi (Chinese), ...

a, the predecessor of

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

References

3
Akshauhini Wars in Detail - A Study
{HinduMythology Tactical formations Mahabharata

Composition

Kaurava Army and their Allies

Pandava Army and their allies

See also

References