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akshauhini

अक्षौहिणी akṣauhiṇī

A complete army division of chariots, elephants, cavalry and infantry in fixed proportion; eighteen akshauhinis fought at Kurukshetra, eleven for the Kauravas and seven for the Pandavas.

Where this term appears

  • What Is Not Here Is Nowhere Treatise

    The numbers in the poem are deliberately staggering: eighteen akshauhinis , vast divisions of chariots, elephants, horse and foot, eleven marshalled for the Kauravas and seven for the Pandavas.

  • The Demon in the Fire Treatise

    Hundreds of akshauhinis of demons - each akshauhini comprising 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 cavalry, and 109,350 infantry, the standard Mahabharata-era count - defended the city under Bhandasura’s …

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