Text 30
acodayad dhasti-rathāśva-pattibhir
gadāsi-bāṇarṣṭi-śataghni-śaktibhiḥ
akṣauhiṇīḥ sapta-daśātibhīṣaṇās
tā rāma eko bhagavān asūdayat
acodayat — he sent for fighting; hasti — with elephants; ratha — with chariots; aśva — with horses; pattibhiḥ — and with infantry; gadā — with clubs; asi — with swords; bāṇa — with arrows; ṛṣṭi — with the weapons called ṛṣṭis; śataghni — with weapons called śataghnis; śaktibhiḥ — with weapons called śaktis; akṣauhiṇīḥ — whole groups of akṣauhiṇīs; sapta-daśa — seventeen; ati-bhīṣaṇāḥ — very fierce; tāḥ — all of them; rāmaḥ — Lord Paraśurāma; ekaḥ — alone; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; asūdayat — killed.
Upon seeing Paraśurāma, Kārtavīryārjuna immediately feared him and sent many elephants, chariots, horses and infantry soldiers equipped with clubs, swords, arrows, ṛṣṭis, śataghnis, śaktis, and many similar weapons to fight against him. Kārtavīryārjuna sent seventeen full akṣauhiṇīs of soldiers to check Paraśurāma. But Lord Paraśurāma alone killed all of them.
The word akṣauhiṇī refers to a military phalanx consisting of 21,870 chariots and elephants, 109,350 infantry soldiers and 65,610 horses. An exact description is given in the Mahābhārata, Ādi parva, Second Chapter, as follows:
eko ratho gajaś caikaḥ
narāḥ pañca padātayaḥ
trayaś ca turagās taj-jñaiḥ
pattir ity abhidhīyate
pattiṁ tu triguṇām etāṁ
viduḥ senāmukhaṁ budhāḥ
trīṇi senāmukhāny eko
gulma ity adhidhīyate
trayo gulmā gaṇo nāma
vāhinī tu gaṇās trayaḥ
śrutās tisras tu vāhinyaḥ
pṛtaneti vicakṣaṇaiḥ
camūs tu pṛtanās tisraś
caṁvas tisras tv anīkinī
anīkinīṁ daśa-guṇām
āhur akṣauhiṇīṁ budhāḥ
akṣauhiṇyas tu saṅkhyātā
rathānāṁ dvija-sattamāḥ
saṅkhyā-gaṇita-tattvajñaiḥ
sahasrāṇy eka-viṁśati
śatāny upari cāṣṭau ca
bhūyas tathā ca saptatiḥ
gajānāṁ tu parīmāṇaṁ
tāvad evātra nirdiśet
jñeyaṁ śata-sahasraṁ tu
sahasrāṇi tathā nava
narāṇām adhi pañcāśac
chatāni trīṇi cānaghāḥ
pañca-ṣaṣṭi-sahasrāṇi
tathāśvānāṁ śatāni ca
daśottarāṇi ṣaṭ cāhur
yathāvad abhisaṅkhyayā
etām akṣauhiṇīṁ prāhuḥ
saṅkhyā-tattva-vido janāḥ
“One chariot, one elephant, five infantry soldiers and three horses are called a patti by those who are learned in the science. The wise also know that a senāmukha is three times what a patti is. Three senāmukhas are known as one gulma, three gulmas are called a gaṇa, and three gaṇas are called a vāhinī. Three vāhinīs have been referred to by the learned as a pṛtanā, three pṛtanās equal one camū, and three camūs equal one anīkinī. The wise refer to ten anīkinīs as one akṣauhiṇī. The chariots of an akṣauhiṇī have been calculated at 21,870 by those who know the science of such calculations, O best of the twice-born, and the number of elephants is the same. The number of infantry soldiers is 109,350, and the number of horses is 65,610. This is called an akṣauhiṇī.”