Mahabharata’s Kurukshetra war is considered as the Mother of Battles. The DharmaYudh, though it was fought by the crowned Prince Duryodhana against the territory less Yudhistra, it was also supported by the friendly Kings and allies. The tribes which were under the ruling of Hastinapur fought for Kauravas whereas those who thought that the Pandavas were cheated supported the Pandavas, which was purely out of conscience. Pandavas had their massive support from the Panchala tribe. The combined warriors and soldiers in both armies was approximately 3.94 million. Those who chose to support neither of the sides made sure they provided tribute in terms of weapons or medicinal support or sometimes soldiers.
Before
the start of the war, the Pandavas had 7 akshauhinis in their army whereas the
Kauravas had 11 akshauhinis. The Kauravas too had Dwaraka’s Narayani Sena, the
mighty army that was formed under Lord Krishna’s guidance and is said to be
difficult to be battled with and won.
AKSHAUHINI
Akshauhini
is basically the army formation. The bigger the army means greater number of
Akshauhini. Each Akshauhini was under the command of a general apart from the
Commander-in-Chief.
An Akshauhini consists of:
§
21,870 Chariots (Ratha, in Sanskrit).
§
21,870 Elephants.
§
65,610 Cavalry.
§
1, 09,350 Infantry.
For every chariot, there will be 1 elephant, 3 cavalry
and 5 infantries under him. This forms a Patti.
·
Three Pathi forms a Sena-Mukha.
·
Three Sena- Mukha makes a Gulma.
·
Three Gulma forms as Gana.
·
Three Gana together makes a Vahini.
·
Three Vahini makes a Pruthana.
·
Three Pruthana forms a Chamu.
·
Three Chamu makes an Anikini.
·
Ten Anikini forms 1 Akshauhini.
NARAYANI SENA
Narayani Sena, the army
of Lord Krishna is called as the supreme Sena of all time. They were the basic
threat to the rival kingdoms. Fearing Narayani Sena, many Kings didn’t try
fighting against Dwaraka. But Dwaraka sorted most of the threats through
Krishna’s politics and talents. Using Narayani Sena, the Yadavas extended their
empire to most of India. The total strength of Narayani Sena was around 10,
00,000 warriors. The Sena includes Krishna’s 18,000 brothers and cousins.
The Sena had 7 Athirathas and 7 Maharathas. The 7
Athirathas were:
§
Lord Krishna.
§
Lord Balram.
§
Samba.
§
Ahuka.
§
Charudeshna.
§
Chakradeva, Brother of Charudeshna.
§
Satyaki.
Of these great warriors, when Narayani Sena was fighting for Kauravas,
only Kritavarman and his army unit fought for the Kauravas. Satyaki fought for
the Pandavas. The rest of the Athirathas and Maharathas were withheld from the
Kurukshetra war on the advice of Balram and Krishna.
PANDAVA’S ARMY
In the Kurukshetra war,
the Kauravas took all the inferior Kings and kingdoms to his side with the help
of tricks by Saguni and the fear the Kings had on Bhishma’s combat skills. As a
moral support, few Kingdoms provided troops or logistical support to the
Pandavas. So, it’s said fewer than the fewer fought for the Pandavas. Pandavas’
army had 7 Akshauhinis.
§
Satyaki of the Vrishni Chief(Yadava) - 1 Akshauhini
§
Gatothkach, Son of Bhīma - 1 Akshauhini
§
Dhrupad with his sons - 1 Akshauhini
§
Pandya, Chola, Kekaya and other allies – 1 Akshauhini
The Pandavas chose
Dhrishtadyumna as their Commander-in-Chief. Dhrishtadyumna was the supreme
commander of the Pandavas army for the 18 days of war. The Pandavas army had 1,
530,900 soldiers which comprised:
§
1, 53,090 Chariots.
§
1, 53, 090 elephants
§
4, 59, 270 Cavalry
§
7, 65, 450 Infantry
KAURAVAS’
ARMY
The Kauravas had 11
Akshauhinis formed by Hastinapur in alliance with its tribes, its allies and
Narayani Sena from Dwaraka. The generals of the 11 Akshauhini were:
§
Bhagadatta, the veteran - 1 Akshauhini
§
Shalya, Madra King - 1 Akshauhini
§
Nila, Mahishmati King - 1 Akshauhini (from south)
§
Kritavarma (Yadava’s Narayani Sena) - 1 Akshauhini
§
Jayadratha, Sindhu King - 1 Akshauhini
§
Sudakshina, Kambhoja King - 1 Akshauhini (had Yavanas
& Sakas in his troops)
§
Vinda and Anuvinda (from Avanti) - 1 Akshauhini
§
King Srutayudha, Kalinga Forces - 1 Akshauhini
§
Saguni, Gandhara King - 1 Akshauhini
§
Susharma, Trigata King - 1 Akshauhini
§
Kurus and other Allies - 1 Akshauhini
The Kauravas appointed Pithamaha Bhisma
as their Commander-in-Chief. Pithamaha Bhisma
was the supreme commander for the first 10 days of the war, till he fell on the
arrow bed. Days 11-15, Dronacharya was the Commander-in-Chief. After his death
on the 15th day of war, Karna was appointed as the
Commander-in-Chief. After Karna’s death on 17th day of the war, King
Salya of Madra was appointed as the supreme commander for the 18th
day of the war and he died on the battle field on the same day. With Duryodhana
on the verge of his death, on the night of last day of war, after the war was
won by the Pandavas, he appointed Aswathama as the supreme commander and he
raided the tents of Pandavas single handedly. A Chedi King named Chediddhaja
sided with the Kauravas.
The Kauravas army had 2,
405,700 soldiers which comprised:
§
2, 40,570 Chariots.
§
2, 40,570 Elephants.
§
7, 21,710 Cavalry.
§
1, 202,850 Infantry.
Thanks for the details, can you please let me know the source.
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