Parva 56
The Strength of the Armies of Rama and Ravana
Gautama explains the measure of an akshauhini, while both camps debate the strength of Ravana's four thousand and Rama's two thousand akshauhinis.
Part of The War of LankaSummary
At Shrenika's request Gautama (Indrabhuti) explains the eight graded units of an army from the patti to the anikini, each three times the last, and that ten anikinis make one akshauhini. Ravana's host of four thousand akshauhinis is vast, yet Sugriva's army faces it fearlessly through devotion to Rama. People on both sides argue: some lament that Ravana, unsatisfied with eighteen thousand queens, courts ruin for Sita, some praise Hanuman's deeds and Lakshmana's slaying of Kharadushana, while the Vidyadhara Suvakra scoffs that the Vanaras are a cow's hoofprint beside Ravana's ocean.
What happens
5 points
Asked by Shrenika, Indrabhuti Gautama, addressing the king of Magadha, names the eight army units of the Agama (scripture): patti, sena, senamukha, gulma, vahini, pritana, chamu and anikini. A patti is one chariot, one elephant, five foot soldiers and three horses; a sena three chariots, three elephants, fifteen foot and nine horses; and a senamukha nine chariots, nine elephants, forty-five foot and twenty-seven horses.
A gulma has 27 chariots, 27 elephants, 135 foot and 81 horses; a vahini 81, 81, 405 and 243; a pritana 243, 243, 1,215 and 729; a chamu 729, 729, 3,645 and 2,187; and an anikini 2,187 chariots, 2,187 elephants, 10,935 foot and 6,561 horses, each unit three times the one before. Ten anikinis make one akshauhini: 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 109,350 foot soldiers and 65,610 horses.
Ravana, with four thousand such akshauhinis, is mighty indeed, yet the army of Sugriva, lord of Kishkindhapura, faces him without fear through its devotion to Rama. As the armies close, people of many factions talk: Ravana, moon among the vimana-stars and learned in the scriptures, is clouded by desire for another's wife, and though eighteen thousand lovely queens could not satisfy him, he now courts destruction for one Sita.
Some extol the warriors of Rama's side and some Ravana's ocean-deep host; some recall how mighty Lakshmana slew Kharadushana in the Dandaka forest, and others say that, Rama and Lakshmana apart, Hanuman alone has humbled Mandodari, comforted Sita, routed Ravana's army and broken Lanka's walls and gates.
The Vidyadhara Suvakra laughs that the Vanaras' strength is a cow's hoofprint beside Ravana's ocean: Ravana captured Indra and conquered many, none keeps courage at the name of this chakravarti (emperor) among men, his trident-bearing brother Kumbhakarna blazes like the fire of dissolution, and only those who wish to die will face his moon-like royal parasol. Thus words of love and hate fly between the camps, and the text observes that each being acts as its karma ripens.