In the Mahabharata, the military units were organized according to the ancient Indian system of warfare, which classified soldiers into four main categories - infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots. These units were further divided into smaller units called Akshauhinis, which were roughly equivalent to a modern-day army division.Pandava had 7 and Kaurava had 11 unit of Akshauhinis.
Each Akshauhini consisted of the following types and number of soldiers:
Infantry (foot soldiers) - 21,870 soldiers
Cavalry (horse-mounted soldiers) - 6,960 soldiers
Elephants (elephant-mounted soldiers) - 1,101 elephants with their riders and handlers
Chariots (chariot-mounted soldiers) - 1,101 chariots, each with a driver and a warrior.
Thus, a complete Akshauhini consisted of 218,700 soldiers, along with their weapons, equipment, and supplies. The size of an Akshauhini was considered the standard unit of measurement in ancient Indian warfare.
During the Kurukshetra war, both the Pandavas and the Kauravas had 18 Akshauhinis each, making the total number of soldiers involved in the war to be around 4 million. However, the exact numbers and size of the armies are a matter of debate among scholars and historians, as the numbers mentioned in the Mahabharata may be symbolic rather than accurate
Total combined strength of the army on both sides is
1968300 Infrantymen
393660 Elephants
1180980 Horses
393660 chariots
This has a sharp co-relation with the game of Chess (“Chaturanga“) which was invented in ancient India.
Infantrymen = Pawn
Elephant = Bishop
Horses = Knight
Chariot = Rook
A fundamental army unit was called “Patti”, which contained 5 infantry men, 3 horsemen, 1 Elephant and 1 Chariot.
Three pattis made one “Sena-mukha”
Three sena-mukhas made one Gulma
Three gulmas made one Gana
Three ganas made one Vahini
Three vahinis together are called a Pritana
Three pritanas formed a Chamu
Three chamus formed one Anikini
Ten Anikinis formed one Akshauhini
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