05.152
Core: Preparation of 11 divisions of the army from the Kauravas and 7 divisions from the Pandavas.
Vaishampayana spoke:
After the night had passed, King Duryodhana divided the armies into eleven parts, O Bharata.
The king commanded the arrangement of men, elephants, chariots, and horses, focusing on their essence, middle, and insignificant parts, across all these armies.
They were equipped with drawers, quivers, chariots, spears, attachments, powers, sheaths, and cases.
The army was adorned with banners and flags, equipped with bows and spears, and had various ropes, nooses, and coverings.
All the obstacles, including those with wheel-grasping and throwing, oil, molasses, sand, and pots of poison, were created with juices and dust.
All were adorned with bells and plates, surrounded by bamboo trees, covered with tiger skins, and encircled with leopard skins.
They were adorned with garments, horns, spears, and various weapons, carrying axes and spades, and were equipped with oil, silk, and clarified butter.
The warriors with bright standards and good appearance, blazing like fire, were thus armored heroes who had exerted effort in their weapons.
The noble-born individuals, who are experts in horse-breeding, were appointed as charioteers, equipped with secured protection, girdles, and adorned with flags and banners.
All the chariots are yoked in fours, fully armed, with joyful steeds, and equipped with hundreds of bows.
Among the two horses, one is a steed, and the other two are skilled charioteers. They are considered the best among charioteers and are knowledgeable about horses.
The cities were like fortresses, protected and inaccessible to enemies, with thousands of chariots adorned with gold everywhere.
The elephants, harnessed and well-adorned, stood like chariots, resembling seven jewel-like men, akin to mountains.
Among them, O king, two are skilled in wielding the elephant goad, two are excellent archers, two are the best sword bearers, and one is a holder of a spear and banner.
O king, the army of the Kauravas, filled with thousands of intoxicated elephants and all kinds of weapons and armories, became formidable.
The horses, adorned with various armors and flags, well-decorated and equipped with riders, were present in tens of thousands.
They were well-collected and contented, with golden vessels and furnishings numbering in the hundreds of thousands, all under control.
There were men of various forms and transformations, equipped with different armors and weapons, who stood as infantrymen adorned with golden garlands.
There were ten elephants for each chariot, ten horses for each elephant, and ten men as foot soldiers surrounding each horse.
The chariot had fifty elephants, the elephant had a hundred horses, and the horse had seven men who were responsible for repairing breaks.
An army consisting of five hundred elephants and an equal number of chariots. Additionally, there are ten armies and battalions, each with ten divisions.
The wise Kaurava arranged the formations of the army, battle, military, flag-bearing, chariot, troop, division, and battalion as explained by synonyms.
The Pandavas had seven divisions of army, while the Kauravas had eleven. This was the strength counted for both sides.
The prescribed infantry for men consists of fifty-five units. The front of the army and three divisions are collectively referred to as such.
There were ten battalions forming a group, and these groups multiplied into tens of thousands. In Duryodhana's armies, the warriors were ready to strike.
There, King Duryodhana, after observing the brave and wise men, appointed the mighty-armed generals at that time.
He gathered the leaders of the armies and the noblest men separately and consecrated the kings following the proper rituals.
Kṛpa, Droṇa, Śalya, Saindhava, Sudakṣiṇa, Kāmboja, and Kṛtavarmā, all great warriors, were present.
Drona's son, Karna, Bhuriśravas, Shakuni, the son of Subala, and Bahlika are all great chariot-warriors.
O Bharata, he continuously made various signals directly, day by day and every moment, again and again.
Thus, all the followers were controlled and became soldiers, O king, eager to please the king.
