Kurukshetra War

Kurukshetra War
	; c. 1700 watercolour from Mewar depicts the Pandava and Kaurava armies arrayed against each other.
Location	Kurukshetra
Result	Pyrrhic victory for Pandavas and allies, overthrow of the Kauravas; Fall of Hastinapura; Abdication of the throne of Hastinapura by Dhritarashtra and ascension of Yudhisthira.; Vassalage of Indraprastha to Hastinapura under Yuyutsu.; Succession crises in Anga, Chedi, Gandhara, Kalinga, Kosala, Madra, Magadha, Matsya, Panchala and Sindhu.; Regional hegemony shift from the Kurus to the Panchalas;
Territorial; changes	Reunification of the Kuru cities of Hastinapura and Indraprastha under the Pandavas.; Restoration of Panchala lands held by Drona to the Panchala Kingdom.; Truce and status quo ante bellum;
Belligerents
Territory-less Pandavas of Kuru; Krishna; Magadha; Panchala; Matsya; Chedi; Kunti; Other allies	Kauravas of Kuru Kingdom; Anga; Gandhara; Sindhu; Madra; Kalinga; Kambojas; Bahlikas; Trigarta; Pragjyotisha; Yadava Army (Narayani Sena of Krishna); Other allies
Commanders and leaders
Overlord ; Yudhishthira ; Commander-in-chief ; Dhrishtadyumna (day 1-18) †; Other-Commanders ; Bhima ; Drupada † ; Virata † Chekitana † ; Satyaki ; . Shikhandi † Strategist ; Krishna	Overlords ; Dhritrashtra ; Duryodhana † ; Commanders-in-chief ; Bhishma (day 1-10) † ; Drona (day 11-15) † ; Karna (day 16-17) † ; Shalya (day 18) † ; Ashwatthama (night raid) ; Other-Commanders Dushasana † ; Jayadratha † ; Kripa ; Kritavarma ; Bhurishravas † ; Bahlika † ; Bhagadatta † ; Sudakshina † ; Strategist ; Shakuni †
Strength
7 Akshauhinis ; 153,090-100,300,000 chariots and chariot riders ; 10,000–153,090 elephants and elephant riders ; 459,270–1,000,000 horses and horse riders ; 765,450–1,000,000,000 infantry ; (total 1,530,900 soldiers-1,003,830,900)	11 Akshauhinis ; 240,570 chariots and chariot riders ; 240,570 elephants and elephant riders ; 721,710 horses and horse riders – 100,000,000 horses (mentioned possibly as a hyperbole) ; 1,202,850 infantry ; 6,000,000 protecting elephants and chariots ; 140,000,000 Pishachas ; 280,000,000 Rakshasa ; 420,000,000 Yaksha ; 100,000,000 Narayani Sena ; (total 8,450,700 - 1,048,405,700 soldiers)
Casualties and losses
Almost total (1,530,892 soldiers) ; only 8 known survivors - the Pandavas, Krishna, Satyaki, and Yuyutsu.	Almost total (2,405,697 soldiers) ; only 3 known survivors - Ashwatthama, Kripa, and Kritavarma
	Yudhishthira gives a different number which is 1,660,020,000 dead and 24,165 missing.

The Kurukshetra War (Sanskrit: कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata, arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The war is used as the context for the dialogues of the Bhagavad Gita.

^ "The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section L". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023. And Nakula and Sahadeva placed themselves on the left wing. And on the joints of the wings were placed ten thousand cars and on the head a hundred thousand, and on the back a hundred millions and twenty thousand and on the neck a hundred and seventy thousand.
^ The Mahābhārata. New Delhi: Penguin. 2009. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-14-044681-4.
^ "The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Uluka Dutagamana Parva: Section CXCIX". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023. And he was followed by Sauchitti, who steadily adhered to truth and was invincible in battle, and Srenimat, and Vasudeva and Vibhu, the son of the ruler of Kasi, with twenty thousand cars, and hundred million steeds of high mettle, each bearing scores of bells on its limbs, and twenty thousand smiting elephants with tusks as long as plough-shares, all of good breed and divided temples and all resembling moving masses of clouds.
^ "The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parvad: Section XVIII". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023. And with a division that consisted of ten thousand active elephants, the king of Magadha followed that large car division. They that protected the wheels of the cars and they that protected the elephants, numbered full six millions.
^ "The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Section VII". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
^ "The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Draupadi-harana Parva: Section CCLXXIX". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023. One hundred and forty millions of Pisachas, twice as many man-eating Rakshasa of terrible deed, and thrice as many Yaksha do my bidding!
^ The Mahābhārata. New Delhi: Penguin. 2009. p. 593. ISBN 978-0-14-044681-4. Dhristarashtra asks Yudhishthira the number of battle casualties: he reports that 1,660,020,000 men are dead and 24,165 missing.

[1] "The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section L". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023. And Nakula and Sahadeva placed themselves on the left wing. And on the joints of the wings were placed ten thousand cars and on the head a hundred thousand, and on the back a hundred millions and twenty thousand and on the neck a hundred and seventy thousand.

[2] The Mahābhārata. New Delhi: Penguin. 2009. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-14-044681-4.

[3] "The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Uluka Dutagamana Parva: Section CXCIX". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023. And he was followed by Sauchitti, who steadily adhered to truth and was invincible in battle, and Srenimat, and Vasudeva and Vibhu, the son of the ruler of Kasi, with twenty thousand cars, and hundred million steeds of high mettle, each bearing scores of bells on its limbs, and twenty thousand smiting elephants with tusks as long as plough-shares, all of good breed and divided temples and all resembling moving masses of clouds.

[4] "The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parvad: Section XVIII". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023. And with a division that consisted of ten thousand active elephants, the king of Magadha followed that large car division. They that protected the wheels of the cars and they that protected the elephants, numbered full six millions.

[5] "The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Section VII". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.

[6] "The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Draupadi-harana Parva: Section CCLXXIX". www.sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023. One hundred and forty millions of Pisachas, twice as many man-eating Rakshasa of terrible deed, and thrice as many Yaksha do my bidding!

[7] The Mahābhārata. New Delhi: Penguin. 2009. p. 593. ISBN 978-0-14-044681-4. Dhristarashtra asks Yudhishthira the number of battle casualties: he reports that 1,660,020,000 men are dead and 24,165 missing.

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