In Arthasastra (Bk. X. ch. 6), Kautilya says: “For every ten members of each of the constituents of the army, there must be one commander, called padika; ten padikas under a senapati; ten senapatis under a nayaka.”
So, the smallest unit of the army was a squad of ten, which was commanded by an officer called padika. Ten such squads formed a platoon of a hundred, officered by a senapati. Ten platoons constituted a regiment under the command of a general, called nayaka.
The Shantiparva (100, 81) recommends that in the event of meritorious service the master of ten (dasadhipati) should be promoted to the headship of a hundred (satadhipati), and the latter to the next higher grade.
Gustav Oppert in his work on the Weapons and Army Organisation of the Hindus has given a third scheme of military formation, based on the Nltiprakasika of Vaisampayana
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