Book III – Utpatti khanda
Chapter 34: Description of the battle
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
अथ राज्ञां युयुत्सूनां भटानां मन्त्रिणामपि ।
नभसः प्रेक्षकाणां च तत्रेमाः प्रोदगुर्गिरः ॥ १ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca |
atha rājñāṃ yuyutsūnāṃ bhaṭānāṃ mantriṇāmapi |
nabhasaḥ prekṣakāṇāṃ ca tatremāḥ prodagurgiraḥ || 1 ||
Now the generals and ministers of the belligerent powers, and the aerial spectators of the war, were thus talking among themselves.
चलत्पद्मं सर इव वहद्विहगमेव च ।
नभः शूरशिरःकीर्णं भाति तारकिताकृति ॥ २ ॥
calatpadmaṃ sara iva vahadvihagameva ca |
nabhaḥ śūraśiraḥkīrṇaṃ bhāti tārakitākṛti || 2 ||
Lo! here the ground has become a lake of blood, with the heads of the slaughtered hosts floating as lotuses upon it; and there the air has become as the starry heaven, glittering with broken weapons, flying like birds in the sky.
पश्य रक्तपृषत्पूरसिन्दूरारुणमारुतैः ।
सांध्या इव विभान्त्येते मध्याह्नेऽम्बुदभानवः ॥ ३ ॥
paśya raktapṛṣatpūrasindūrāruṇamārutaiḥ |
sāṃdhyā iva vibhāntyete madhyāhne’mbudabhānavaḥ || 3 ||
Behold the air is reddened with the particles of vermeil blood, borne above by the winds, and the sky presenting the evening clouds, with the glow of the setting sun at midday.
किमिदं भगवन्व्योम पलालभरितं स्थितम् ।
नेदं पलालं वीराणामेते शरभराम्बुदाः ॥ ४ ॥
kimidaṃ bhagavanvyoma palālabharitaṃ sthitam |
nedaṃ palālaṃ vīrāṇāmete śarabharāmbudāḥ || 4 ||
What are these, says one, that are flying as straws in the firmament? They are, says the other, no straws, but the flight of arrows, that have filled the atmosphere.
यावन्तो भुवि सिच्यन्ते रुधिरे रणरेणवः ।
तावन्त्यब्दसहस्राणि भटानामास्पदं दिवि ॥ ५ ॥
yāvanto bhuvi sicyante rudhire raṇareṇavaḥ |
tāvantyabdasahasrāṇi bhaṭānāmāspadaṃ divi || 5 ||
As long as the dust of the earth, cries another, is moistened by the bloodshed of the brave, so long are the heroes entitled to glory, and have their abode in heaven for myriads of years.
मा भैष्ट नैते निस्त्रिंशा नीलोत्पलदलत्विषः ।
अमी वीरावलोकिन्या लक्ष्म्या नयनविभ्रमाः ॥ ६ ॥
mā bhaiṣṭa naite nistriṃśā nīlotpaladalatviṣaḥ |
amī vīrāvalokinyā lakṣmyā nayanavibhramāḥ || 6 ||
Fear not these sable swords, says the sastra, whose blades are worn by the brave like petals of blue lotuses about their hecks and breasts; and bravoes are favourites in the eyes of the goddess of fortune.
वीरालिङ्गनलोलानां नितम्बे सुरयोषिताम् ।
मेखलाः शिथिलीकर्तुं प्रवृत्तः कुसुमायुधः ॥ ७ ॥
vīrāliṅganalolānāṃ nitambe surayoṣitām |
mekhalāḥ śithilīkartuṃ pravṛttaḥ kusumāyudhaḥ || 7 ||
The heavenly nymphs that beheld the fighting, felt a desire to embrace the brave, and the god of the flowery bow (Kama or Cupid), was busy to loosen their waist bands.
लसद्भुजलतालोला रक्तपल्लवपाणयः ।
मञ्जरीमत्तनयना मध्वामोदसुगन्धयः ॥ ८ ॥
lasadbhujalatālolā raktapallavapāṇayaḥ |
mañjarīmattanayanā madhvāmodasugandhayaḥ || 8 ||
They beckoned their welcome by the waving of their reddish palms, in the shaking of the ruddy leaves of trees, and by the round glances of their eyes, in the blooming blossoms of plants, and by the perfume of their breath in the honied fragrance of flowers.
गायन्त्यो मधुरालापैर्नन्दनोद्यानदेवताः ।
तवागमनमाशङ्क्य प्रवृत्ताः परिनर्तितुम् ॥ ९ ॥
gāyantyo madhurālāpairnandanodyānadevatāḥ |
tavāgamanamāśaṅkya pravṛttāḥ parinartitum || 9 ||
The geniuses of the garden of Paradise, were singing sweetly in the notes of the sylvan choir, and betook themselves to dancing in the wagging tails of peacocks.
प्रत्यनीकं भिनत्त्यन्तः कुठारैः कठिनैरियम् ।
सेना ग्राम्येव वनिता दयितं दृष्टिचेष्टितैः ॥ १० ॥
pratyanīkaṃ bhinattyantaḥ kuṭhāraiḥ kaṭhinairiyam |
senā grāmyeva vanitā dayitaṃ dṛṣṭiceṣṭitaiḥ || 10 ||
As the brave warrior was breaking the line of the enemy with his hardy axe; so was his beloved breaking his hard heart and spirit, with the soft glances of her eyes.
हा पितुर्मम भल्लेन शिरो ज्वलितकुण्डलम् ।
सूर्यस्य निकटं नीतं कालेनेवाष्टमो ग्रहः ॥ ११ ॥
hā piturmama bhallena śiro jvalitakuṇḍalam |
sūryasya nikaṭaṃ nītaṃ kālenevāṣṭamo grahaḥ || 11 ||
It is by my lance, says the lancer, that I have severed the head of my adversary with the rings in his ears, like the head of the ascending node of Rahu, approaching the disk of the sun.
आपादशृङ्खलाप्रोतभ्रमत्स्थूलोपलद्वयम् ।
भ्रामयंश्चित्रदण्डाख्यं चक्रमूर्ध्वभुजो जवात् ॥ १२ ॥
āpādaśṛṅkhalāprotabhramatsthūlopaladvayam |
bhrāmayaṃścitradaṇḍākhyaṃ cakramūrdhvabhujo javāt || 12 ||
Lo! There is a champion, hurling the blocks of stones, attached to the end of a chain reaching his feet; and another whirling his wheel with a wondrous log of wood, held in his uplifted arm.
योधो यम इवाभाति याम्यादायाति दिक्तटात् ।
सर्वतः संहरन्सेनामेहि यामो यथागतम् ॥ १३ ॥
yodho yama ivābhāti yāmyādāyāti diktaṭāt |
sarvataḥ saṃharansenāmehi yāmo yathāgatam || 13 ||
There comes that combatant in the form of Yama, appearing from the region of Pluto (Preta), and spreading a horrid devastation all around. Come let us go hence as we came.
सद्यश्छिन्नशिरश्वभ्रमज्जत्कङ्ककुलाकुलाः ।
कबन्धाः परिनृत्यन्ति तालोत्ताला रणाङ्गणे ॥ १४ ॥
sadyaśchinnaśiraśvabhramajjatkaṅkakulākulāḥ |
kabandhāḥ parinṛtyanti tālottālā raṇāṅgaṇe || 14 ||
Look there the ravenous birds, greedily plunging their long necks in the cells of bodies just separated from their heads, and glutting themselves with the gushing blood; and see there the headless trunk of the slain, moving to and fro in the field of battle.
गीर्वाणगणगोष्ठीषु प्रवृत्ताः संकथा मिथः ।
कदा लोकान्तरं धीराः कथं यास्यन्ति के कुतः ॥ १५ ॥
gīrvāṇagaṇagoṣṭhīṣu pravṛttāḥ saṃkathā mithaḥ |
kadā lokāntaraṃ dhīrāḥ kathaṃ yāsyanti ke kutaḥ || 15 ||
The eloquent among the spectators were talking to one another, about the frailty of human life, and the uncertainty of the time of their meeting in the next world.
निगिरत्यागताः सेनाः स्रवन्तीरिव सागरः ।
समत्स्यमकरव्यूहा अहो नु विषमो भटः ॥ १६ ॥
nigiratyāgatāḥ senāḥ sravantīriva sāgaraḥ |
samatsyamakaravyūhā aho nu viṣamo bhaṭaḥ || 16 ||
Oh! the stern cannibal of death, says one, that devours in one swoop, whole bodies of the assembled armies, now weltering in blood; and levels the levelling hosts to the ground.
कटेषु करिणां कीर्णा धारानाराचराजयः ।
पतिता इव संपूर्णाः शृङ्गसंघेषु वृष्टयः ॥ १७ ॥
kaṭeṣu kariṇāṃ kīrṇā dhārānārācarājayaḥ |
patitā iva saṃpūrṇāḥ śṛṅgasaṃgheṣu vṛṣṭayaḥ || 17 ||
The showers of arrows falling on the bodies of elephants, resemble the showers of rain drops on mountain tops; and the darts sticking to their frontal bones, liken the bolts of lightning piercing the peaks of cliffs.
हा कुन्तेन शिरो नीतं ममेत्येव विवक्षतः ।
शिरसाऽजीवमित्येवं खे खगेनेव वाशितम् ॥ १८ ॥
hā kuntena śiro nītaṃ mametyeva vivakṣataḥ |
śirasā’jīvamityevaṃ khe khageneva vāśitam || 18 ||
While the headless body of the beheaded, was grovelling grievously on the ground for want of its head, the pate flying on high as a bird of air, proclaimed its immortality in heaven.
यन्त्रपाषाणवर्षेण यैषास्मान्परिषिञ्चति ।
सेनानुशृङ्खलाजालवलना क्रियतां बलात् ॥ १९ ॥
yantrapāṣāṇavarṣeṇa yaiṣāsmānpariṣiñcati |
senānuśṛṅkhalājālavalanā kriyatāṃ balāt || 19 ||
The army harassed by stones slung on their heads, cried to entrap the enemy in the snares set at their feet.
वलीपलितनिर्मुक्तं पूर्वभार्याप्सराः सती ।
अङ्गीकरोति भर्तारं परिज्ञाय रणे हतम् ॥ २० ॥
valīpalitanirmuktaṃ pūrvabhāryāpsarāḥ satī |
aṅgīkaroti bhartāraṃ parijñāya raṇe hatam || 20 ||
Wives that had become Apsaras (heavenly nymphs) after death, were now eager to claim their husbands, who were restored to their youth, by virtue of their falling in the field of battle.
आदिवं रचिताकाराः कुन्तकाननकान्तयः ।
वीराणां स्वर्गमारोढुमिव सोपानपङ्क्तयः ॥ २१ ॥
ādivaṃ racitākārāḥ kuntakānanakāntayaḥ |
vīrāṇāṃ svargamāroḍhumiva sopānapaṅktayaḥ || 21 ||
The glaring light of the line of lances that had reached the skies, seemed as a flight of stairs or golden vistas, for the ascent of the brave to the gates of heaven.
कान्तकाञ्चनकान्ताङ्गे भटस्योरसि कामिनी ।
दृष्टा देवपुरन्ध्रीयं भर्तुरन्वेषणान्विता ॥ २२ ॥
kāntakāñcanakāntāṅge bhaṭasyorasi kāminī |
dṛṣṭā devapurandhrīyaṃ bharturanveṣaṇānvitā || 22 ||
The wife of the slain soldier, seeing now a heavenly goddess, taking possession of her husband’s fair gold-like breast, was looking about in search of another.
हा हतं सैन्यमस्माकं भटैऽरुद्धतमुष्टिभिः ।
महाप्रलयकल्लोलैः सुरशैलस्थलं यथा ॥ २३ ॥
hā hataṃ sainyamasmākaṃ bhaṭai’ruddhatamuṣṭibhiḥ |
mahāpralayakallolaiḥ suraśailasthalaṃ yathā || 23 ||
Generals, wailing loudly with their uplifted arms, over their fallen armies in the field, appeared as the cliffs of rocks, resounding to the clamorous surges below.
युध्यध्वमग्रतो मूढा नयतार्धमृतान्नरान् ।
निजान्पादप्रहारेण मैतान्दारयताधमाः ॥ २४ ॥
yudhyadhvamagrato mūḍhā nayatārdhamṛtānnarān |
nijānpādaprahāreṇa maitāndārayatādhamāḥ || 24 ||
They cried out to fight the foremost in war, and to remove the wounded to the rear; and not to trample over the bodies of their own soldiers, now lying low on the ground.
धम्मिल्लवलनाव्यग्रे घनोत्कण्ठेऽप्सरोगणे ।
भटो दिव्यशरीरेण पार्श्वप्राप्तो निरीक्ष्यताम् ॥ २५ ॥
dhammillavalanāvyagre ghanotkaṇṭhe’psarogaṇe |
bhaṭo divyaśarīreṇa pārśvaprāpto nirīkṣyatām || 25 ||
Behold! there the Apsaras eagerly tying their loosened locks, and advancing with sobbing bosoms to receive the departed warriors, joining their company in their celestial forms.
फुल्लहेमारविन्दासु च्छायाशीतजलानिलैः ।
स्वर्गनद्यास्तटीष्वेनं दूरायातं विनोदय ॥ २६ ॥
phullahemāravindāsu cchāyāśītajalānilaiḥ |
svarganadyāstaṭīṣvenaṃ dūrāyātaṃ vinodaya || 26 ||
Ah! receive them says one, who are our guests from afar, on the banks of the rivers of Paradise, decorated with lotus blossoms of golden hue, and entertain them with fresh water and cooling breeze.
विविधायुधसंघट्टखण्डितोग्रास्थिकोटयः ।
खे कवन्त्यः कणत्कारैः प्रसृतास्तारका इव ॥ २७ ॥
vividhāyudhasaṃghaṭṭakhaṇḍitogrāsthikoṭayaḥ |
khe kavantyaḥ kaṇatkāraiḥ prasṛtāstārakā iva || 27 ||
Look! there the groups of weapons, broken into pieces like bones by their concussion, are huddled in the air with a jingling sound (kanatkara), and shining as stars in the sky.
व्योम्नि जीवनदीवाहे वहत्सायकवारिणि ।
चक्रावर्तिनि गच्छन्ति गिरयोऽप्यणुपङ्कताम् ॥ २८ ॥
vyomni jīvanadīvāhe vahatsāyakavāriṇi |
cakrāvartini gacchanti girayo’pyaṇupaṅkatām || 28 ||
Lo! the stream of deceased souls, flowing in arrowy currents and rolling in whirlpools of the flying disks, is rapidly gliding with the pebbles and stones, flung from the slings in the air.
भ्रमद्भिर्ग्रहमार्गेषु शिरोभिर्वीरभूभृताम् ।
आयुधांशुलतानाललग्नासिदलकण्टकैः ॥ २९ ॥
bhramadbhirgrahamārgeṣu śirobhirvīrabhūbhṛtām |
āyudhāṃśulatānālalagnāsidalakaṇṭakaiḥ || 29 ||
The sky is become as a lake of lotuses with the lotiform heads of warriors flung aloft in the air, while the flying weapons are floating like their stalks in it, with the broken swords as their thorns all around.
केतुपट्टंमृणालाङ्गदलैर्लब्धशिलीमुखैः ।
वहद्वातचलत्पद्मं नभः पद्मसरः कृतम् ॥ ३० ॥
ketupaṭṭaṃmṛṇālāṅgadalairlabdhaśilīmukhaiḥ |
vahadvātacalatpadmaṃ nabhaḥ padmasaraḥ kṛtam || 30 ||
The flying fragments of the flags, forming the folia of the plants, and the darts sticking to them, appear as big black bees fluttering about the flowers moving with the breeze.
मृतमातङ्गसंघाते गिराविव पिपीलिकाः ।
भीरवः परिलीयन्ते स्त्रियः पुंवक्षसीव च ॥ ३१ ॥
mṛtamātaṅgasaṃghāte girāviva pipīlikāḥ |
bhīravaḥ parilīyante striyaḥ puṃvakṣasīva ca || 31 ||
The arrows sticking to the dead bodies of elephants, are as emmets on mountain tops, and as timid girls clinging to the bosoms of men.
अपूर्वोत्तमसौन्दर्यकान्तसंगमशंसिनः ।
वान्ति विद्याधरस्त्रीणामलकोल्लासिनोऽनिलाः ॥ ३२ ॥
apūrvottamasaundaryakāntasaṃgamaśaṃsinaḥ |
vānti vidyādharastrīṇāmalakollāsino’nilāḥ || 32 ||
The winds unfurling the curling locks of Vidyadhara females, indicate their approaching spousals, as the unfolding plumage of fowls are predictions of success in augury.
छत्रेषूड्डीयमानेषु स्थितेषु व्योम्नि चन्द्रता ।
इन्दुनेव यशोमूर्त्या कृता शुभ्रातपत्रता ॥ ३३ ॥
chatreṣūḍḍīyamāneṣu sthiteṣu vyomni candratā |
induneva yaśomūrtyā kṛtā śubhrātapatratā || 33 ||
The lifted umbrellas are shining as so many moons on high and the moon shining above in the form of fair fame, spreads her light as a white canopy on earth.
भटो मरणमूर्च्छान्ते निमेषेणामरं वपुः ।
स्वकर्मशिल्पिरचितं प्राप्तः स्वप्नपुरं यथा ॥ ३४ ॥
bhaṭo maraṇamūrcchānte nimeṣeṇāmaraṃ vapuḥ |
svakarmaśilpiracitaṃ prāptaḥ svapnapuraṃ yathā || 34 ||
The brave warrior, soon after his death, assumes a celestial form framed by his own merit, as a man in his sleep, attains to a state, he has imagined to himself in his waking.
शूलशक्त्यृष्टिचक्राणां वृष्टयो मुक्ततुष्टयः ।
व्योमाब्धौ मत्स्यमकरसंकुलावयवाः स्थिताः ॥ ३५ ॥
śūlaśaktyṛṣṭicakrāṇāṃ vṛṣṭayo muktatuṣṭayaḥ |
vyomābdhau matsyamakarasaṃkulāvayavāḥ sthitāḥ || 35 ||
The flying spears and lances and clubs and disks are hurtling in the air, like shoals of restless fishes and sharks, moving about incessantly in the troubled waters of the sea.
शरोत्कृत्तसितच्छत्रकलहंसैर्नभःस्थलम् ।
भाति संचितपूर्णेन्दुबिम्बलक्षैरिवावृतम् ॥ ३६ ॥
śarotkṛttasitacchatrakalahaṃsairnabhaḥsthalam |
bhāti saṃcitapūrṇendubimbalakṣairivāvṛtam || 36 ||
The milk-white rags of umbrellas, tattered and shattered by arrowy shafts, are flying as cranes in the crowded air, and appearing as the disk of the moon broken into a thousand pieces.
क्रियते गगनोड्डीनैश्चामरैश्चारुघर्घरैः ।
वातावधूतसंरोधतरङ्गनिकरद्युतिः ॥ ३७ ॥
kriyate gaganoḍḍīnaiścāmaraiścārughargharaiḥ |
vātāvadhūtasaṃrodhataraṅganikaradyutiḥ || 37 ||
These waving flappers flying in the air with a hoarse gurgling (gharghara), seem as the waves of the sea lifted in the air, and undulating with a babbling noise in the ocean of the sky.
दृश्यन्ते हेतिदलिताश्छत्रचामरकेतवः ।
आकाशक्षेत्रविक्षिप्ता यशःशालिलता इव ॥ ३८ ॥
dṛśyante hetidalitāśchatracāmaraketavaḥ |
ākāśakṣetravikṣiptā yaśaḥśālilatā iva || 38 ||
Those slips of the flappers and umbrellas, hashed by the slashing arms, appear as the laurels of glory flung aloft and flying in the regions of air.
वहद्भिर्व्योम्नि सक्षेम पश्य नीता क्षयं शरै ।
शक्तिवृष्टिरुपायान्ती सस्यश्रीः शलभैरिव ॥ ३९ ॥
vahadbhirvyomni sakṣema paśya nītā kṣayaṃ śarai |
śaktivṛṣṭirupāyāntī sasyaśrīḥ śalabhairiva || 39 ||
Behold ye friends! how these flying arrows and showering spears, are approaching to us with hits of their spoil, like bodies of locusts, bearing away their verdant booty in the air.
एषा प्रसृतदोर्दण्डभटखड्गच्छटात्कृतिः ।
कठिनात्कंकटाज्जाता मृत्योरेवोग्रहुंकृतिः ॥ ४० ॥
eṣā prasṛtadordaṇḍabhaṭakhaḍgacchaṭātkṛtiḥ |
kaṭhinātkaṃkaṭājjātā mṛtyorevograhuṃkṛtiḥ || 40 ||
Hearken to the clanking sound of the striking steel, in the uplifted arm of the armoured soldier, resounding like the loud larum of the regent of death.
हेतिकल्पानिलक्षुण्णा दन्तनिर्झरवारयः ।
जनताक्षयकालेऽस्मिन्भग्ना नागा नगा इव ॥ ४१ ॥
hetikalpānilakṣuṇṇā dantanirjharavārayaḥ |
janatākṣayakāle’sminbhagnā nāgā nagā iva || 41 ||
Hear the tremendous blows of weapons, like the blowing of an all destroying tornado, throwing down the elephants like crags of mountains, with their long stretching tusks lying like water falls on the ground.
सचक्रनाथसूताश्वं व्यूढं रक्तमहाहृदे ।
हाहाभिभूतगतिकं चेष्टते रथपत्त्नम् ॥ ४२ ॥
sacakranāthasūtāśvaṃ vyūḍhaṃ raktamahāhṛde |
hāhābhibhūtagatikaṃ ceṣṭate rathapattnam || 42 ||
Lo! there the drivers of war chariots are stopped in their course, and striving to make their way through the puddles of blood, in which the wheels and horses of the car, are huddled together as in a bog of quagmire.
करकंकटकुट्यङ्कखड्गसंघट्टटांकृतैः ।
कालरात्र्या प्रनृत्यन्त्या रणवीणेव वाद्यते ॥ ४३ ॥
karakaṃkaṭakuṭyaṅkakhaḍgasaṃghaṭṭaṭāṃkṛtaiḥ |
kālarātryā pranṛtyantyā raṇavīṇeva vādyate || 43 ||
The jingling of arms and armours, and the jangling of swords and steel, resound, as the tingling of the lute at the dancing of the dire and dreaded dame of death.
नरेभखरवाजिभ्यो ये च्युता रक्तनिर्झराः ।
पश्य तद्बिन्दुसिक्तेन वायुनारुणिता दिशः ॥ ४४ ॥
narebhakharavājibhyo ye cyutā raktanirjharāḥ |
paśya tadbindusiktena vāyunāruṇitā diśaḥ || 44 ||
See the skirts of the sky reddened by the roseate particles, borne by the winds from the streams of blood, issuing out of the wounds in the bodies of men, horses and elephants lying dead in the field.
शस्त्रांशुजलदे व्योम्नि कालीचिकुरमेचके ।
शरकोरकभारस्रङ्मेघे विद्युदिवोदिता ॥ ४५ ॥
śastrāṃśujalade vyomni kālīcikuramecake |
śarakorakabhārasraṅmeghe vidyudivoditā || 45 ||
Look at the array of arrows formed in the air as a wreath of blossoms, and falling as the rays of lightnings from the dark black clouds of weapons hanging on high.
अनन्तरक्तसंसक्तसन्नावनितलायुधैः ।
भुवनं भात्यभिज्वालमग्निलोक इवाकुलम् ॥ ४६ ॥
anantaraktasaṃsaktasannāvanitalāyudhaiḥ |
bhuvanaṃ bhātyabhijvālamagniloka ivākulam || 46 ||
Lo! the surface of the earth filled with blood-red weapons, appearing as faggots of fire strewn over the ground in an universal conflagration.
भुशुण्डीशक्तिशूलासिमुसलप्रासवृष्टयः ।
अन्योन्यच्छेदभेदाभ्यां करप्रकरतोऽपतन् ॥ ४७ ॥
bhuśuṇḍīśaktiśūlāsimusalaprāsavṛṣṭayaḥ |
anyonyacchedabhedābhyāṃ karaprakarato’patan || 47 ||
The multitudes of commingled weapons, clashing with and breaking one another into pieces, are falling down in showers, like the innumerable rays of the sun.
अक्षोभैकप्रहरणाद्यातुधान्योऽन्यचेष्टितम् ।
संरम्भावेक्षणप्रज्ञं रणं स्वप्नमिव स्थितम् ॥ ४८ ॥
akṣobhaikapraharaṇādyātudhānyo’nyaceṣṭitam |
saṃrambhāvekṣaṇaprajñaṃ raṇaṃ svapnamiva sthitam || 48 ||
The fighting of one man among the motionless many, is like the magic play of a magician where the conjurer acts his parts amidst the bewitched beholders, Lo! there the indifferent spectators viewing the warfare as a dream.
अनन्यशब्दाविरतहताहतिरणज्झणैः ।
गायतीव क्षतक्षोभमुदितो रणभैरवः ॥ ४९ ॥
ananyaśabdāviratahatāhatiraṇajjhaṇaiḥ |
gāyatīva kṣatakṣobhamudito raṇabhairavaḥ || 49 ||
The field of battle, where all other sounds are hushed under the clashing of arms, resembles the stage of the martial god Bhairava, chanting his pitiless war song in jarring cacophony.
अन्योन्यरणहेत्युग्रचूर्णपूर्णो रणार्णवः ।
वालुकामय एवाभूच्छिन्नच्छत्रतरङ्गकः ॥ ५० ॥
anyonyaraṇahetyugracūrṇapūrṇo raṇārṇavaḥ |
vālukāmaya evābhūcchinnacchatrataraṅgakaḥ || 50 ||
The battlefield is turned to a sea of blood, filled with the sands of pounded weapons, and rolling with the waves of broken discuses.
सरभसरसवद्विसारितूर्यप्रतिरवपूरितलोकपाललोकः ।
रणगिरिरयमुग्रपक्षदक्षप्रतिसृतिवृत्त इवाम्बरे युगान्ते ॥ ५१ ॥
sarabhasarasavadvisāritūryapratiravapūritalokapālalokaḥ |
raṇagirirayamugrapakṣadakṣapratisṛtivṛtta ivāmbare yugānte || 51 ||
All the quarters under the regents of the sky, are filled with martial music loudly resounding on all sides; and the rebellowing hills seem to challenge one another, in their aerial flight and fighting.
हा हा धिक्प्रविकटकङ्कटाननोद्यत्प्रोड्डीनप्रकटतडिच्छटाप्रतप्ताः ।
क्रेङ्कारस्फुरितगुणेरिता रणन्तो नाराचाः शिखरिशिलागणं वहन्ति ॥ ५२ ॥
hā hā dhikpravikaṭakaṅkaṭānanodyatproḍḍīnaprakaṭataḍicchaṭāprataptāḥ |
kreṅkārasphuritaguṇeritā raṇanto nārācāḥ śikhariśilāgaṇaṃ vahanti || 52 ||
Alas for shame! says one, that these arrows flung with such force from the bow strings, and flying with such loud hissing, and glittering as red hot lightnings in the air, are foiled in their aim of piercing the impenetrable armours, and driven back by them to hit at the stony hills.
छिन्नेच्छाच्छमिति न यावदङ्गभङ्गं कुर्वन्तो ज्वलदनलोज्ज्वलाः पृषत्काः ।
तावद्द्राग्द्रुतमित एहि मित्र यामो यामोऽयं प्रवहति वासरश्चतुर्थः ॥ ५३ ॥
chinnecchācchamiti na yāvadaṅgabhaṅgaṃ kurvanto jvaladanalojjvalāḥ pṛṣatkāḥ |
tāvaddrāgdrutamita ehi mitra yāmo yāmo’yaṃ pravahati vāsaraścaturthaḥ || 53 ||
Hear me friend, that art tired with the sight, that it is time for us to depart from this place, ere we are pierced in our bodies by these sharp arrows flashing as fire, and before the day runs its course of the fourth watch.
Janamejayan's धर्म जिज्ञासा 