सेनाग्राद् अभिनिष्पत्य प्रायुध्यंस् तत्र मानवाः ॥
उभयोः सेनयो राजन् व्यतिषक्तरथद्विपाः ॥
हयारोहैर् हयारोहाः पात्यन्ते स्म महाहवे ॥
ऋष्टिभिर् विमलाग्राभिः प्रासैर् अपि च संयुगे ॥
रथी रथिनम् आसाद्य शरैः कनकभूषणैः ॥
पातयाम् आस समरे तस्मिन्न् अतिभयंकरे ॥
गजारोहा गजारोहान् नाराचशरतोमरैः ॥
संसक्ताः पातयाम् आसुस् तव तेषां च संघशः ॥
पत्तिसंघा रणे पत्तीन् भिण्डिपालपरश्वधैः ॥
न्यपातयन्त संहृष्टाः परस्परकृतागसः ॥
पदाती रथिनं संख्ये रथी चापि पदातिनम् ॥
न्यपातयच् छितैः शस्त्रैः सेनयोर् उभयोर् अपि ॥
गजारोहा हयारोहान् पातयां चक्रिरे तदा ॥
हयारोहा गजस्थांश् च तद् अद्भुतम् इवाभवत् ॥
गजारोहवरैश् चापि तत्र तत्र पदातयः ॥
पातिताः समदृश्यन्त तैश् चापि गजयोधिनः ॥
पत्तिसंघा हयारोहैः सादिसंघाश् च पत्तिभिः ॥
पात्यमाना व्यदृश्यन्त शतशो ऽथ सहस्रशः ॥
senāgrād abhiniṣpatya prāyudhyaṃs tatra mānavāḥ ||
ubhayoḥ senayo rājan vyatiṣaktarathadvipāḥ ||
hayārohair hayārohāḥ pātyante sma mahāhave ||
ṛṣṭibhir vimalāgrābhiḥ prāsair api ca saṃyuge ||
rathī rathinam āsādya śaraiḥ kanakabhūṣaṇaiḥ ||
pātayām āsa samare tasminn atibhayaṃkare ||
gajārohā gajārohān nārācaśaratomaraiḥ ||
saṃsaktāḥ pātayām āsus tava teṣāṃ ca saṃghaśaḥ ||
pattisaṃghā raṇe pattīn bhiṇḍipālaparaśvadhaiḥ ||
nyapātayanta saṃhṛṣṭāḥ parasparakṛtāgasaḥ ||
padātī rathinaṃ saṃkhye rathī cāpi padātinam ||
nyapātayac chitaiḥ śastraiḥ senayor ubhayor api ||
gajārohā hayārohān pātayāṃ cakrire tadā ||
hayārohā gajasthāṃś ca tad adbhutam ivābhavat ||
gajārohavaraiś cāpi tatra tatra padātayaḥ ||
pātitāḥ samadṛśyanta taiś cāpi gajayodhinaḥ ||
pattisaṃghā hayārohaiḥ sādisaṃghāś ca pattibhiḥ ||
pātyamānā vyadṛśyanta śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
Bursting from the front ranks of the armies, men fought there; in the two hosts, O king, chariots and elephants became entangled together. In the great battle, horsemen felled horsemen with bright-pointed rishtis and with spears. Charioteer, meeting charioteer, cast him down in that most fearsome fight with gold-adorned arrows. Warriors on elephants, grappling with one another, felled their foes in throngs on both sides with narachas, arrows, and tomaras. Companies of foot-soldiers, exulting and repaying the wrongs done to them, struck down infantry in battle with bhindipalas and axes. In both armies alike, foot-soldier felled charioteer with sharpened weapons, and charioteer felled foot-soldier. Warriors on elephants then cast down horsemen, and horsemen cast down those mounted on elephants, and it seemed a marvel. Everywhere foot-soldiers were seen felled by the finest elephant-riders, and they in turn struck down the elephant-warriors. Companies of infantry fell before horsemen, and companies of horsemen before infantry, by the hundreds and by the thousands.
d105cbc35139 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:22:45 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The battle sheds its clean categories: infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots strike one another across the usual order. In this mingling, the dissolution of military form into a bare struggle for life becomes visible.