भीष्मो ऽपि समरे राजन् पाण्डवानाम् अनीकिनीम् ॥
कालयाम् आस बलवान् पालः पशुगणान् इव ॥
ततो गाण्डीवनिर्घोषः प्रादुरासीद् विशां पते ॥
दक्षिणेन वरूथिन्याः पार्थस्यारीन् विनिघ्नतः ॥
उत्तस्थुः समरे तत्र कबन्धानि समन्ततः ॥
कुरूणां चापि सैन्येषु पाण्डवानां च भारत ॥
शोणितोदं रथावर्तं गजद्वीपं हयोर्मिणम् ॥
रथनौभिर् नरव्याघ्राः प्रतेरुः सैन्यसागरम् ॥
छिन्नहस्ता विकवचा विदेहाश् च नरोत्तमाः ॥
पतितास् तत्र दृश्यन्ते शतशो ऽथ सहस्रशः ॥
निहतैर् मत्तमातङ्गैः शोणितौघपरिप्लुतैः ॥
भूर् भाति भरतश्रेष्ठ पर्वतैर् आचिता यथा ॥
तत्राद्भुतम् अपश्याम तव तेषां च भारत ॥
न तत्रासीत् पुमान् कश् चिद् यो योद्धुं नाभिकाङ्क्षति ॥
एवं युयुधिरे वीराः प्रार्थयाना महद् यशः ॥
तावकाः पाण्डवैः सार्धं काङ्क्षमाणा जयं युधि ॥
bhīṣmo 'pi samare rājan pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm ||
kālayām āsa balavān pālaḥ paśugaṇān iva ||
tato gāṇḍīvanirghoṣaḥ prādurāsīd viśāṃ pate ||
dakṣiṇena varūthinyāḥ pārthasyārīn vinighnataḥ ||
uttasthuḥ samare tatra kabandhāni samantataḥ ||
kurūṇāṃ cāpi sainyeṣu pāṇḍavānāṃ ca bhārata ||
śoṇitodaṃ rathāvartaṃ gajadvīpaṃ hayormiṇam ||
rathanaubhir naravyāghrāḥ prateruḥ sainyasāgaram ||
chinnahastā vikavacā videhāś ca narottamāḥ ||
patitās tatra dṛśyante śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
nihatair mattamātaṅgaiḥ śoṇitaughapariplutaiḥ ||
bhūr bhāti bharataśreṣṭha parvatair ācitā yathā ||
tatrādbhutam apaśyāma tava teṣāṃ ca bhārata ||
na tatrāsīt pumān kaś cid yo yoddhuṃ nābhikāṅkṣati ||
evaṃ yuyudhire vīrāḥ prārthayānā mahad yaśaḥ ||
tāvakāḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ sārdhaṃ kāṅkṣamāṇā jayaṃ yudhi ||
Bhishma too, O king, in the battle began to drive the army of the Pandavas like a mighty herdsman driving his herds. Then, O lord of the people, on the right side of the battle line, the roar of the Gandiva arose, as Partha slew his foes. There in the battle, headless trunks rose up on every side, in the armies of the Kurus and of the Pandavas alike, O Bharata. Tigers among men crossed the ocean of the army in boats of chariots: its water was blood, its whirlpools were chariots, its islands were elephants, and its waves were horses. There the finest of men were seen fallen by the hundreds and thousands, hands severed, stripped of armor, headless. The earth, O best of the Bharatas, shone with slain, maddened elephants drenched in streams of blood, as though covered with mountains. There, O Bharata, we beheld a wonder among your men and theirs: there was not a single man who did not long to fight. So the heroes battled, your men together with the Pandavas, seeking great glory and longing for victory in the war."
ee46d4280397 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:38:21 PM UTC
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The chapter's close widens the view from single combats to the terrible sea of war. The glory the warriors seek is already inseparable from blood, from headless bodies, from ground covered with fallen elephants; the epic makes plain the cost hidden inside heroic longing.