गिरिशृङ्गोपमश् चात्र नाराचेन निपातितः ॥
मातङ्गो न्यपतद् भूमौ नदीरोध इवोष्णगे ॥
तथैव रथिनं नागः क्षरन् गिरिर् इवारुजत् ॥
अध्यतिष्ठत् पदा भूमौ सहाश्वं सहसारथिम् ॥
शूरान् प्रहरतो दृष्ट्वा कृतास्त्रान् रुधिरोक्षितान् ॥
बहून् अप्य् आविशन् मोहो भीरून् हृदयदुर्बलान् ॥
सर्वम् आविग्नम् अभवन् न प्राज्ञायत किं चन ॥
सैन्ये च रजसा ध्वस्ते निर्मर्यादम् अवर्तत ॥
giriśṛṅgopamaś cātra nārācena nipātitaḥ ||
mātaṅgo nyapatad bhūmau nadīrodha ivoṣṇage ||
tathaiva rathinaṃ nāgaḥ kṣaran girir ivārujat ||
adhyatiṣṭhat padā bhūmau sahāśvaṃ sahasārathim ||
śūrān praharato dṛṣṭvā kṛtāstrān rudhirokṣitān ||
bahūn apy āviśan moho bhīrūn hṛdayadurbalān ||
sarvam āvignam abhavan na prājñāyata kiṃ cana ||
sainye ca rajasā dhvaste nirmaryādam avartata ||
An elephant resembling a mountain peak, brought down there by a naracha-arrow, fell to the ground like a river's dam in the scorching season. Likewise an elephant, exuding must, like a mountain, crushed a chariot-fighter, pinning him to the ground with its foot, together with the horses and the charioteer. Seeing the warriors striking, skilled in arms, blood-drenched, dread seized many who were timid, weak of heart. Everything fell into turmoil, nothing could be discerned, and when the army was veiled in dust, all was happening without restraint.
55af9da9618c · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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The sight of the bloodied slaughter brings 'dread upon the weak-hearted' — and the tradition does not condemn them but understands: the horror of war naturally shakes one who has not turned to stone. The elephant's fall, 'like a river's dam,' and the universal turmoil, where 'nothing could be discerned,' complete the picture of disintegration. It is telling that the turmoil is named directly as a consequence of lost sight — the dust veils everything, and with it order disappears. The verse teaches that to be shaken before the horror of war is no disgrace but a sign of a living heart; that the chaos of battle is born too of the darkening of sight — when nothing can be seen, both formation and reason collapse; and that one is wise who discerns in the 'dread of the timid' not mere faintheartedness but also the healthy response of humanity, which recoils from the boundless trampling of life.