तौ मण्डलानि चित्राणि रथाभ्यां सव्यदक्षिणम् ॥
चरमाणाव् अयुध्येतां रथशिक्षाविशारदौ ॥
अथ पणवमृदङ्गदुन्दुभीनां; कृकरमहानकभेरिझर्झराणाम् ॥
निनदम् अतिभृशं नराः प्रचक्रुर्; लवणजलोद्भवसिंहनादमिश्रम् ॥
tau maṇḍalāni citrāṇi rathābhyāṃ savyadakṣiṇam ||
caramāṇāv ayudhyetāṃ rathaśikṣāviśāradau ||
atha paṇavamṛdaṅgadundubhīnāṃ; kṛkaramahānakabherijharjharāṇām ||
ninadam atibhṛśaṃ narāḥ pracakrur; lavaṇajalodbhavasiṃhanādamiśram ||
Those two, skilled in the science of chariot warfare, fought, circling on their chariots in fanciful circles to left and right. Then the warriors raised a deafening din of panavas, mridangas and dundubhis, krikaras, great drums, bheris and jharjharas, mingled with a lion's roar, as though rising from the salt sea.
7bf5fa6dbd4f · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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The duel of two masters becomes something like a pattern — 'fanciful circles to left and right': mortal combat takes on the beauty of a dance, for skill preserves its grace even in a clash of arms. And the thunder of drums, mingled with roaring, 'as from the salt sea,' shows the grandeur of the spectacle. It is telling that the tradition admires the skill of both, without dividing them into right and wrong in the very craft of battle. The verse teaches that perfect mastery reveals beauty and harmony even in a fight to the death, turning combat into art; that the fearsome spectacle of war seizes the ear and eye like the surf of the sea; and that in a pure contest of skill, apart from enmity, there is its own measured charm — though behind it, as always, stands imminent death, and this beauty of the duel only throws into relief the grief to come.