ततः कबन्धः कश् चित् तु धनुर् आलम्ब्य तिष्ठति ॥
कश् चित् खड्गं विनिष्कृष्य भुजेनोद्यम्य तिष्ठति ॥
नाजानन्त शिरांस्य् उर्व्यां पतितानि नरर्षभाः ॥
अमृष्यमाणाः कौन्तेयं संग्रामे जयगृद्धिनः ॥
हयानाम् उत्तमाङ्गैश् च हस्तिहस्तैश् च मेदिनी ॥
बाहुभिश् च शिरोभिश् च वीराणां समकीर्यत ॥
tataḥ kabandhaḥ kaś cit tu dhanur ālambya tiṣṭhati ||
kaś cit khaḍgaṃ viniṣkṛṣya bhujenodyamya tiṣṭhati ||
nājānanta śirāṃsy urvyāṃ patitāni nararṣabhāḥ ||
amṛṣyamāṇāḥ kaunteyaṃ saṃgrāme jayagṛddhinaḥ ||
hayānām uttamāṅgaiś ca hastihastaiś ca medinī ||
bāhubhiś ca śirobhiś ca vīrāṇāṃ samakīryata ||
Then some headless trunk stands, leaning upon its bow; another, having drawn its sword, stands with it raised aloft in its arm. The bull-like men, fallen, did not know their heads had fallen to the ground -- unable to endure Kaunteya, craving victory in battle. With the heads of horses, and with the trunks of elephants, and with the arms and heads of heroes, the earth was strewn.
1c9997c03080 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
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The terrifying image of the kabandha, the headless body still standing with weapon in hand, is the extreme of martial obsession: fury moves the body even after the head is lost. "Na ajānanta śirāṃsi... patitāni", "they did not know that their heads had fallen" -- the passion of battle deafens even to death itself. It is telling that these jayagṛddhinaḥ, craving victory, do not notice their own death. The verse teaches how blinding passion can be: one possessed by the thirst for triumph does not perceive even his own death; and the image of the headless man still rushing into battle is a parable of the soul, driven by passion beyond reason and beyond life itself.