Mahabharata · 7.70.3–4
॥
Devanāgarī
तद् युद्धम् अभवद् घोरं तुमुलं लोमहर्षणम् ॥
पाञ्चालानां कुरूणां च व्यूहस्य पुरतो ऽद्भुतम् ॥
राजन् कदा चिन् नास्माभिर् दृष्टं तादृङ् न च श्रुतम् ॥
यादृङ् मध्यगते सूर्ये युद्धम् आसीद् विशां पते ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
tad yuddham abhavad ghoraṃ tumulaṃ lomaharṣaṇam ||
pāñcālānāṃ kurūṇāṃ ca vyūhasya purato 'dbhutam ||
rājan kadā cin nāsmābhir dṛṣṭaṃ tādṛṅ na ca śrutam ||
yādṛṅ madhyagate sūrye yuddham āsīd viśāṃ pate ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत् युद्धम् अभवत् घोरम्tat yuddham abhavat ghoramthat battle was terrible; that battle was terrible
तुमुलम् लोमहर्षणम्tumulam lomaharṣaṇamtumultuous, hair-raising; tumultuous, hair-raising
पाञ्चालानाम् कुरूणाम् चpāñcālānām kurūṇām caof the Panchalas and the Kurus; of the Panchalas and the Kurus
व्यूहस्य पुरतः अद्भुतम्vyūhasya purataḥ adbhutambefore the array — wondrous; before the array — wondrous
राजन् कदा चित् न अस्माभिःrājan kadā cit na asmābhiḥO king, never by us; O sovereign, never by us
दृष्टम् तादृक् न च श्रुतम्dṛṣṭam tādṛk na ca śrutamwas such a thing seen, nor heard of; was such a thing seen, nor heard of
यादृक् मध्यगते सूर्येyādṛk madhyagate sūryewhat, when the sun had reached the middle [of noon]; what, at midday
युद्धम् आसीत् विशां पतेyuddham āsīt viśāṃ patethe battle was, O lord of peoples; the battle was, O sovereign
Translation
That battle of the Panchalas and the Kurus before the array was terrible, tumultuous, hair-raising, wondrous. O king, never before have we seen or heard of such a thing as the battle that took place at midday, O lord of peoples.
Version
84c8b2d53b39 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The narrator, who has witnessed many battles, confesses: 'kadā cit na asmābhiḥ dṛṣṭaṃ na ca śrutam' — 'never seen nor heard of such a thing.' The midday slaughter surpasses all that has gone before. This eyewitness testimony is telling: the horror of war rises toward its own peak. The verse teaches that evil left unchecked in time climbs to an unheard-of measure: strife, once kindled, exceeds everything before it; and the unprecedented carnage is the bitter fruit of enmity not cut short at its start, left to grow to something never before seen.