Mahabharata · 7.72.12–13
॥
Devanāgarī
उत्थितान्य् अगणेयानि कबन्धानि समन्ततः ॥
अदृश्यन्त महाराज तस्मिन् परमसंकुले ॥
गृध्राः कङ्का वडाः श्येना वायसा जम्बुकास् तथा ॥
बहवः पिशिताशाश् च तत्रादृश्यन्त मारिष ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
utthitāny agaṇeyāni kabandhāni samantataḥ ||
adṛśyanta mahārāja tasmin paramasaṃkule ||
gṛdhrāḥ kaṅkā vaḍāḥ śyenā vāyasā jambukās tathā ||
bahavaḥ piśitāśāś ca tatrādṛśyanta māriṣa ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
उत्थितानि अगणेयानिutthitāni agaṇeyānirisen up, innumerable; risen up, innumerable
कबन्धानि समन्ततःkabandhāni samantataḥheadless bodies everywhere; headless bodies everywhere
अदृश्यन्त महाराजadṛśyanta mahārājawere seen, O great king; were seen, O sovereign
तस्मिन् परमसंकुलेtasmin paramasaṃkulein that utmost confusion; in that utmost confusion
गृध्राः कङ्काः वडाः श्येनाःgṛdhrāḥ kaṅkāḥ vaḍāḥ śyenāḥvultures, kankas, herons, hawks; vultures, kankas, herons, hawks
वायसाः जम्बुकाः तथाvāyasāḥ jambukāḥ tathācrows and jackals; crows and jackals
बहवः पिशिताशाः चbahavaḥ piśitāśāḥ caand many devourers of flesh; and many carnivores
तत्र अदृश्यन्त मारिषtatra adṛśyanta māriṣathere were seen, O venerable one; there were seen, O venerable one
Translation
Innumerable headless bodies, risen up everywhere, were seen, O great king, in that utmost confusion. Vultures, kankas, herons, hawks, crows, and jackals, and many devourers of flesh were seen there, O venerable one.
Version
d6a3ed76afbc · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:52:56 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Again 'kabandhāni,' headless bodies, and the gathering of scavengers. The poem does not tire of showing this horror, so that war may not seem glorious. It is significant that amid human valor only the carrion-birds triumph. The verse teaches that the true 'victor' of slaughter is the carrion and its devourers: men perish while vultures and jackals feast; and whoever remembers who inherits the field of death will not glorify battle but will thirst for a peace in which there is no such harvest for decay.