संजय उवाच
तावकास् तु समीक्ष्यैव वृष्ण्यन्धककुरूत्तमौ ॥
प्राग् अत्वरञ् जिघांसन्तस् तथैव विजयः परान् ॥
सुवर्णचित्रैर् वैयाघ्रैः स्वनवद्भिर् महारथैः ॥
दीपयन्तो दिशः सर्वा ज्वलद्भिर् इव पावकैः ॥
रुक्मपृष्ठैश् च दुष्प्रेक्ष्यैः कार्मुकैः पृथिवीपते ॥
कूजद्भिर् अतुलान् नादान् रोषितैर् उरगैर् इव ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
tāvakās tu samīkṣyaiva vṛṣṇyandhakakurūttamau ||
prāg atvarañ jighāṃsantas tathaiva vijayaḥ parān ||
suvarṇacitrair vaiyāghraiḥ svanavadbhir mahārathaiḥ ||
dīpayanto diśaḥ sarvā jvaladbhir iva pāvakaiḥ ||
rukmapṛṣṭhaiś ca duṣprekṣyaiḥ kārmukaiḥ pṛthivīpate ||
kūjadbhir atulān nādān roṣitair uragair iva ||
But your [warriors], the moment they caught sight of the best of the Vrishnis-Andhakas and Kurus, rushed forward, eager to kill -- and Vijaya likewise rushed upon the foes. With thundering great chariots of the maharathas, gold-patterned and tiger-striped, lighting up all quarters as if with blazing fires, and with gold-backed bows hard to look upon, O lord of the earth, which rang with incomparable sounds like enraged serpents.
44ade990e505 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:52:56 PM UTC
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The army's splendor -- gold, tiger skins, blazing chariots -- is shown in a beauty that is also the beauty of ruin: "jvaladbhiḥ iva pāvakaiḥ", like blazing flame that destroys what it lights. The ring of the bows, "roṣitaiḥ uragaiḥ iva", like the hiss of enraged serpents, betrays beneath the splendor a deadly fury. It is telling that both sides rush forward "jighāṃsantaḥ", desiring to kill. The verse teaches that martial splendor is the adornment of death, and beneath the gleam of weapons lies the serpent's venom of enmity.