शशाङ्कसंनिकाशैश् च वदनैश् चारुकुण्डलैः ॥
पतितैर् वृषभाक्षाणां बभौ भारत मेदिनी ॥
गजैश् च बहुधा छिन्नैः शयानैः पर्वतोपमैः ॥
रराजातिभृशं भूमिर् विकीर्णैर् इव पर्वतैः ॥
तपनीयमयैर् योक्त्रैर् मुक्ताजालविभूषितैः ॥
उरश्छदैर् विचित्रैश् च व्यशोभन्त तुरंगमाः ॥
गतसत्त्वा महीं प्राप्य प्रमृष्टा दीर्घबाहुना ॥
śaśāṅkasaṃnikāśaiś ca vadanaiś cārukuṇḍalaiḥ ||
patitair vṛṣabhākṣāṇāṃ babhau bhārata medinī ||
gajaiś ca bahudhā chinnaiḥ śayānaiḥ parvatopamaiḥ ||
rarājātibhṛśaṃ bhūmir vikīrṇair iva parvataiḥ ||
tapanīyamayair yoktrair muktājālavibhūṣitaiḥ ||
uraśchadair vicitraiś ca vyaśobhanta turaṃgamāḥ ||
gatasattvā mahīṃ prāpya pramṛṣṭā dīrghabāhunā ||
And with fallen faces like the moon, with beautiful earrings, of bull-eyed warriors, the earth shone, O Bharata. And with elephants cut in many places, lying like mountains, the earth shone exceedingly, as if with scattered mountains. With golden traces, adorned with pearl nets, and with varied breastplates, the horses shone.
cdd74dd94f2d · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:02:23 PM UTC
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The earth "babhau... rarāja", shines, strewn with severed faces like the moon and fallen elephants like mountains: the terrible splendor of death. It is telling that the epic finds in the very slaughter a fearsome beauty -- not for delight, but to display the enormity of loss. The verse teaches that war dresses devastation in radiance, and the fallen, beautiful of face, and horses in gold, turn the field into a dreadful magnificence; the one who beholds it is called not to admire but to be horrified at the cost of discord.