जातरूपपरिष्कारैर् धनुर्भिः सुमहाधनैः ॥
सुवर्णपुङ्खैर् इषुभिर् नाराचैश् च सहस्रशः ॥
कर्णपाण्डवनिर्मुक्तैर् निर्मुक्तैर् इव पन्नगैः ॥
प्रासतोमरसंघातैः खड्गैश् च सपरश्वधैः ॥
सुवर्णविकृतैश् चापि गदामुसलपट्टिशैः ॥
वज्रैश् च विविधाकारैः शक्तिभिः परिघैर् अपि ॥
शतघ्नीभिश् च चित्राभिर् बभौ भारत मेदिनी ॥
jātarūpapariṣkārair dhanurbhiḥ sumahādhanaiḥ ||
suvarṇapuṅkhair iṣubhir nārācaiś ca sahasraśaḥ ||
karṇapāṇḍavanirmuktair nirmuktair iva pannagaiḥ ||
prāsatomarasaṃghātaiḥ khaḍgaiś ca saparaśvadhaiḥ ||
suvarṇavikṛtaiś cāpi gadāmusalapaṭṭiśaiḥ ||
vajraiś ca vividhākāraiḥ śaktibhiḥ parighair api ||
śataghnībhiś ca citrābhir babhau bhārata medinī ||
...with bows of very great worth, adorned with gold; with arrows of golden feathering and narachas, by the thousands, loosed by Karna and the Pandava like serpents that had cast off their skins; with masses of javelins and tomaras, and swords together with axes; with maces, musalas, and pattishas chased with gold; and with vajras of various shapes, shaktis, and parighas...
b185307a231c · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:25:13 PM UTC
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The river carries not only bodies but precious weapons -- the gold of bows and arrows turned into the debris of a flood. It is telling that instruments of killing, lovingly adorned, lie jumbled together with the fallen: the gleam of martial gear saves neither its owner nor itself. The verse teaches the vanity of martial splendor: everything a warrior prided himself on, gold and steel alike, war sweeps into one bloody drain, where its worth is no higher than dust.