कनकाङ्गदकेयूरैः कुण्डलैर् मणिभिः शुभैः ॥
तनुत्रैः सतलत्रैश् च हारैर् निष्कैश् च भारत ॥
वस्त्रैश् छत्रैश् च विध्वस्तैश् चामरव्यजनैर् अपि ॥
गजाश्वमनुजैर् भिन्नैः शस्त्रैः स्यन्दनभूषणैः ॥
तैस् तैश् च विविधैर् भावैस् तत्र तत्र वसुंधरा ॥
पतितैर् अपविद्धैश् च संबभौ द्यौर् इव ग्रहैः ॥
kanakāṅgadakeyūraiḥ kuṇḍalair maṇibhiḥ śubhaiḥ ||
tanutraiḥ satalatraiś ca hārair niṣkaiś ca bhārata ||
vastraiś chatraiś ca vidhvastaiś cāmaravyajanair api ||
gajāśvamanujair bhinnaiḥ śastraiḥ syandanabhūṣaṇaiḥ ||
tais taiś ca vividhair bhāvais tatra tatra vasuṃdharā ||
patitair apaviddhaiś ca saṃbabhau dyaur iva grahaiḥ ||
...with golden armlets and bracelets, earrings, and beautiful gems; with armor and vambraces, necklaces and nishkas, O Bharata; with garments and shattered parasols, and with fly-whisks made of yak-tails; with elephants, horses, and men cut down, with weapons and chariot ornaments -- with all these various objects, fallen and scattered here and there, the earth shone like the sky with its planets.
6392f54e366c · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:25:13 PM UTC
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The earth, strewn with the gold of ornaments and with bodies, is likened to the starry sky: horror is clothed in the image of celestial radiance. This comparison is telling -- what gleams like the constellations is in truth dust and blood. The verse teaches us to see the terrible substance behind a beautiful image; and the splendor the living once prized, having become the litter of a battlefield, only reveals the more bitterly the vanity of all with which man adorns his mortality.