वारणाश् च महाराज समासाद्य परस्परम् ॥
विषाणैर् दारयाम् आसुः संक्रुद्धाश् च मदोत्कटाः ॥
हयारोहान् हयारोहाः प्रासशक्तिपरश्वधैः ॥
बिभिदुस् तुमुले युद्धे प्रार्थयन्तो महद् यशः ॥
पत्तयश् च महाबाहो शतशः शस्त्रपाणयः ॥
अन्योन्यम् आर्दयन् राजन् नित्ययत्ताः पराक्रमे ॥
vāraṇāś ca mahārāja samāsādya parasparam ||
viṣāṇair dārayām āsuḥ saṃkruddhāś ca madotkaṭāḥ ||
hayārohān hayārohāḥ prāsaśaktiparaśvadhaiḥ ||
bibhidus tumule yuddhe prārthayanto mahad yaśaḥ ||
pattayaś ca mahābāho śataśaḥ śastrapāṇayaḥ ||
anyonyam ārdayan rājan nityayattāḥ parākrame ||
And the elephants, O great king, meeting one another, tore each other with their tusks, enraged and furious from rut. Horsemen against horsemen pierced one another with lances, shaktis, and axes in the tumultuous battle, seeking great glory. And the foot-soldiers, O mighty-armed one, by hundreds, weapons in hand, tormented one another, O king, ever eager for valor.
60b899df246d · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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All branches of the army converge in a common slaughter - elephants, cavalry, infantry - and each "seeks glory." It is telling that the thirst for glory drives even the nameless foot-soldiers: vanity sends both the great and the small to their deaths. The verse teaches that the pursuit of glory levels all in destruction; and the glory for which men tear one another apart proves, in the end, to be nothing but a common field of the dead, where the name of the victor is lost among thousands of the unnamed.