Санджая
तेषु शूरेषु युद्धाय गतेषु भरतर्षभ ॥
बभूव रजनी घोरा भीरूणां भयवर्धिनी ॥
योधानाम् अशिवा रौद्रा राजन्न् अन्तकगामिनी ॥
कुञ्जराश्वमनुष्याणां प्राणान्तकरणी तदा ॥
तस्यां रजन्यां घोरायां नदन्त्यः सर्वतः शिवाः ॥
न्यवेदयन् भयं घोरं सज्वालकवलैर् मुखैः ॥
teṣu śūreṣu yuddhāya gateṣu bharatarṣabha ||
babhūva rajanī ghorā bhīrūṇāṃ bhayavardhinī ||
yodhānām aśivā raudrā rājann antakagāminī ||
kuñjarāśvamanuṣyāṇāṃ prāṇāntakaraṇī tadā ||
tasyāṃ rajanyāṃ ghorāyāṃ nadantyaḥ sarvataḥ śivāḥ ||
nyavedayan bhayaṃ ghoraṃ sajvālakavalair mukhaiḥ ||
When those heroes had rushed to battle, o bull among the Bharatas, there came a terrible night, increasing the terror of the faint-hearted, inauspicious for the warriors, dreadful, o king, leading to Antaka [Yama], cutting off then the life of elephants, horses, and men. In that terrible night, jackals howling from all sides proclaimed dreadful terror, their mouths spewing shreds of flame.
c10139a9bd1e · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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Night and dire omens -- howling jackals with fire in their mouths -- heighten the dread of the coming slaughter. It is significant that nature itself seems to grieve: the evil signs are the voice of creation crying out against unrighteous carnage. The verse teaches that war, dragging on even into the night, is contrary to the very order of creation; and the ominous signs with which the world answers are not superstition, but a token that nature itself shudders before an unquenchable thirst for blood.