ततः समभवद् युद्धं संध्यायाम् अतिदारुणम् ॥
द्रोणस्य च महाराज सृञ्जयानां च सर्वशः ॥
तमसा चावृते लोके न प्राज्ञायत किं चन ॥
सैन्येन रजसा चैव समन्ताद् उत्थितेन ह ॥
नरस्याश्वस्य नागस्य समसज्जत शोणितम् ॥
नापश्याम रजो भौमं कश्मलेनाभिसंवृताः ॥
tataḥ samabhavad yuddhaṃ saṃdhyāyām atidāruṇam ||
droṇasya ca mahārāja sṛñjayānāṃ ca sarvaśaḥ ||
tamasā cāvṛte loke na prājñāyata kiṃ cana ||
sainyena rajasā caiva samantād utthitena ha ||
narasyāśvasya nāgasya samasajjata śoṇitam ||
nāpaśyāma rajo bhaumaṃ kaśmalenābhisaṃvṛtāḥ ||
Then, at twilight, the most dreadful battle broke out between Drona and the Srinjayas on every side. And when the world was covered in darkness, nothing at all could be discerned -- and by the dust raised by the army, risen on every side. The blood of man, horse, and elephant mingled together; we could not see the dust of the earth, enveloped as we were by gloom.
12edf022cfb0 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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Darkness and dust erase everything visible, and the blood of men, horses, and elephants merges into one: the night lays bare the true nature of war -- an indistinguishable, common death. It is significant that even the earth's dust is hidden by the gloom: the battle is fought blind. The verse teaches that in the darkness of a night battle the last boundary between one's own and the enemy dissolves; and the blood flowing together as one reveals a truth the daylight had concealed -- that all who perish are one flesh, cut apart by the madness of strife.