ततो ऽन्तरिक्षे बाणानां संग्रामो ऽन्य इवाभवत् ॥
घोररूपो महाराज योधानां हर्षवर्धनः ॥
ततो ऽस्त्रसंघर्षकृतैर् विस्फुलिङ्गैः समन्ततः ॥
बभौ निशामुखे व्योम खद्योतैर् इव संवृतम् ॥
स मार्गणगणैर् द्रौणिर् दिशः प्रच्छाद्य सर्वतः ॥
प्रियार्थं तव पुत्राणां राक्षसं समवाकिरत् ॥
ततः प्रववृते युद्धं द्रौणिराक्षसयोर् मृधे ॥
विगाढे रजनीमध्ये शक्रप्रह्रादयोर् इव ॥
tato 'ntarikṣe bāṇānāṃ saṃgrāmo 'nya ivābhavat ||
ghorarūpo mahārāja yodhānāṃ harṣavardhanaḥ ||
tato 'strasaṃgharṣakṛtair visphuliṅgaiḥ samantataḥ ||
babhau niśāmukhe vyoma khadyotair iva saṃvṛtam ||
sa mārgaṇagaṇair drauṇir diśaḥ pracchādya sarvataḥ ||
priyārthaṃ tava putrāṇāṃ rākṣasaṃ samavākirat ||
tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṃ drauṇirākṣasayor mṛdhe ||
vigāḍhe rajanīmadhye śakraprahrādayor iva ||
Then in the sky of arrows it seemed as if another battle had begun, fearsome in aspect, O great king, heightening the warriors' delight. Then, from the clash of weapons, sparks shone from every side, and the sky at the fading of night shone as though strewn with fireflies. Drauṇi, with hosts of arrows, having blanketed the quarters all around, for the sake of your sons showered the rākṣasa. Then the battle of Drauṇi and the rākṣasa began in the clash, in the dead of the night's middle, as between Śakra and Prahlāda.
fa7baa469d4f · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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The battle of arrows rises into the sky and sets it ablaze with sparks like fireflies: the clash of two giants becomes a spectacle of cosmic scale, likened to the combat of Indra with Prahlāda. It is telling that the horror of the slaughter is called "heightening the warriors' delight": what is deadly for the participants becomes a joy for those who watch. The verse teaches that war is seen in two ways at once — death for some is rapture for others; and the same battle that brings death allures the onlooker's eye with terrible beauty.