सर्वायुधवरोपेतम् आस्थितो ध्वजमालिनम् ॥
अष्टचक्रसमायुक्तं मेघगम्भीरनिस्वनम् ॥
तत्र मातङ्गसंकाशा लोहिताक्षा विभीषणाः ॥
कामवर्णजवा युक्ता बलवन्तो ऽवहन् हयाः ॥
राक्षसो ऽस्य विरूपाक्षः सूतो दीप्तास्यकुण्डलः ॥
रश्मिभिः सूर्यरश्म्याभैः संजग्राह हयान् रणे ॥
स तेन सहितस् तस्थाव् अरुणेन यथा रविः ॥
संसक्त इव चाभ्रेण यथाद्रिर् महता महान् ॥
दिवस्पृक् सुमहान् केतुः स्यन्दने ऽस्य समुच्छ्रितः ॥
रक्तोत्तमाङ्गः क्रव्यादो गृध्रः परमभीषणः ॥
sarvāyudhavaropetam āsthito dhvajamālinam ||
aṣṭacakrasamāyuktaṃ meghagambhīranisvanam ||
tatra mātaṅgasaṃkāśā lohitākṣā vibhīṣaṇāḥ ||
kāmavarṇajavā yuktā balavanto 'vahan hayāḥ ||
rākṣaso 'sya virūpākṣaḥ sūto dīptāsyakuṇḍalaḥ ||
raśmibhiḥ sūryaraśmyābhaiḥ saṃjagrāha hayān raṇe ||
sa tena sahitas tasthāv aruṇena yathā raviḥ ||
saṃsakta iva cābhreṇa yathādrir mahatā mahān ||
divaspṛk sumahān ketuḥ syandane 'sya samucchritaḥ ||
raktottamāṅgaḥ kravyādo gṛdhraḥ paramabhīṣaṇaḥ ||
...equipped with the finest of every weapon, he mounted the chariot crowned with banners, having eight wheels, resounding as deep as a thundercloud. There, mighty horses like elephants, red-eyed, terrible, changing color and speed at will, harnessed, carried it along. His rakshasa charioteer -- Virupaksha, with a blazing face and earrings, with reins like rays of the sun, guided the horses in battle; he stood beside him as the sun stands with Aruna. A vast banner, touching the sky, bore a vulture with a red head.
bfb827b52ae8 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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The rakshasa's chariot is likened to the sun with its charioteer Aruna: even the fearsome power of darkness borrows images of light. It is telling that the banner is crowned by a vulture -- a sign of death and the battlefield. The verse teaches that greatness and destruction are intertwined in the warrior's form: a chariot shining like the sun bears the standard of a carrion-eater; and one who is terrible in battle is at once the radiance of valor and a herald of death for the enemy.