तस्याप्य् अक्षसमा बाणा रुक्मपुङ्खाः शिलाशिताः ॥
सो ऽपि वीरो महाबाहुर् यथैव स घटोत्कचः ॥
तस्यापि गोमायुबडाभिगुप्तो; बभूव केतुर् ज्वलनार्कतुल्यः ॥
स चापि रूपेण घटोत्कचस्य; श्रीमत्तमो व्याकुलदीपितास्यः ॥
दीप्ताङ्गदो दीप्तकिरीटमाली; बद्धस्रगुष्णीषनिबद्धखड्गः ॥
गदी भुशुण्डी मुसली हली च; शरासनी वारणतुल्यवर्ष्मा ॥
रथेन तेनानलवर्चसा च; विद्रावयन् पाण्डववाहिनीं ताम् ॥
रराज संख्ये परिवर्तमानो; विद्युन्माली मेघ इवान्तरिक्षे ॥
ते चापि सर्वे प्रवरा नरेन्द्रा; महाबला वर्मिणश् चर्मिणश् च ॥
हर्षान्विता युयुधुस् तत्र राजन्; समन्ततः पाण्डवयोधवीराः ॥
tasyāpy akṣasamā bāṇā rukmapuṅkhāḥ śilāśitāḥ ||
so 'pi vīro mahābāhur yathaiva sa ghaṭotkacaḥ ||
tasyāpi gomāyubaḍābhigupto; babhūva ketur jvalanārkatulyaḥ ||
sa cāpi rūpeṇa ghaṭotkacasya; śrīmattamo vyākuladīpitāsyaḥ ||
dīptāṅgado dīptakirīṭamālī; baddhasraguṣṇīṣanibaddhakhaḍgaḥ ||
gadī bhuśuṇḍī musalī halī ca; śarāsanī vāraṇatulyavarṣmā ||
rathena tenānalavarcasā ca; vidrāvayan pāṇḍavavāhinīṃ tām ||
rarāja saṃkhye parivartamāno; vidyunmālī megha ivāntarikṣe ||
te cāpi sarve pravarā narendrā; mahābalā varmiṇaś carmiṇaś ca ||
harṣānvitā yuyudhus tatra rājan; samantataḥ pāṇḍavayodhavīrāḥ ||
And his bow, exceedingly great, firm-stringed, mightier still; and his arrows, equal to an axle [in thickness], gold-feathered, sharpened on stone; and he himself — a hero, mighty-armed, just like that Ghatotkacha. And his banner, guarded by jackals and crows, was a banner equal to fire and sun; and he, in form, like that of Ghatotkacha, most splendid, with a face wildly ablaze, with blazing armlets and a blazing crown and garland, with a bound garland, turban, and girded sword, with mace, bhushundi, pestle, and plow, with a bow, in stature equal to an elephant. On that chariot with the brilliance of fire, putting to flight that army of the Pandavas, he shone in the battle, wheeling about, like a lightning-wreathed cloud in the sky. And all of them, excellent lords of men, greatly mighty, in armor and with shields, filled with ardor, fought there, O king, from every side — the warrior-heroes of the Pandavas.
b7c88e4109a1 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:10 PM UTC
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Alayudha, in every way Ghatotkacha's double, shines "like a lightning-wreathed cloud": a fearsome beauty pregnant with storm. It is telling that his banner is guarded by carrion birds — a sign that death circles about him. The verse teaches that even the form of evil can hold a fierce splendor; but a brilliance overshadowed by crows and jackals is the brilliance of ruin — and one who is fearsome and beautiful as a storm cloud brings not light but destruction upon those he bears down on.