तां राक्षसीं घोरतरां सुभीमां; वृष्टिं महाशस्त्रमयीं पतन्तीम् ॥
दृष्ट्वा बलौघांश् च निपात्यमानान्; महद् भयं तव पुत्रान् विवेश ॥
शिवाश् च वैश्वानरदीप्तजिह्वाः; सुभीमनादाः शतशो नदन्त्यः ॥
रक्षोगणान् नर्दतश् चाभिवीक्ष्य; नरेन्द्रयोधा व्यथिता बभूवुः ॥
ते दीप्तजिह्वाननतीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रा; विभीषणाः शैलनिकाशकायाः ॥
नभोगताः शक्तिविषक्तहस्ता; मेघा व्यमुञ्चन्न् इव वृष्टिमार्गम् ॥
तैर् आहतास् ते शरशक्तिशूलैर्; गदाभिर् उग्रैः परिघैश् च दीप्तैः ॥
वज्रैः पिनाकैर् अशनिप्रहारैश्; चक्रैः शतघ्न्युन्मथिताश् च पेतुः ॥
tāṃ rākṣasīṃ ghoratarāṃ subhīmāṃ; vṛṣṭiṃ mahāśastramayīṃ patantīm ||
dṛṣṭvā balaughāṃś ca nipātyamānān; mahad bhayaṃ tava putrān viveśa ||
śivāś ca vaiśvānaradīptajihvāḥ; subhīmanādāḥ śataśo nadantyaḥ ||
rakṣogaṇān nardataś cābhivīkṣya; narendrayodhā vyathitā babhūvuḥ ||
te dīptajihvānanatīkṣṇadaṃṣṭrā; vibhīṣaṇāḥ śailanikāśakāyāḥ ||
nabhogatāḥ śaktiviṣaktahastā; meghā vyamuñcann iva vṛṣṭimārgam ||
tair āhatās te śaraśaktiśūlair; gadābhir ugraiḥ parighaiś ca dīptaiḥ ||
vajraiḥ pinākair aśaniprahāraiś; cakraiḥ śataghnyunmathitāś ca petuḥ ||
Seeing that fiercer, most terrible downpour of the rakshasa, made of great weapons, falling, and the streams of the army being struck down, great fear entered your sons. And jackal-women, with tongues blazing like fire, most fearsome-voiced, howling by the hundreds, and beholding the roaring hosts of rakshasas, the warriors of the king were struck with terror. Those, with blazing tongues and faces and sharp fangs, dreadful, with bodies like mountains, moving through the sky, spears clutched in hand, poured forth, as it were, a path of rain like clouds. Struck by them with arrows, spears, and pikes, with fierce maces and blazing bludgeons, with thunderbolts, tridents, strokes of lightning, and shattered by discuses and shataghnis, they fell.
3603c3860fa0 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:10 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The rakshasa's illusion multiplies terror: jackal-women with fiery tongues, mountain-bodied demons in the sky. It is telling that now it is not wounds but the very images of nightmare that sow fear. The verse teaches that evil terrifies the imagination no less than with weapons: the sight of monsters breaks the spirit before any blow lands; and so war is waged not by sword alone but by dread as well — and only one who cannot be broken by conjured fear can withstand it.