निद्रान्धा नो बुबुधिरे कां चिच् चेष्टां नराधिपाः ॥
ते ऽन्योन्यं समरे योधाः प्रेषयन्त यमक्षयम् ॥
स्वप्नायमानास् त्व् अपरे परान् इति विचेतसः ॥
आत्मानं समरे जघ्नुः स्वान् एव च परान् अपि ॥
नानावाचो विमुञ्चन्तो निद्रान्धास् ते महारणे ॥
योद्धव्यम् इति तिष्ठन्तो निद्रासंसक्तलोचनाः ॥
संमर्द्यान्ये रणे के चिन् निद्रान्धाश् च परस्परम् ॥
जघ्नुः शूरा रणे राजंस् तस्मिंस् तमसि दारुणे ॥
nidrāndhā no bubudhire kāṃ cic ceṣṭāṃ narādhipāḥ ||
te 'nyonyaṃ samare yodhāḥ preṣayanta yamakṣayam ||
svapnāyamānās tv apare parān iti vicetasaḥ ||
ātmānaṃ samare jaghnuḥ svān eva ca parān api ||
nānāvāco vimuñcanto nidrāndhās te mahāraṇe ||
yoddhavyam iti tiṣṭhanto nidrāsaṃsaktalocanāḥ ||
saṃmardyānye raṇe ke cin nidrāndhāś ca parasparam ||
jaghnuḥ śūrā raṇe rājaṃs tasmiṃs tamasi dāruṇe ||
Some, having cast off their weapons, lie there blinded by sleep — some on elephants, some on chariots, some on horses, O Bharata. Blinded by sleep, the lords of men perceived no action whatsoever; the warriors sent one another to the abode of Yama. Others, as though dreaming, thinking ‘enemies,’ bereft of their senses, struck in battle their own selves, and their own men, and the foe alike. Uttering incoherent words, blinded by sleep in that great battle, standing with the thought ‘one must fight,’ their eyes glued shut by sleep.
4239b3e4e676 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:11 PM UTC
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Sleep turns the warriors into madmen: they strike their own men, and themselves, muttering in their sleep as they stand there thinking ‘one must fight.’ It is significant that war, driven to the point of exhaustion, loses all meaning — it is no longer enemies who fight, but sleeping shadows. The verse teaches that excess destroys the very cause it serves: battle without respite turns into senseless slaughter, in which men die at the hands of their own and by their own hand; and a limit not recognized in time avenges itself with confusion and chaos.