न ज्ञायन्ते कौरवेया न पाञ्चाला न पाण्डवाः ॥
न दिशो न दिवं नोर्वीं न समं विषमं तथा ॥
हस्तसंस्पर्शम् आपन्नान् परान् वाप्य् अथ वा स्वकान् ॥
न्यपातयंस् तदा युद्धे नराः स्म विजयैषिणः ॥
उद्धूतत्वात् तु रजसः प्रसेकाच् छोणितस्य च ॥
प्रशशाम रजो भौमं शीघ्रत्वाद् अनिलस्य च ॥
तत्र नागा हया योधा रथिनो ऽथ पदातयः ॥
पारिजातवनानीव व्यरोचन् रुधिरोक्षिताः ॥
na jñāyante kauraveyā na pāñcālā na pāṇḍavāḥ ||
na diśo na divaṃ norvīṃ na samaṃ viṣamaṃ tathā ||
hastasaṃsparśam āpannān parān vāpy atha vā svakān ||
nyapātayaṃs tadā yuddhe narāḥ sma vijayaiṣiṇaḥ ||
uddhūtatvāt tu rajasaḥ prasekāc choṇitasya ca ||
praśaśāma rajo bhaumaṃ śīghratvād anilasya ca ||
tatra nāgā hayā yodhā rathino 'tha padātayaḥ ||
pārijātavanānīva vyarocan rudhirokṣitāḥ ||
As if a second one had come, the night they reckoned then. The Kauravas could not be told apart, nor the Panchalas, nor the Pandavas, nor the directions, nor the sky, nor the earth, nor level nor uneven ground. Whoever fell into their hands — whether enemies or their own men — the men seeking victory struck down then in battle. But from the raising of the dust, and from the pouring out of blood, and from the swiftness of the wind, the earthly dust settled. There elephants, horses, warriors, charioteers, and foot soldiers...
8069ff7ab32e · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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The blood of the slain settles the dust — one horror quiets another: a sea of spilled blood restores sight. It is telling that clarity comes at the price of fresh blood. The verse teaches that in war even clarity is bought with death; and what returns to the warriors the ability to see is the blood of their own comrades — a bitter image of how every momentary relief on the field of battle is paid for with new lives.