Shloka 6.44.14
चतुश्चत्वारिंशः सर्गः (Sarga 44): निशायुद्धम्, धूलिरुधिरप्रवाहः, इन्द्रजितो मायायुद्धम्
हतैर्वानरवीरैश्चशक्तिशूलपरश्वधैः ।।।।निहतैःपर्वताकारैराक्षसैःकामरूपिभिः ।शस्त्रपुष्पोपहाराचतत्रासीद्युद्धमेदिनी ।।।।दुर् ज्ञेयादुर्निवेशाचशोणितास्रावकर्दमा ।
hatair vānaravīraiś ca śaktiśūlaparaśvadhaiḥ |
nihataiḥ parvatākārair rākṣasaiḥ kāmarūpibhiḥ |
śastrapuṣpopahārā ca tatrāsīd yuddhamedīnī |
durjñeyā durniveśā ca śoṇitāsrāvakardamā ||6.44.14||
There the battlefield lay strewn as though with offerings of “flower-like” weapons: vānara heroes struck down by javelins, tridents, and axes, and mountain-sized rākṣasas—shapeshifters—felled as well. The ground became hard to make out and hard to traverse, a mire churned with streaming blood.
There with warriors of Vanaras wounded by javelins, tridents and axes, and the Rakshasas of mountain size who could change their form at will, the battlefield was muddy, and wet with blood flowing and difficult to reach.
Even a dharmic war produces devastation; the verse functions as a moral mirror, warning that righteousness must be guided by necessity, proportionality, and a constant remembrance of human (and living) cost.
The narrator describes the battlefield after heavy exchanges: bodies, weapons, and blood turn the ground into a dangerous, unrecognizable mire.
Sobriety and responsibility: the imagery pushes the listener to value restraint and ethical clarity, not mere triumph.