Shloka 24
धूम्राक्षवधः
The Slaying of Dhumrākṣa
धनुर्ज्यातन्त्रिमधुरंहिक्कातालसमन्वितम् ।मन्धस्न्तितसङ्गीतंतद्युद्धगान्धर्वमाबभौ ।।6.52.24।।
dhanurjyātantrimadhuraṃ hikkātālasamanvitam | mandahastitasaṅgītaṃ tad yuddhagāndharvam ābabhau ||6.52.24||
Medan perang itu seakan pertunjukan gandharva: merdu oleh dengung tali busur laksana petikan wina, disertai ringkik kuda bagaikan gemerincing simbal, dan terompet gajah menjadi irama dalamnya yang berat.
It seemed like music in the form of twang of bow strings, neighing of horses like the sound of wooden cymbals, vocal music in the form of trumpeting of elephants, that battle seemed like symphony.
FAQs
Even amid violence, the poet’s vision imposes order and meaning; dharma is aligned with harmony and intelligibility, resisting the reduction of war to mere chaos.
Aesthetic narration pauses the action to describe the battlefield’s sounds as if they formed a musical ensemble.
Not a single character trait, but the epic’s reflective wisdom: the capacity to perceive pattern and moral gravity even in upheaval.