पलायनपरैः पश्चात्त्यक्तमङ्गुलमण्डलम् । विसारिमकरव्यूहमत्स्यसंख्याब्धिभासुरम् ॥ १८ ॥
palāyanaparaiḥ paścāttyaktamaṅgulamaṇḍalam | visārimakaravyūhamatsyasaṁkhyābdhibhāsuram || 18 ||
Translation
its fine ring of heroes left behind by those bent on flight; shining like an ocean where fish do battle in spreading makara formation;
Word by word
- palāyana
- on flight
- paraiḥ
- by those bent
- paścāt
- behind
- tyaktam
- left
- maṅgula
- fine
- maṇḍalam
- its ring of heroes
- visāri
- spreading
- makara
- makara
- vyūha
- in formation
- matsya
- of fish
- saṁkhya
- where a battle
- abdhi
- like an ocean
- bhāsuram
- shining
Meaning
Some do slip away. Both commentaries: the cowards, intent on running, left behind the heroes, who are the army's ornament. The second half is a pun: the makara (the sea-monster) is also the name of a battle formation, so the army is an ocean full of fish fighting in makara array.