क्रकचोभयपार्श्वेभच्छिन्नमत्तमतङ्गजः । सङ्ग्रामोलूखलक्षुण्णलोकतण्डुलमौसली ॥ ४२ ॥
krakacōbhayapārśvēbhacchinnamattamataṅgajaḥ | saṅgrāmōlūkhalakṣuṇṇalōkataṇḍulamausalī || 42 ||
Translation
maddened elephants cut through by saws on both flanks; a pounding with pestles, where the battle was the mortar and men were the rice crushed in it;
Word by word
- krakaca
- by saws
- ubhaya
- on both
- pārśva
- flanks
- ibha
- of the elephants
- chinna
- cut through
- matta
- maddened
- mataṅgajaḥ
- elephants
- saṅgrāma
- the battle
- ulūkhala
- the mortar
- kṣuṇṇa
- crushed
- lōka
- men
- taṇḍula
- the rice
- mausalī
- a pounding with pestles
Meaning
The saw-weapons cut the elephants on both sides. And the battle itself becomes a homely image: a mortar (ulūkhala) in which the warriors are pounded like rice with heavy pestles. Both commentaries give this.