Chapter 11, Verse 27
वक्त्राणि ते त्वरमाणा विशन्ति दंष्ट्राकरालानि भयानकानि | केचिद्विलग्ना दशनान्तरेषु सन्दृश्यन्ते चूर्णितैरुत्तमाङ्गैः ||११-२७||
vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṃṣṭrākarālāni bhayānakāni . kecidvilagnā daśanāntareṣu sandṛśyante cūrṇitairuttamāṅgaiḥ ||11-27||
Meaning
11.27 Some hurriedly enter Thy mouths with their terrible teeth, fearful to behold. Some are found sticking in the gaps between the teeth with their heads crushed to powder.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
The vision now spares nothing. Arjuna watches the warriors rush headlong into the terrible mouths, and sees some caught between the gnashing teeth, their heads crushed to powder. It is one of the most graphic images in all sacred literature — the unflinching depiction of mortality and the destruction that war unleashes.
Yet there is meaning beneath the horror. The combatants enter tvaramanah — hurriedly, of their own momentum, rushing toward their own end. Time does not chase them; they pour into it. This conveys a sober truth about the human condition: caught in the grip of pride, enmity and desire, beings hasten toward the very destruction they fear. The cosmic form is not cruel; it simply reveals, without comforting illusion, where the currents of egoic striving lead. To see this clearly is itself a kind of awakening — a summons to step out of the heedless rush and seek what does not perish.
💡 Key Takeaway
Driven by ego and craving, beings rush toward their own undoing; clear sight of this is itself an awakening.
Related Verses
दंष्ट्राकरालानि च ते मुखानि दृष्ट्वैव कालानलसन्निभानि | दिशो न जाने न लभे च शर्म प्रसीद देवेश जगन्निवास ||११-२५||
daṃṣṭrākarālāni ca te mukhāni dṛṣṭvaiva kālānalasannibhāni . diśo na jāne na labhe ca śarma prasīda deveśa jagannivāsa ||11-25||
11.25 Having seen Thy mouths fearful with teeth (blazing) like the fires of cosmic dissolution, I know not the four arters, nor do I find peace. Have mercy, O Lord of the gods, O abode of the universe.
अमी च त्वां धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्राः सर्वे सहैवावनिपालसङ्घैः | भीष्मो द्रोणः सूतपुत्रस्तथासौ सहास्मदीयैरपि योधमुख्यैः ||११-२६||
amī ca tvāṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ sarve sahaivāvanipālasaṅghaiḥ . bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūtaputrastathāsau sahāsmadīyairapi yodhamukhyaiḥ ||11-26||
11.26 All the sons of Dhritarashtra, with the hosts of kings of the earth, Bhishma, Drona and Karna, with the chief among our warriors.
यथा नदीनां बहवोऽम्बुवेगाः समुद्रमेवाभिमुखा द्रवन्ति | तथा तवामी नरलोकवीरा विशन्ति वक्त्राण्यभिविज्वलन्ति ||११-२८||
yathā nadīnāṃ bahavo.ambuvegāḥ samudramevābhimukhā dravanti . tathā tavāmī naralokavīrā viśanti vaktrāṇyabhivijvalanti ||11-28||
11.28 Verily, just as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, even so these heroes in the world of men enter Thy flaming mouths.