SB 3.18.19 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तयो: स्पृधोस्तिग्मगदाहताङ्गयो: क्षतास्रवघ्राणविवृद्धमन्य्वो: । विचित्रमार्गांश्चरतोर्जिगीषया व्यभादिलायामिव शुष्मिणोर्मृध: ॥ १९ ॥

Verse text

tayoḥ spṛdhos tigma-gadāhatāṅgayoḥ kṣatāsrava-ghrāṇa-vivṛddha-manyvoḥ vicitra-mārgāṁś carator jigīṣayā vyabhād ilāyām iva śuṣmiṇor mṛdhaḥ

Synonyms

tayoḥ — them ; spṛdhoḥ — the two combatants ; tigma — pointed ; gadā — by the maces ; āhata — injured ; aṅgayoḥ — their bodies ; kṣata — āsrava — blood coming out from the injuries ; ghrāṇa — smell ; vivṛddha — increased ; manyvoḥ — anger ; vicitra — of various kinds ; mārgān — maneuvers ; caratoḥ — performing ; jigīṣayā — with a desire to win ; vyabhāt — it looked like ; ilāyām — for the sake of a cow (or the earth) ; iva — like ; śuṣmiṇoḥ — of two bulls ; mṛdhaḥ — an encounter .

Translation

There was keen rivalry between the two combatants; both had sustained injuries on their bodies from the blows of each other’s pointed maces, and each grew more and more enraged at the smell of blood on his person. In their eagerness to win, they performed maneuvers of various kinds, and their contest looked like an encounter between two forceful bulls for the sake of a cow.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When the two rival combatants, their bodies struck with the sharp clubs, increased their anger with the smell of flowing blood and made various movements with a desire to win, they appeared like two bulls fighting over a cow. When the two combatants full of rivalry (spṛdhoḥ) increased in anger by the smell of blood flowing from their wounds, it appeared spectacular (vyabhāt), like the fighting of two enraged bulls for a cow (ilāyām). In this way the Lord and Hiraṇyākṣa fought over the earth. According to Amara-koṣa the word ilā means the earth, a cow, words or oblation.

Purport

Here the earth planet is called ilā. This earth was formerly known as Ilāvṛta-varṣa, and when Mahārāja Parīkṣit ruled the earth it was called Bhārata-varṣa. Actually, Bhārata-varṣa is the name for the entire planet, but gradually Bhārata-varṣa has come to mean India. As India has recently been divided into Pakistan and Hindustan, similarly the earth was formerly called Ilāvṛta-varṣa, but gradually as time passed it was divided by national boundaries.