Devanagari
कबन्धास्तत्र चोत्पेतु: पतितस्वशिरोऽक्षिभि: ।
उद्यतायुधदोर्दण्डैराधावन्तो भटान् मृधे ॥ ४० ॥
Verse text
kabandhās tatra cotpetuḥ
patita-sva-śiro-’kṣibhiḥ
udyatāyudha-dordaṇḍair
ādhāvanto bhaṭān mṛdhe
Synonyms
kabandhāḥ
—
trunks (bodies without heads)
;
tatra
—
there (on the battlefield)
;
ca
—
also
;
utpetuḥ
—
generated
;
patita
—
fallen
;
sva
—
śiraḥ — akṣibhiḥ — by the eyes in one’s head
;
udyata
—
raised
;
āyudha
—
equipped with weapons
;
dordaṇḍaiḥ
—
the arms of whom
;
ādhāvantaḥ
—
rushing toward
;
bhaṭān
—
the soldiers
;
mṛdhe
—
on the battlefield .
Translation
Many headless trunks were generated on that battlefield. With weapons in their arms, those ghostly trunks, which could see with the eyes in the fallen heads, attacked the enemy soldiers.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Many headless trunks appeared on that battlefield. With weapons in their arms, those ghostly trunks, which could see with the eyes from severed heads, attacked the enemy soldiers.
The headless bodies could see using the eyes from the severed heads.
Purport
It appears that the heroes who died on the battlefield immediately became ghosts, and although their heads had been severed from their bodies, new trunks were generated, and these new trunks, seeing with the eyes in the severed heads, began to attack the enemy. In other words, many ghosts were generated to join the fight, and thus new trunks appeared on the battlefield.