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11.27 Heads crushed to powder Arjuna speaks

वक्त्राणि ते त्वरमाणा विशन्ति दंष्ट्राकरालानि भयानकानि
केचिद्विलग्ना दशनान्तरेषु संदृश्यन्ते चूर्णितैरुत्तमाङ्गैः

vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṁṣṭrā-karālāni bhayānakāni kecid vilagnā daśanāntareṣu sandṛśyante cūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ

rush into your mouths, terrible with their teeth and dreadful to see. Some hang caught between your teeth, their heads crushed to powder.

Explanation

Heads crushed to powder.

Some hang caught between the teeth. The detail is specific and it is not metaphorical.

Whatever comfort the Gita offers about death, this chapter refuses to reach for it here. What Arjuna is shown is his family being chewed, and no gloss is offered.

Word by word

vaktrāṇi
mouths
te
Your
tvaramāṇāḥ
fearful
viśanti
entering
daṁṣṭrā
teeth
karālāni
terrible
bhayānakāni
very fearful
kecit
some of them
vilagnāḥ
being attacked
daśanāntareṣu
between the teeth
sandṛśyante
being seen
cūrṇitaiḥ
smashed
uttama-aṅgaiḥ
by the head