Motif
Battlefield as river of blood
battlefield_as_river_of_blood
A motif of the Sacred Combat and Ritual Warfare family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
5 occurrences
2 traditions
hindu
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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2: Books 4, 5, 6 and 7 BHISHMA PARVA / SECTION I / SECTION II / SECTION III; lines 23037-23122 confidence: high
Vyasa predicts great slaughter in the battle of Kurus and Pandavas, says the earth will be a river of blood with standards as rafts, and describes fire-mouthed animals and birds and a one-winged, one-eyed, one-legged bird screaming at night.
Vyasa says that in the battle between Kurus and Pandavas the earth will be a river of blood, with warriors' standards as rafts.
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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2: Books 4, 5, 6 and 7 SECTION LXXXVII / SECTION LXXXVIII / SECTION LXXXIX / SECTION XC; lines 32033-32116 confidence: high
Bhimasena is described as “like unto a second Yama”; a terrible river begins to flow with a current of blood, and the battle is said to swell the population of Yama’s kingdom.
The carnage is described as creating a terrible river whose current consists of blood.
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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 / BOOK 8; lines 10749-10836 confidence: medium
The combat is compared to battles of celestial and asura figures, is marked by a river of blood, chariots like lakes, and shafts like Indra's thunder.
The combat is described as marked by a river whose water consists of blood while heroes, drivers, and animals are mangled.
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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 / BOOK 8; lines 9118-9201 confidence: high
"Bhima caused a river of blood to flow there. Blood constituted its water, and cars its eddies; and elephants were the alligators with which it teemed. Men were its fishes"
The battlefield after Bhima's slaughter is described as a river of blood containing vehicles, elephants, and men as river features and creatures.
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norse
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Corpus Poeticum Boreale, Volume 1 APPENDIX. / SONGS FROM SAXO. 381 / SONGS FROM SAXO. / APPENDIX.; lines 17995-18064 confidence: high
A battle scene is described as a bloody stream or flood in which teeth, bones, severed limbs, Danish blood, and scattered bodies are carried or pooled.
The passage describes a foaming stream or flood of blood carrying teeth, bones, limbs, and scattered bodies.
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