Mahabharata 9.32.42 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 32, Shloka 42
Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa
Resolve for the Mace Duel
तमुत्तीर्ण महाबाहुं गदाहस्तमरिंदमम् | मेनिरे सर्वभूतानि दण्डपाणिमिवान्तकम्
tam uttīrṇaṁ mahābāhuṁ gadāhastam ariṁdamam | menire sarvabhūtāni daṇḍapāṇim ivāntakam ||
قال سانجيا: لما خرج ذلك البطل عظيمُ الذراعين (من الماء)، والهراوة في يده، ساحقَ الأعداء، حسبته الكائنات كلّها كأنّه يَما، ربّ الموت، قد ظهر وعصا العقاب بيده. ويزيد هذا المشهد حدّة التوتر الأخلاقي في الحرب: فغضبُ محاربٍ واحدٍ وعزيمتُه قد يُلقيان ظلّ الرهبة على العالم، حين تتخذُ القسوةُ هيئةَ الجزاء الكوني المهيب.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the image of Yama with the staff of punishment to show how unchecked martial fury and the momentum of war can resemble impersonal cosmic retribution. It underscores the ethical gravity of violence: when a warrior becomes an instrument of destruction, he inspires dread like Death itself, reminding listeners that adharma-driven conflict culminates in inevitable ruin.
Sañjaya describes a formidable warrior emerging from the water holding a mace. His appearance is so terrifying and authoritative that all beings imagine him to be Yama (Antaka) himself, staff in hand—an intensification of the battlefield atmosphere just before further combat.
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