Shloka 416
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
कालो दण्डमिवोद्यम्य गदापाणिरयुध्यत । कृतवमनि युद्धस्थलमें भीमसेनके रीछके समान रंगवाले घोड़ोंको मार डाला। घोड़ोंके मारे जानेपर पाण्डुनन्दन भीमसेन रथकी बैठकसे नीचे उतरकर हाथमें गदा ले युद्ध करने लगे
kālo daṇḍam ivodyamya gadāpāṇir ayudhyata | kṛtavarmāṇi yuddhasthale bhīmasenasya ṛkṣa-sadṛśa-raṅga-vatāṃ aśvān jaghāna | aśveṣu nihateṣu pāṇḍunandano bhīmaseno rathopasthāt avatīrya gadāṃ gṛhītvā yuyudhe, yathā yamarājo daṇḍam udyamya praharet ||
Sañjaya sprach: Wie die Zeit selbst, die den Strafstab erhebt, kämpfte der Krieger mit der Keule in der Hand. Auf dem Schlachtfeld erschlug Kṛtavarman Bhīmasenas Pferde, fahlbraun wie ein Bär. Als die Pferde gefallen waren, stieg Bhīma—der Stolz der Pāṇḍus—vom Sitz des Wagens herab, ergriff seine Keule und trat in den Kampf, als erhöbe Yama seinen Stab, um Züchtigung zu vollstrecken.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the imagery of Kāla (Time) and Yama’s daṇḍa (staff of punishment) to suggest that in war, individual acts of force can be portrayed as instruments of an impersonal moral-cosmic order—retribution and inevitability—rather than mere personal rage. It invites reflection on how dharma and punishment are imagined amid catastrophic violence.
Kṛtavarman kills Bhīma’s horses on the battlefield. With his chariot disabled, Bhīma climbs down from the chariot-seat, takes up his mace, and continues fighting on foot, compared to Time or Yama raising a staff to strike.