Shloka 5
Bhīṣma’s Recollection of the Duel: Charioteer’s Fall, Brahmin Protection, and Portents after Rāma’s Collapse
इन्द्राशनिसमस्पर्शा यमदण्डसमप्र भाम् । ज्वलन्तीमग्निवत् संख्ये लेलिहानां समनन््तत:,उसका स्पर्श इन्द्रके वज़्के समान भयंकर था। उसकी प्रभा यमदण्डके समान थी और उस संग्राममें अग्निके समान प्रज्वलित हुई वह शक्ति मानो सब ओरसे रक्त चाट रही थी
indrāśani-samasparśā yamadaṇḍa-samaprabhām | jvalantīm agnivat saṅkhye lelihānāṃ samantataḥ ||
Ihre Berührung war so schrecklich wie Indras Donnerkeil; ihr Glanz glich Yamas Strafstab. Mitten im Kampf loderte jene Macht wie Feuer und schien von allen Seiten Blut zu lecken.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral gravity of war: when conflict escalates into instruments of death likened to Indra’s vajra and Yama’s daṇḍa, violence becomes impersonal and inexorable, reminding listeners that adharma-driven hostility invites destruction that spares none.
Bhīṣma is describing a terrifying, battle-blazing power (śakti/weapon) whose touch is compared to the thunderbolt and whose glow resembles Yama’s punitive staff; it rages like fire in combat, metaphorically ‘licking’ blood in all directions—an image of slaughter and unstoppable force.