Shloka 38
भीमसेनस्य गदायुद्ध-प्रभावः
The Battlefield Impact of Bhīmasena’s Mace Combat
न होष समरे शक््यो विजेतुं हि कथंचन । यथास्य दृश्यते रूपं कालान्तकयमोपमम्,“यह किसी प्रकार भी समरभूमिमें जीता नहीं जा सकता; क्योंकि इसका रूप इस समय प्रलयकालके यमराज-सा दिखायी दे रहा है
na hoṣa samare śakyo vijetuṃ hi kathaṃcana | yathāsya dṛśyate rūpaṃ kālāntaka-yamopamam ||
Sañjaya said: “This one cannot be conquered in battle by any means. For the form in which he now appears is seen to be like Yama, the lord of death, at the time of the world’s end—an embodiment of inevitable destruction.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and psychological reality of war: some forces appear overwhelming, like death itself, reminding listeners of human limitation before time (kāla) and the seeming inevitability of destruction in battle.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a particular warrior on the battlefield appears terrifying and unconquerable, likened to Yama at the world’s end, conveying the dread and perceived invincibility surrounding that figure at this moment.