Shloka 11
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ६६: तुमुलसंग्रामवर्णनम्
The Tumult of Battle Described
ततः शैक्यायसी गुर्वी प्रगृह्ा महतीं गदाम् । अधावत् तावकान् योधान् दण्डपाणिरिवान्तक:,तत्पश्चात् पूर्णतः फौलादकी बनी हुई विशाल एवं भारी गदा हाथमें लेकर भीमसेन दण्डपाणि यमराजकी भाँति आपके सैनिकोंपर टूट पड़े
tataḥ śaikyāyasī gurvī pragṛhya mahatīṃ gadām | adhāvat tāvakān yodhān daṇḍapāṇir ivāntakaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Bhīmasena, grasping a huge and heavy iron mace, charged upon your warriors. Like Yama, the wielder of the staff of punishment, he rushed in as the agent of inevitable retribution, turning the battlefield into a scene where arrogance meets its due consequence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield violence within a moral-psychological lens: power and aggression are portrayed as instruments of inevitable consequence (daṇḍa), suggesting that in war the arrogant and unrighteous meet a force that feels like ordained retribution.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma seizing a massive iron mace and charging directly into the Kaurava ranks, likening his onslaught to Yama (Death) advancing with the staff of punishment.