Shloka 19
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ६६: तुमुलसंग्रामवर्णनम्
The Tumult of Battle Described
यमदण्डोपमामुग्रामिन्द्राशनिसमस्वनाम् | ददृशुर्भीमसेनस्य रौद्रीं विशसनीं गदाम्,भीमसेनकी उस संहारकारिणी भयंकर गदाको लोगोंने प्रलयकालमें पशुओं (जीवों)- का संहार करनेवाले रुद्रके पिनाक और यमदण्डके समान भयंकर देखा। उसकी आवाज इन्द्रके वज्के समान थी
yamadaṇḍopamām ugrām indrāśani-samasvanām | dadṛśur bhīmasenasya raudrīṁ viśasanīṁ gadām ||
Sañjaya said: They beheld Bhīmasena’s mace—fierce like Yama’s staff, and sounding like Indra’s thunderbolt—terrible and wrathful, a weapon made for slaughter.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how instruments of war embody death and moral peril: the mace is likened to Yama’s punitive staff and Indra’s thunder, reminding the listener that violence, even in a dharma-war, carries terrifying, irreversible consequences.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield spectacle: observers see Bhīma’s mace, terrifying in appearance and sound, emphasizing Bhīma’s destructive power and foreshadowing the lethal impact of his combat.