Mahabharata — Bhishma Parva, Shloka 19

भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ६६: तुमुलसंग्रामवर्णनम्

The Tumult of Battle Described

Devanagari script

यमदण्डोपमामुग्रामिन्द्राशनिसमस्वनाम्‌ | ददृशुर्भीमसेनस्य रौद्रीं विशसनीं गदाम्‌

Transliteration

yamadaṇḍopamām ugrām indrāśani-samasvanām | dadṛśur bhīmasenasya raudrīṁ viśasanīṁ gadām ||

Translation

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.

Word by Word

• यमदण्डोपमाम्: like Yama's staff
• यमदण्डोपमाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यमदण्डोपमा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• उग्राम्: terrible, fierce
• उग्राम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्रा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• इन्द्राशनिसमस्वनाम्: having a sound like Indra's thunderbolt
• इन्द्राशनिसमस्वनाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इन्द्राशनिसमस्वना
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• ददृशुः: they saw
• ददृशुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural

• भीमसेनस्य: of Bhimasena
• भीमसेनस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीमसेन
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• रौद्रीम्: Rudra-like, dreadful
• रौद्रीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रौद्री
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• विशसनीम्: slaughtering, destructive
• विशसनीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विशसनी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गदाम्: mace
• गदाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• Yama
• Indra
• a mace (gadā)
• Yama’s staff (yamadaṇḍa)
• Indra’s thunderbolt (aśani/vajra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.