Shloka 26
प्राहिणोत् कृतसंरम्भ: शरान् बर्हिणवासस: । स्वर्णपुड्खानू शिलाधौतान् यमदण्डोपमान् मृथे,माननीय नरेश! केंचुलसे छूटी हुई सर्पिणीके समान उस शक्तिके टुकड़े-टुकड़े करके फिर भीमसेनने कुपित हो युद्धस्थलमें सूतपुत्र कर्णके प्राणोंकी खोज करते हुए-से सानपर चढ़ाकर तेज किये हुए, यमदण्डके समान भयंकर, मयूरपंख एवं स्वर्णपंखसे विभूषित बाणोंको उसके ऊपर चलाना आरम्भ किया
sañjaya uvāca |
prāhiṇot kṛtasaṃrambhaḥ śarān barhiṇavāsasaḥ |
svarṇapuḍkhān śilādhautān yamadaṇḍopamān mṛdhe ||
Sañjaya said: With fierce resolve he loosed arrows upon the battlefield—adorned with peacock-feathered fletching, set on golden shafts, honed as though polished upon stone, and dreadful as Yama’s rod. The image bears the moral weight of war: wrath and skill turn weapons into instruments of fate, and the pursuit of victory can become the pursuit of another’s very life.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the simile of Yama’s rod to stress the moral weight of battlefield action: when anger hardens into resolve, weapons become agents of death, reminding the listener that war magnifies consequences and tests restraint (dharma) amid violence.
Sañjaya describes a warrior, seized by fierce determination, releasing volleys of arrows—peacock-feathered, gold-fitted, and stone-honed—so terrifying they are likened to Yama’s staff, signaling an intense escalation in the combat.