Shloka 63
वासवी-शक्तेः प्रयोगः, घटोत्कच-वधोत्तर-शोकः, व्यासोपदेशश्च
The Vāsavī Spear’s Use, Post-Ghaṭotkaca Grief, and Vyāsa’s Counsel
युगान्तकालसमये दण्डहस्तमिवान्तकम् | प्रलयकालमें दण्डधारी यमराजके समान विशाल धनुष उठाये घटोत्कचको देखकर समस्त राजा व्यथित हो उठे || ६२ ई ।। ततस्तं गिरिशुद्भाभं भीमरूपं भयावहम्,वह देखनेमें पर्वत-शिखरके समान जान पड़ता था। उसका रूप भयानक होनेके कारण वह सबको भयंकर प्रतीत होता था। उसका मुख यों ही बड़ा भीषण था; किंतु दाढ़ोंक कारण और भी विकराल हो उठा था। उसके कान कील या खूँटेके समान जान पड़ते थे। ठोढ़ी बहुत बड़ी थी। बाल ऊपरकी ओर उठे हुए थे। आँखें डरावनी थीं। मुख आगके समान प्रज्वलित था, पेट भीतरकी ओर धँसा हुआ था। उसके गलेका छेद बहुत बड़े गड़्ढेके समान जान पड़ता था। सिरके बाल किरीटसे ढके हुए थे। वह मुँह बाये हुए यमराजके समान समस्त प्राणियोंके मनमें त्रास उत्पन्न करनेवाला था। शत्रुओंको क्षुब्ध कर देनेवाले प्रजजलित अग्निके समान राक्षसराज घटोत्कचको विशाल धनुष उठाये आते देख आपके पुत्रकी सेना भयसे पीड़ित एवं क्षुब्ध हो उठी, मानो वायुसे विक्षुब्ध हुई गंगामें भयानक भँवरें और ऊँची-ऊँची लहरें उठ रही हों
yugāntakālasamaye daṇḍahastam ivāntakam | pralayakāle daṇḍadhārī yamarājake samāna viśāla dhanuṣa uṭhāye ghaṭotkaca-ko dekhakara samasta rājā vyathita ho uṭhe || 62 || tataḥ taṃ giriśuddhābhaṃ bhīmarūpaṃ bhayāvaham |
Sañjaya said: At that moment, like Death himself at the end of an age—like Yama bearing his staff at the time of cosmic dissolution—Ghaṭotkaca appeared, lifting a mighty bow. Seeing him, the kings were shaken with distress. He looked like a mountain peak, and his terrifying form struck fear into all. His face was dreadful, made even more grotesque by his fangs; his ears seemed like spikes, his chin was huge, his hair stood upright, his eyes were frightening, and his mouth blazed like fire. His belly was drawn in, his throat-gorge looked like a vast pit, and his head was crowned. With his gaping mouth, like Yama himself, he filled living beings with dread. As the rākṣasa-king, blazing like a fire that agitates enemies, advanced with his great bow, your son’s army became panic-stricken and churned—like the Gaṅgā when whipped by wind, raising fearful whirlpools and towering waves.
सयजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how adharma-driven violence culminates in overwhelming fear and moral reckoning: Ghaṭotkaca is framed through Yama/pralaya imagery, suggesting that war unleashes forces that feel like cosmic judgment, shaking even kings and armies.
Sañjaya describes Ghaṭotkaca entering the battlefield with a huge bow. His monstrous, blazing appearance terrifies the assembled kings and causes Duryodhana’s army to panic and churn like a storm-tossed Gaṅgā.