Shloka 17
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
यमाभ्यां ददृशे रूपं कालान्तकयमोपमम् । उस समय जब आकाश आच्छादित होकर बाणमय हो रहा था, तब नकुल और सहदेवने आपके पुत्रका स्वरूप काल, अन्तक एवं यमराजके समान भयंकर देखा ।। पराक्रमं तु तं दृष्टवा तव सूनोर्महारथा:
yamābhyāṃ dadṛśe rūpaṃ kālāntakayama-upamam | us samaya jab ākāśa ācchādita hokara bāṇamaya ho rahā thā, tab nakula aura sahadeva ne āpke putra kā svarūpa kāla, antaka evaṃ yamarāja ke samān bhayaṅkara dekhā || parākramaṃ tu taṃ dṛṣṭvā tava sūnor mahārathāḥ
Sañjaya said: When the sky was veiled and seemed to turn into a rain of arrows, Nakula and Sahadeva beheld your son’s form as terrifying—like Time itself, like Death, like Yama. Yet, seeing the prowess of your son, the great chariot-warriors… (the narration continues).
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how battlefield power can appear as an embodiment of Time and Death—reminding the listener that martial prowess inspires awe but is inseparable from mortality and moral consequence (Yama as judge). It frames war as a domain where human agency meets inexorable fate.
During an intense exchange of missiles, the sky is obscured by arrows. In that moment, Nakula and Sahadeva perceive Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son as fearsome like Kāla, Antaka, and Yama. The next line begins to describe how, upon witnessing his prowess, the great warriors respond (the sentence continues beyond this excerpt).