Shloka 81
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५९
Arjuna Breaks the Encirclement; Bhīma Reinforces
जिघांसुस्तोमरै: क्रुद्धो दण्डपाणिरिवान्तक: । “यह निषादपुत्र श्रेष्ठ गजराजपर आरूढ़ हो तोमरोंद्वारा भीमसेनको मार डालनेकी इच्छासे क्रोधमें भरे हुए दण्डपाणि यमराजके समान उनपर आक्रमण कर रहा है || ८०६ || सतोमरावस्य भुजौ छिन्नौ भीमेन गर्जत:
jighāṃsus tomaraiḥ kruddho daṇḍapāṇir ivāntakaḥ |
Sañjaya said: Burning with wrath and intent on killing, he rushed forward with his javelins—like Antaka (Death) himself, like Yama bearing the rod of punishment—seeking to strike down Bhīmasena. The scene underscores the war’s moral tension: personal fury and the thirst to slay eclipse restraint, even as heroic prowess is measured against the inexorable image of Death.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger and the will to kill can dominate the battlefield, casting the warrior in the likeness of Death itself; it invites reflection on the ethical cost of rage-driven violence even within a dharma-framed war.
Sañjaya describes a warrior (contextually the Niṣāda prince upon an elephant in the surrounding passage) charging at Bhīmasena with javelins, furious and intent on killing, compared to Yama/Death advancing to strike.