Shloka 27
मान्यवर नरेश! तदनन्तर भीमसेनने कालरात्रिके समान अत्यन्त भयंकर, मनुष्यों, हाथियों और घोड़ोंको कालका ग्रास बनानेवाली, परकोटों, अट्टालिकाओं और नगरद्वीपोंको भी विदीर्ण कर देनेवाली अपनी अति दारुण गदाका वहाँ मनुष्यों, गजराजों तथा अश्वोंपर तीव्रवेगसे प्रहार किया। उस गदाने बहुत-से घोड़ों और घुड़सवारोंका संहार कर डाला ।। कार्ष्णायसतनुत्राणान् नरानश्चांश्व॒ पाण्डव: । पोथयामास गदया सशब्दं तेडपतन् हता:
kārṣṇāyasatanu-trāṇān narāṁś cāśvān ca pāṇḍavaḥ | pothayāmāsa gadayā saśabdaṁ te ’patann hatāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Bhīmasena, wielding his exceedingly dreadful mace—like Kālarātri herself, a devourer of men, elephants, and horses, and capable of rending ramparts and lofty towers—struck with swift force at warriors, lordly elephants, and horses. With that mace the Pāṇḍava crushed many iron-armoured men and horses; they fell down slain with a great crashing sound. The passage underscores the terrifying momentum of battle, where strength and wrath, once unleashed, turn living beings into the prey of Time.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, human power becomes an instrument of Kāla (Time/Death): once violence is set in motion, it indiscriminately consumes lives. It implicitly warns that martial prowess, though aligned with kṣatriya-duty in context, carries grave ethical weight and catastrophic consequence.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma charging and striking with his mace at speed, crushing iron-armoured warriors and horses. The slain fall with a loud crash, emphasizing the terror and momentum of Bhīma’s onslaught in the Karṇa Parva battle.