Shloka 32
भरतनन्दन! भीमसेनको गदा हाथमें लिये देख आपके सैनिक कालदण्ड लेकर आया हुआ यमराज मानने लगे ।। स मत्त इव मातजड्ज: संक्रुद्ध: पाण्डुनन्दन: । प्रविवेश गजानीकं॑ मकर: सागरं यथा,मतवाले हाथीके समान अत्यन्त क्रोधमें भरे हुए पाण्डुनन्दन भीमसेनने शत्रुओंकी गजसेनामें प्रवेश किया, मानो मगर समुद्रमें जा घुसा हो
bharatanandana! bhīmasenaṃ gadā-hastaṃ dṛṣṭvā tava sainikāḥ kāla-daṇḍaṃ gṛhītvāgatam iva yamarājaṃ mene || sa matta iva mātaṅgaḥ saṃkruddhaḥ pāṇḍu-nandanaḥ | praviveśa gajā-nīkaṃ makaraḥ sāgaraṃ yathā ||
Sañjaya said: “O scion of Bharata, seeing Bhīmasena with his mace in hand, your soldiers took him to be Yama himself, come bearing the rod of Death. Like a rut-maddened elephant, the wrathful son of Pāṇḍu plunged into the enemy’s elephant-corps—just as a makara drives into the sea.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield power in ethical terms: when violence is tied to judgment and consequence, it is imagined as Yama’s rod—an emblem that deeds ripen into unavoidable results. It also shows how inner states (wrath, resolve) shape collective perception (fear, collapse of morale).
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, mace in hand, advances so terrifyingly that the Kaurava soldiers think Death himself has arrived. In a vivid simile, Bhīma—like a rut-maddened elephant—charges into the enemy elephant division, like a makara plunging into the sea.