Shloka 416

Devanagari script

कालो दण्डमिवोद्यम्य गदापाणिरयुध्यत । कृतवमनि युद्धस्थलमें भीमसेनके रीछके समान रंगवाले घोड़ोंको मार डाला। घोड़ोंके मारे जानेपर पाण्डुनन्दन भीमसेन रथकी बैठकसे नीचे उतरकर हाथमें गदा ले युद्ध करने लगे, मानो यमराज अपना दण्ड उठाकर प्रहार कर रहे हों

Transliteration

kālo daṇḍam ivodyamya gadāpāṇir ayudhyata | kṛtavarmāṇi yuddhasthale bhīmasenasya ṛkṣa-sadṛśa-raṅga-vatāṃ aśvān jaghāna | aśveṣu nihateṣu pāṇḍunandano bhīmaseno rathopasthāt avatīrya gadāṃ gṛhītvā yuyudhe, yathā yamarājo daṇḍam udyamya praharet ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Like Time itself raising a rod of punishment, the mace‑wielding warrior fought on. On the battlefield Kṛtavarman struck down Bhīmasena’s horses, tawny in hue like a bear. When the horses were slain, Bhīma—the joy of the Pāṇḍus—stepped down from the chariot-seat, took up his mace, and engaged in combat, as though Yama were lifting his staff to deliver chastisement.

Word by Word

• कालः: Time (as a personified agent)
• कालः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दण्डम्: staff, rod
• दण्डम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्ड
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• उद्यम्य: having lifted/raised
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-यम्
• Form: Lyap (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• गदापाणिः: one whose hand holds a mace; mace-in-hand
• गदापाणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदापाणि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अयुध्यत: fought
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), Atmanepada, Third, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kṛtavarman
• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• Pāṇḍu (as in Pāṇḍunandana)
• Yama (Yamarāja)
• kāla (Time)
• daṇḍa (staff/rod of punishment)
• gadā (mace)
• ratha (chariot)
• aśva (horses)
• yuddhasthala (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses the imagery of Kāla (Time) and Yama’s daṇḍa (staff of punishment) to suggest that in war, individual acts of force can be portrayed as instruments of an impersonal moral-cosmic order—retribution and inevitability—rather than mere personal rage. It invites reflection on how dharma and punishment are imagined amid catastrophic violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛtavarman kills Bhīma’s horses on the battlefield. With his chariot disabled, Bhīma climbs down from the chariot-seat, takes up his mace, and continues fighting on foot, compared to Time or Yama raising a staff to strike.