Shloka 51
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
यह देख पराक्रमी भीमसेन कुपित हो ओठ चबाते हुए रणभूमिमें शल्यके विनाशका संकल्प लेकर यमदण्डके समान भयंकर गदा लिये उनपर टूट पड़े। हाथी, घोड़े और मनुष्योंके भी शरीरोंका विनाश करनेवाली वह गदा संहारके लिये उद्यत हुई कालरात्रिके समान जान पड़ती थी |। हेमपट्टपरिक्षिप्तामुल्कां प्रजबलितामिव । शैक्यां व्यालीमिवात्युग्रां वज्धकल्पामयोमयीम्,उसके ऊपर सोनेका पत्र जड़ा गया था। वह लोहेकी बनी हुई वज्रतुल्य गदा प्रज्वलित उल्का तथा छींकेपर बैठी हुई सर्पिणीके समान अत्यन्त भयंकर प्रतीत होती थी। अंगोंमें चन्दन और अगुरुका लेप लगाये हुए मनचाही प्रियतमा रमणीके समान उसके सर्वांगमें वसा और मेद लिपटे हुए थे। वह देखनेमें यमराजकी जिह्वाके समान भयंकर थी
sañjaya uvāca | idaṁ dṛṣṭvā parākramī bhīmasenaḥ kupito oṣṭhaṁ caṣan raṇabhūmau śalyasya vināśa-saṅkalpaṁ kṛtvā yamadaṇḍa-sadṛśāṁ bhayānakāṁ gadāṁ gṛhītvā tam abhyadravat | sā gadā hastināṁ aśvānāṁ manuṣyāṇāṁ ca śarīra-vināśa-karī saṁhārāya udyatā kālarātri-samā babhāse | hemapaṭṭa-parikṣiptām ulkāṁ prajvalitām iva, śaikyāṁ vyālīm iva atyugrāṁ vajra-kalpām ayo-mayīm | tasyāḥ suvarṇa-paṭṭaḥ samāropita āsīt | sā ayo-mayī vajra-tulyā gadā prajvalitolkā-sadṛśī, śaikyopaviṣṭa-sarpiṇī-sadṛśī ca atibhīṣaṇā babhāse | candana-aguru-lepāṅgīṁ yathā kāmya-priyatamāṁ ramāṇīm iva, tathā tasyāḥ sarvāṅge vasā-medaḥ liptam āsīt | sā darśanena yamarājasya jihvā-samā bhayānakā babhāse |
Sañjaya said: Seeing this, the mighty Bhīmasena, enraged and biting his lip, formed a firm resolve on the battlefield to destroy Śalya. Grasping a dreadful mace like Yama’s rod of punishment, he rushed upon him. That mace—able to shatter the bodies of elephants, horses, and men—looked like Kālarātri, the Night of Doom, poised for annihilation. Bound with bands of gold, it blazed like a flaming meteor; forged of iron and hard as a thunderbolt, it seemed as terrifying as a serpent coiled upon a whetstone. Smeared all over with fat and marrow, it appeared—by grim contrast—like a beloved woman anointed with sandal and aloe; to behold, it was as fearsome as the tongue of Death itself.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral gravity of war: a warrior’s resolve (saṅkalpa) becomes an instrument of retribution, and the imagery of Yama and Kālarātri reminds the listener that violence on the battlefield is inseparable from death, consequence, and the stern logic of kṣatriya-dharma.
Sanjaya describes Bhima, provoked and determined to kill Shalya, charging at him with a terrifying iron mace. The weapon is portrayed through intense similes—meteor, thunderbolt, serpent, and Yama’s tongue—to convey imminent slaughter and the climactic ferocity of the encounter.