Shloka 2
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
तं॑ दीप्तमिव कालाग्निं पाशहस्तमिवान्तकम् । सशृज्गभमिव कैलासं सवज़मिव वासवम्,वे प्रलयकालकी प्रज्वलित अग्नि, पाशधारी यमराज, शिखरयुक्त कैलास, वज्रधारी इन्द्र, त्रिशूलधारी रुद्र तथा जंगलके मतवाले हाथीके समान भयंकर जान पड़ते थे। भीमसेन बहुत बड़ी गदा हाथमें लेकर वेगपूर्वक उनके ऊपर टूट पड़े
taṁ dīptam iva kālāgniṁ pāśa-hastam ivāntakam | saśṛṅgam iva kailāsaṁ savajram iva vāsavam ||
Sañjaya said: He appeared terrifying—like the blazing fire of Time at the world’s end, like Death himself holding the noose, like Mount Kailāsa with its lofty peaks, and like Indra bearing the thunderbolt. Seeing him thus, Bhīmasena, gripping his massive mace, rushed forward with force to strike him down.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmic and divine similes to show how war magnifies human action into forces resembling Time, Death, and divine power—suggesting that once violence is unleashed, it can feel like an unstoppable, world-ending momentum that tests self-control and dharma.
Sañjaya describes a warrior’s terrifying appearance through a chain of similes (kālāgni, Yama with the noose, Kailāsa, Indra with the vajra). In response, Bhīmasena, wielding a huge mace, charges forward to strike him in battle.