Shloka 12
यमदण्डोपमां गुर्वीमिन्द्राशनिमिवोद्यताम् । ददृशुः प्रेक्षका राजन् रौद्रीं विशसनीं गदाम्,राजन्! उस समय युद्धस्थलमें जब भीमसेन अपनी गदा घुमाने लगे, तब दर्शकोंने देखा, उनकी भारी गदा यमदण्डके समान भयंकर है। वह इन्द्रके वज़के समान ऊपर उठी हुई है और शत्रुको छिन्न-भिन्न कर डालनेमें समर्थ है। गदा घुमाते समय उसकी घोर एवं भयानक आवाज वहाँ दो घड़ीतक गूँजती रही
yamadaṇḍopamāṃ gurvīm indrāśanim ivodyatām | dadṛśuḥ prekṣakā rājan raudrīṃ viśasanīṃ gadām ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, the onlookers beheld that mighty mace—heavy and dreadful like Yama’s staff, raised aloft like Indra’s thunderbolt—fierce and slaughtering, capable of tearing enemies apart.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war magnifies human power into an impersonal force of death: the weapon is likened to Yama’s staff and Indra’s thunderbolt, reminding the listener that martial prowess, though admired, operates within a grim moral horizon where destruction is real and unavoidable.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra how spectators on the battlefield see a massive mace being lifted and brandished—so terrifying that it is compared to Yama’s staff and Indra’s vajra—signaling imminent, devastating blows in the ongoing combat.