Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 416

Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira

Book 9, Chapter 11

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

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

Dijo Sañjaya: Como el Tiempo mismo alzando la vara del castigo, el guerrero de maza en mano combatió. En el campo de batalla, Kṛtavarman abatió los caballos de Bhīmasena, de pelaje leonado como el de un oso. Cuando los caballos cayeron, Bhīma—gozo de los Pāṇḍus—descendió del asiento del carro, empuñó su maza y entró en combate, como si Yama levantara su bastón para descargar el merecido.

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.