Shloka 43
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
तां कालरात्रीमिव पाशहस्तां यमस्य धात्रीमिव चोग्ररूपाम् | स ब्रह्मुदण्डप्रतिमाममोधां ससर्ज यत्तो युधि धर्मराज:
tāṁ kālarātrīm iva pāśahastāṁ yamasya dhātrīm iva cograrūpām | sā brahmudaṇḍapratimām amodhāṁ sasarja yatto yudhi dharmarājaḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Aquella arma—como la propia Kālarātri con el lazo en la mano, y como la feroz nodriza de Yama—era de forma aterradora e infalible como la vara de Brahmā. Dharmarāja la arrojó en la batalla con el máximo esfuerzo y una resolución cautelosa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one is committed to dharma, the use of overwhelming and unfailing force in war carries moral gravity; therefore the righteous must act with heightened caution, self-control, and responsibility when deploying lethal power.
Sañjaya describes Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) releasing a formidable, unfailing weapon in battle, portraying it through terrifying metaphors—Kālarātri with a noose, Yama’s fierce attendant, and the irresistible rod of Brahmā—to convey its dread power and inevitability.