Shloka 42
Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa
Resolve for the Mace Duel
तमुत्तीर्ण महाबाहुं गदाहस्तमरिंदमम् | मेनिरे सर्वभूतानि दण्डपाणिमिवान्तकम्
tam uttīrṇaṁ mahābāhuṁ gadāhastam ariṁdamam | menire sarvabhūtāni daṇḍapāṇim ivāntakam ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Cuando aquel héroe de grandes brazos emergió (del agua), con la maza en la mano, triturador de enemigos, todos los seres lo tomaron por Yama, Señor de la Muerte, aparecido con su bastón. La escena intensifica la tensión moral de la guerra: la ira y la resolución de un solo guerrero pueden proyectar una sombra de pavor sobre el mundo, cuando la violencia asume la forma sobrecogedora de la retribución cósmica.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the image of Yama with the staff of punishment to show how unchecked martial fury and the momentum of war can resemble impersonal cosmic retribution. It underscores the ethical gravity of violence: when a warrior becomes an instrument of destruction, he inspires dread like Death itself, reminding listeners that adharma-driven conflict culminates in inevitable ruin.
Sañjaya describes a formidable warrior emerging from the water holding a mace. His appearance is so terrifying and authoritative that all beings imagine him to be Yama (Antaka) himself, staff in hand—an intensification of the battlefield atmosphere just before further combat.