Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
सर्वायसमयीं गुर्वीं यमजिह्वाभिवापराम् । शतहस्तां प्रमाणेन प्राणिनां भयवर्द्धिनीम्
sarvāyasamayīṃ gurvīṃ yamajihvābhivāparām | śatahastāṃ pramāṇena prāṇināṃ bhayavarddhinīm
Elle était toute de fer, d’un poids excessif, pareille à la langue flamboyante de Yama ; longue de cent coudées, elle redoublait l’effroi des êtres vivants.
Sūta (contextual continuation)
Listener: Śaunaka and assembled ṛṣis
Scene: Close-up emphasis on the mace itself: black iron mass, enormous scale, edges glowing as if a ‘tongue of Yama’; beings recoil in dread.
FAQs
The Purāṇic idiom uses awe-inspiring imagery to show how adharma generates fear, while dharma’s guardians counter it with decisive force.
The verse belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya sequence; the immediate verse is weapon-description rather than direct tīrtha praise.
None; this is descriptive imagery.