Shloka 416

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, मानो यमराज अपना दण्ड उठाकर प्रहार कर रहे हों

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

Sañjaya berkata: Laksana Kala (Waktu) mengangkat tongkat hukuman, sang pejuang bergada bertempur. Di medan laga Kṛtavarman menumbangkan kuda-kuda Bhīmasena yang berwarna kuning kecokelatan seperti beruang. Ketika kuda-kuda itu tewas, Bhīma—kebanggaan putra-putra Pāṇḍu—turun dari tempat duduk kereta, menggenggam gadanya, dan maju bertarung, seakan Yama sendiri mengangkat tongkatnya untuk menjatuhkan ganjaran.

Word by Word

कालःTime (as a personified agent)

दण्डम्staff, rod

इवlike, as if

उद्यम्यhaving lifted/raised

गदापाणिःone whose hand holds a mace; mace-in-hand

अयुध्यतfought

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)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

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.