Shloka 20
धृष्टद्युम्नेन समागतक्षत्रियगणगणना
Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Enumeration of Assembled Kṣatriyas
असौ मृत्युरिवोग्रेण दण्डेन भगवन्नित: । प्रगृहीतेन काछेन राक्षसो5भ्येति दारुण:,“भगवन्! वह भयंकर राक्षस एक बहुत बड़ा काठ लेकर इधर ही आ रहा है, मानो साक्षात् यमराज भयानक दण्ड लिये आ रहे हैं
asau mṛtyur ivogreṇa daṇḍena bhagavann itaḥ | pragṛhītena kāṣṭhena rākṣaso 'bhyeti dāruṇaḥ ||
“O revered one! That dreadful rākṣasa is coming straight this way, gripping a huge piece of wood as a weapon—like Death himself advancing with a fierce staff.”
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a vivid simile—comparing the rākṣasa to Death with a staff—to underscore the immediacy of peril and the ethical need for alertness and protective action when harm approaches.
A Gandharva urgently alerts a revered listener that a terrifying rākṣasa is advancing toward them, holding a large wooden club, appearing as fearsome as Death itself.