Shloka 32
कालदण्डं यमो राजन् गदां चैव धनेश्वर: | पाशांश्व तत्र वरुणो विचित्रां च तथाशनिम्,राजन्! यमराजने कालदण्ड, कुबेरने गदा तथा वरुणने पाश और विचित्र वज्र हाथमें ले लिये
kāladaṇḍaṃ yamo rājan gadāṃ caiva dhaneśvaraḥ | pāśāṃś ca tatra varuṇo vicitrāṃ ca tathāśanim ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O King, Yama took up his staff of Time and punishment; the Lord of wealth (Kubera) took up his mace; and Varuṇa there took up his nooses, along with a wondrous thunderbolt.” The passage underscores how cosmic guardians, each bearing a distinctive emblem of authority, ready themselves to uphold order and restrain wrongdoing.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
That dharma is upheld through defined cosmic roles: each guardian deity bears a specific emblem of authority—punishment, restraint, or force—signifying that moral order is maintained by appropriate means, not arbitrary power.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes deities preparing themselves by taking up their characteristic weapons—Yama his kāladaṇḍa, Kubera his mace, and Varuṇa his nooses and a wondrous thunderbolt—indicating readiness to act in a consequential situation.