Arjuna’s Advance toward Bhīṣma; The Gāṇḍīva’s Signal and the Armies’ Convergence (भीष्माभिमुखगमनम् — गाण्डीवनिर्घोष-ध्वजवर्णनम्)
राक्षसशक्ष महाकाय: स च राजातिकोपन: । एतौ समेतौ समरे कालमृत्युसमावुभौ,“वह राक्षस विशालकाय है और वे राजा भी अत्यन्त क्रोधमें भरे हुए हैं। वे दोनों समरमें काल और मृत्युके समान हैं
rākṣasaḥ sa mahākāyaḥ sa ca rājātikopanaḥ | etau sametau samare kālamṛtyusamāv ubhau ||
Sañjaya said: “That rākṣasa is of colossal form, and that king too is inflamed with extreme wrath. United together on the battlefield, the two of them are like Time and Death themselves—portents of inevitable destruction.”
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how uncontrolled anger and violent power, when combined, become forces of near-inevitable ruin—symbolically likened to Kāla (Time/Fate) and Mṛtyu (Death). It cautions that wrath magnifies destructiveness and makes outcomes feel fated.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra about two formidable fighters—one a gigantic rākṣasa-like warrior and the other a king raging with fury—who have joined together in battle and appear as terrifying, death-dealing forces.