Shloka 196
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
भीमसेनं रणे दृष्टया कालान्तकयमोपमम् | तदनन्तर आपके शेष पुत्र रणभूमिमें काल, अन्तक और यमके समान भयानक भीमसेनको देखकर भयसे व्याकुल हो वहाँसे भाग गये
bhīmasenaṃ raṇe dṛṣṭvā kālāntaka-yamopamam | tadanantaraṃ tava śeṣāḥ putrā raṇabhūmau kāla-antaka-yama-samānaṃ bhayānakaṃ bhīmasenaṃ dṛṣṭvā bhayena vyākulāḥ tataḥ palāyitāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing Bhīmasena in battle—terrible like Kāla, Antaka, and Yama—your remaining sons, shaken by fear, beheld that dreadful Bhīma as death itself upon the battlefield and fled from there. The scene underscores how adharma-driven aggression collapses when confronted by overwhelming, righteous force and the inevitability of death.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inevitability of death and moral consequence: when adharma loses its inner courage, it collapses into fear, whereas a force aligned with righteous purpose appears as irresistible as Time and Death.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma appears on the battlefield with death-like terror; seeing him, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s remaining sons panic and flee the field.