Shloka 12
Gadāyuddhe Kṛṣṇopadeśaḥ (Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel in the Mace-Duel) — Śalya-parva 57
यमदण्डोपमां गुर्वीमिन्द्राशनिमिवोद्यताम् । ददृशुः प्रेक्षका राजन् रौद्रीं विशसनीं गदाम्
yamadaṇḍopamāṃ gurvīm indrāśanim ivodyatām | dadṛśuḥ prekṣakā rājan raudrīṃ viśasanīṃ gadām ||
サンジャヤは言った。「王よ、見物人はその大いなる棍棒を見た。ヤマの杖にも比すべき重く恐ろしいもの、インドラの雷霆（ヴァジュラ）のごとく高く掲げられ、猛々しく殺戮をもたらし、敵を引き裂き砕く力を備えていた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war magnifies human power into an impersonal force of death: the weapon is likened to Yama’s staff and Indra’s thunderbolt, reminding the listener that martial prowess, though admired, operates within a grim moral horizon where destruction is real and unavoidable.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra how spectators on the battlefield see a massive mace being lifted and brandished—so terrifying that it is compared to Yama’s staff and Indra’s vajra—signaling imminent, devastating blows in the ongoing combat.