Shloka 31

Devanagari script

गदापार्णिं ततो भीम॑ दृष्टवा भारत तावका: । मेनिरे समनुप्राप्तं कालदण्डोद्यतं यमम्‌

Transliteration

gadāpārṇiṁ tato bhīmaṁ dṛṣṭvā bhārata tāvakāḥ | menire samanupprāptaṁ kāladaṇḍodyataṁ yamam ||

Translation

ನಂತರ, ಓ ಭಾರತಾ! ಗದೆಯನ್ನು ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಡಿದ ಭೀಮನನ್ನು ಕಂಡ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಯೋಧರು, ಕಾಲದಂಡವನ್ನು ಎತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡ ಯಮನಂತೆಯೇ ಅವನು ಬಂದಿದ್ದಾನೆಂದು ಭಾವಿಸಿದರು।

Word by Word

गदापाणिंthe mace-in-hand (one)

ततःthen/from there

भीमम्Bhima

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

भारतO Bharata

तावकाःyour men (the Kauravas)

मेनिरेthought/considered

समनुप्राप्तम्fully arrived/come upon

कालदण्डोद्यम्one raising the staff of Time

यमम्Yama (Death)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

भ

भीम (Bhīma)

ध

धृतराष्ट्र (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) [implied by address 'Bhārata']

त

तावकाः (the Kaurava warriors)

ग

गदा (mace)

य

यम (Yama)

क

कालदण्ड (rod of Death/Time)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral and psychological dimension of war: when destructive force is unleashed, it appears as inevitable death itself. Bhīma is portrayed not merely as a strong warrior but as an agent of unavoidable consequence—suggesting that adharma on the battlefield invites retribution that feels as certain as Yama’s rod.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava troops, seeing Bhīma advancing with his mace, are overwhelmed with dread and imagine him as Yama, the Lord of Death, arriving with the raised rod of punishment—an image conveying their panic and Bhīma’s terrifying momentum in the fight.