Shloka 45
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
विमलस्तीक्ष्णधारक्ष॒ कालान्तक इवोद्यत:ः । तत्पश्चात् वह भूत उस रूपको त्यागकर तीस अद्भुलसे कुछ बड़े खड़्गके रूपमें प्रकाशित होने लगा। उसकी धार बड़ी तीखी थी। वह चमचमाता हुआ खड्ग काल और अन्तकके समान उद्यत प्रतीत होता था ।।
vimalas tīkṣṇa-dhārakṣaḥ kālāntaka ivodyataḥ | tat-paścāt sa bhūtaḥ tad-rūpaṃ tyaktvā triṃśad-aṅgulasaṃmitasya mahataḥ khaḍgasya rūpeṇa prakāśitum ārabdhaḥ | tasya dhārā tīvra-tīkṣṇā āsīt | sa dīpyamānaḥ khaḍgaḥ kālaś cāntakaś ca yathā udvṛttaḥ tathā pratibhāti ||
Bhishma berkata: “Sesudah itu, makhluk itu meninggalkan rupa yang terdahulu lalu menzahirkan diri sebagai sebilah pedang besar, kira-kira tiga puluh lebar jari panjangnya. Matanya amat tajam dan berkilau cemerlang; ketika diangkat, ia tampak seperti Maut dan Sang Pengakhir sendiri.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the image of a blazing, death-like sword to evoke kāla (time/death) as an unstoppable force, reminding the listener that violence and power carry inevitable consequences and should be approached with restraint under dharma.
A mysterious being abandons its previous form and manifests as a large, brilliantly shining sword with an extremely sharp edge, appearing as terrifying as Death itself when raised to strike.