Shloka 20

Devanagari script

आविद्धयतो गदां तस्य कौन्तेयस्य महात्मन: । बभौ रूपं महाघोरं कालस्येव युगक्षये,अपनी गदाको घुमाते हुए महामना कुन्तीकुमार भीमसेनका रूप युगान्त-कालके यमराजके समान अत्यन्त भयंकर प्रतीत होता था

Transliteration

āviddhyato gadāṃ tasya kaunteyasya mahātmanaḥ | babhau rūpaṃ mahāghoraṃ kālasy eva yugakṣaye ||

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Quando aquele filho magnânimo de Kuntī fazia girar a sua maça, sua figura parecia sobremodo terrível—como o próprio Tempo no fim de uma era—lançando pavor no campo de batalha e prenunciando a destruição inevitável dos que a ele se opunham.

Word by Word

आविद्धयतःof (him) whirling/brandishing

गदाम्mace

तस्यof him

कौन्तेयस्यof the son of Kunti

महात्मनःof the great-souled

बभौshone/appeared

रूपम्form/appearance

महा-घोरम्very terrible

कालस्यof Time/Death

इवlike/as if

युग-क्षयेat the end of an age

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kaunteya (Bhīmasena)

Gadā (mace)

Kāla (Time/Death)

Yuga-kṣaya (end of an age)

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 uses the image of Kāla (Time/Death) at the end of a yuga to show how, in righteous war, overwhelming force can appear as an impersonal inevitability—reminding readers that power and destruction are ultimately governed by cosmic order, not mere personal hatred.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Bhīma (the son of Kuntī) whirling his mace on the battlefield; his terrifying appearance is compared to Time at the world’s end, emphasizing the fear he inspires and the doom awaiting his opponents.