Shloka 22
अध्याय ८८ — घटोत्कच-दुर्योधनयुद्धवर्णनम्
Ghaṭotkaca–Duryodhana Engagement
प्रेक्षस्व भीष्म॑ युधि भीमवेगं सर्वास्तपन्तं मम सैन्यसंघान् । शरौघजालैरतितिग्मवेगै: काल॑ यथा कालकृतं क्षणेन,“देखो! जैसे यमराज समयानुसार उपस्थित होकर क्षणभरमें देहधारीका विनाश कर देते हैं, उसी प्रकार ये युद्धमें भयंकर वेगशाली भीष्म अत्यन्त प्रचण्ड वेगवाले बाणसमूहोंके द्वारा मेरी समस्त सेनाओंको कितना संताप दे रहे हैं
sañjaya uvāca |
prekṣasva bhīṣma yudhi bhīmavegaṃ sarvāstapantaṃ mama sainyasaṃghān |
śaraughajālair atitigmravegaiḥ kālaṃ yathā kālakṛtaṃ kṣaṇena ||
Disse Sañjaya: “Vede! Na batalha, quão terrível é o ímpeto de Bhīma—como ele abrasa todas as divisões do meu exército. Com redes de chuvas de flechas, impelidas com velocidade afiada como lâmina, ele é como o próprio Kāla (Tempo/Morte): quando chega a hora destinada, destrói os seres encarnados num instante.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical vision that in war—even when fought under dharma’s constraints—human power is fragile before Kāla (Time/Death). Martial prowess appears overwhelming, yet it functions within an inescapable order of destiny and impermanence.
Sañjaya reports to (and addresses) Bhīṣma, urging him to observe the battlefield: a warrior (described as bhīmavega) is tormenting the Kaurava forces with dense, swift arrow-showers, likened to Death arriving at the appointed time and destroying beings in a moment.