Shloka 3
Somadatta’s Kṣātra-Dharma Accusation; Night Combat, Māyā, and the Fall of Ghaṭotkaca
Droṇa-parva, Adhyāya 131
गदां युयुत्ममानस्य कालस्येवेह संजय । न हि पश्याम्यहं युद्धे यस्तिछ्ेदग्रत: पुमान्,संजय! मुझे ऐसा कोई वीर पुरुष नहीं दिखायी देता, जो कालके समान गदा उठाकर युद्धकी इच्छा रखनेवाले भीमसेनके सामने समरभूमिमें ठहर सके
gadāṁ yuyutsamānasya kālasyeveha sañjaya | na hi paśyāmy ahaṁ yuddhe yastiṣṭhed agrataḥ pumān ||
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच—संजय, इह भीमसेनं पश्यामि युद्धाय समुत्सुकं गदापाणिं कालमिव; अस्मिन् संग्रामे न हि पश्यामि कञ्चन पुमांसं यः समरे तस्याग्रतः स्थातुं शक्नुयात्।
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming martial power, when propelled by determined intent, appears as Kāla—inevitable destruction—reminding the listener that war can reach a point where ethical restraint and ordinary human agency seem eclipsed by fate-like violence.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing Sañjaya’s report, reacts with dread: he imagines Bhīmasena advancing with mace raised, and declares that no warrior seems capable of standing before him on the battlefield.