Shloka 8
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
अष्टास््रिमायसीं घोरां गदां काउ्चनभूषणाम् । मनसाहहं प्रपश्यामि ब्रह्मुदण्डमिवोद्यतम्,मैं मनकी आँखोंसे देख रहा हूँ, भीमसेनकी स्वर्णभूषित भयंकर गदा, जो लोहेकी बनी हुई और आठ कोनोंसे युक्त है, ब्रह्मदण्डके समान उठी हुई है
aṣṭāśrimāyasīṃ ghorāṃ gadāṃ kāñcanabhūṣaṇām | manasāhaṃ prapaśyāmi brahmadaṇḍam ivodyatām ||
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच—अष्टास्रिमायसीं घोरां गदां काञ्चनभूषणाम्। मनसाहं प्रपश्यामि ब्रह्मदण्डमिवोद्यताम्॥
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of impending violence: the weapon is imagined as a ‘brahmadaṇḍa’, suggesting that war is not merely personal revenge but can become an instrument of inexorable retribution when adharma has accumulated. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s inner vision reflects anxiety and foreboding about the consequences of unjust choices.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes a vivid mental vision of Bhīma’s fearsome, gold-adorned, eight-edged iron mace raised to strike. The image functions as an ominous anticipation of the destructive force Bhīma will unleash in the coming conflict.