Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 43
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
तां कालरात्रीमिव पाशहस्तां यमस्य धात्रीमिव चोग्ररूपाम् | स ब्रह्मुदण्डप्रतिमाममोधां ससर्ज यत्तो युधि धर्मराज:
tāṁ kālarātrīm iva pāśahastāṁ yamasya dhātrīm iva cograrūpām | sā brahmudaṇḍapratimām amodhāṁ sasarja yatto yudhi dharmarājaḥ ||
சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்—கையில் பாசம் ஏந்திய காலராத்திரியைப் போலவும், யமனின் உக்கிர தாத்ரியைப் போலவும் அச்சமூட்டும் வடிவமுடையதும், பிரம்மதண்டத்தைப் போலத் தவறாததும் அந்த சக்தி. தர்மராஜன் மிகுந்த முயற்சியுடனும் எச்சரிக்கையுடனும் போரில் அதை எறிந்தான்.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one is committed to dharma, the use of overwhelming and unfailing force in war carries moral gravity; therefore the righteous must act with heightened caution, self-control, and responsibility when deploying lethal power.
Sañjaya describes Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) releasing a formidable, unfailing weapon in battle, portraying it through terrifying metaphors—Kālarātri with a noose, Yama’s fierce attendant, and the irresistible rod of Brahmā—to convey its dread power and inevitability.
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