Shloka 416
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
कालो दण्डमिवोद्यम्य गदापाणिरयुध्यत । कृतवमनि युद्धस्थलमें भीमसेनके रीछके समान रंगवाले घोड़ोंको मार डाला। घोड़ोंके मारे जानेपर पाण्डुनन्दन भीमसेन रथकी बैठकसे नीचे उतरकर हाथमें गदा ले युद्ध करने लगे, मानो यमराज अपना दण्ड उठाकर प्रहार कर रहे हों
kālo daṇḍam ivodyamya gadāpāṇir ayudhyata | kṛtavarmāṇi yuddhasthale bhīmasenasya ṛkṣa-sadṛśa-raṅga-vatāṃ aśvān jaghāna | aśveṣu nihateṣu pāṇḍunandano bhīmaseno rathopasthāt avatīrya gadāṃ gṛhītvā yuyudhe, yathā yamarājo daṇḍam udyamya praharet ||
Sabi ni Sanjaya: Gaya ng Panahon na nag-aangat ng pamalong parusa, ang mandirigmang may hawak na pamalo ay nakipaglaban. Sa larangan, pinabagsak ni Kritavarman ang mga kabayo ni Bhimasena, na kulay kayumangging-dilaw na parang oso. Nang mapatay ang mga kabayo, si Bhima—kagalakan ng angkan ni Pandu—bumaba mula sa upuan ng karwahe, hinawakan ang kanyang pamalo, at sumabak sa labanan, na wari’y si Yama ang nag-aangat ng kanyang tungkod upang magpataw ng kaparusahan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the imagery of Kāla (Time) and Yama’s daṇḍa (staff of punishment) to suggest that in war, individual acts of force can be portrayed as instruments of an impersonal moral-cosmic order—retribution and inevitability—rather than mere personal rage. It invites reflection on how dharma and punishment are imagined amid catastrophic violence.
Kṛtavarman kills Bhīma’s horses on the battlefield. With his chariot disabled, Bhīma climbs down from the chariot-seat, takes up his mace, and continues fighting on foot, compared to Time or Yama raising a staff to strike.