Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
सर्वायसमयीं गुर्वीं यमजिह्वाभिवापराम् । शतहस्तां प्रमाणेन प्राणिनां भयवर्द्धिनीम्
sarvāyasamayīṃ gurvīṃ yamajihvābhivāparām | śatahastāṃ pramāṇena prāṇināṃ bhayavarddhinīm
وہ گدا سراسر لوہے کی، نہایت بھاری، یم کی دہکتی ہوئی زبان جیسی؛ پیمائش میں سو ہاتھ—جانداروں کے خوف کو بڑھانے والی تھی۔
Sūta (contextual continuation)
Listener: Śaunaka and assembled ṛṣis
Scene: Close-up emphasis on the mace itself: black iron mass, enormous scale, edges glowing as if a ‘tongue of Yama’; beings recoil in dread.
FAQs
The Purāṇic idiom uses awe-inspiring imagery to show how adharma generates fear, while dharma’s guardians counter it with decisive force.
The verse belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya sequence; the immediate verse is weapon-description rather than direct tīrtha praise.
None; this is descriptive imagery.