Shloka 42
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
योधानश्चान् द्विपांश्वैव प्राच्छिनत् स वरासिना । रुधिरोक्षितसर्वाड्र: कालसृष्ट इवान्तक:
yodhāṁś cān dvipāṁś caiva prācchinat sa varāsinā | rudhirokṣita-sarvāṅgaḥ kāla-sṛṣṭa ivāntakaḥ ||
三阇耶说道：他挥动利剑，斩落诸勇士，连马与象也被劈作碎块。其周身尽被鲜血浸透；他宛如死亡本身——被“时”所驱使的行刑者——在屠戮之中无所节制地穿行。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how unchecked wrath and vengeance in war can make a person resemble ‘Antaka’—death itself—suggesting a moral collapse where human agency becomes indistinguishable from blind destruction driven by Kāla (Time/fate).
Sañjaya describes the attacker’s rampage: with a fine sword he cuts down combatants and even great war-animals, his body soaked in blood, appearing like Death unleashed by Time—an image of relentless, indiscriminate killing.