Shloka 45
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
विमलस्तीक्ष्णधारक्ष॒ कालान्तक इवोद्यत:ः । तत्पश्चात् वह भूत उस रूपको त्यागकर तीस अद्भुलसे कुछ बड़े खड़्गके रूपमें प्रकाशित होने लगा। उसकी धार बड़ी तीखी थी। वह चमचमाता हुआ खड्ग काल और अन्तकके समान उद्यत प्रतीत होता था ।।
vimalas tīkṣṇa-dhārakṣaḥ kālāntaka ivodyataḥ | tat-paścāt sa bhūtaḥ tad-rūpaṃ tyaktvā triṃśad-aṅgulasaṃmitasya mahataḥ khaḍgasya rūpeṇa prakāśitum ārabdhaḥ | tasya dhārā tīvra-tīkṣṇā āsīt | sa dīpyamānaḥ khaḍgaḥ kālaś cāntakaś ca yathā udvṛttaḥ tathā pratibhāti ||
毗湿摩说：“其后，那存在舍弃先前之形，显为一柄大剑，长约三十指宽。刃极其锋利，光辉灿然；高举之时，宛如死神与终结者亲临。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the image of a blazing, death-like sword to evoke kāla (time/death) as an unstoppable force, reminding the listener that violence and power carry inevitable consequences and should be approached with restraint under dharma.
A mysterious being abandons its previous form and manifests as a large, brilliantly shining sword with an extremely sharp edge, appearing as terrifying as Death itself when raised to strike.