Shloka 17
कर्णभीमयुद्धम्
Karna–Bhīma Combat Report
तयो: समभवद् युद्ध नरराक्षसयोर्मथे । यादृगेव पुरा वृत्तं रामरावणयोरनप,राजन! पूर्वकालमें जिस प्रकार श्रीराम और रावणका संग्राम हुआ था, उसी प्रकार उस रणक्षेत्रमें मानव भीमसेन तथा राक्षस अलम्बुषका युद्ध हुआ
tayoḥ samabhavad yuddhaṁ nara-rākṣasayor mathe | yādṛg eva purā vṛttaṁ rāma-rāvaṇayor anupa rājan ||
Sañjaya sprach: Zwischen jenen beiden erhob sich, mitten im Getümmel, ein Kampf zwischen einem Menschen und einem Rākṣasa. O König, es war wie der uralte Streit zwischen Rāma und Rāvaṇa; so gerieten auf jenem Schlachtfeld der Mensch Bhīmasena und der Rākṣasa Alambuṣa in den Krieg.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a present conflict through an earlier epic paradigm (Rāma–Rāvaṇa), implying that battles are not merely physical contests but moral narratives: the human champion stands as a force of dharma against a destructive, rākṣasa-like adversary.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce duel has erupted on the battlefield: Bhīmasena fights the rākṣasa Alambuṣa, and the intensity is likened to the famed war between Rāma and Rāvaṇa.