Shloka 49
भीष्मवधोपाय-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into the means to overcome Bhīṣma) | Chapter 103
विरथांश्व महेष्वासान् कृत्वा तत्र स राक्षस: । अभिदुद्राव वेगेन हन्तुकामो निशाचर:,उन महाथनुर्धर वीरोंको रथहीन करके युद्धमें उन्हें मार डालनेकी इच्छासे निशाचर अलम्बुषने बड़े वेगसे उनपर धावा किया
virathānśva-maheṣvāsān kṛtvā tatra sa rākṣasaḥ | abhidudrāva vegena hantukāmo niśācaraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having there deprived the great bowmen of their chariots and horses, that rākṣasa—Alambuṣa, the night-roamer—rushed upon them with great speed, intent on killing them in the battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intent and method matter in war: the rākṣasa’s aim is not fair contest but swift killing after disabling opponents, illustrating a drift toward adharma and the moral tension between valor and ruthless expediency.
Sañjaya reports that the rākṣasa Alambuṣa first renders great archers chariotless (and without horses) and then charges at them at high speed, driven by the desire to kill them on the battlefield.