Shloka 32
Adhyāya 110: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament on Fate; Saṃjaya’s Reproof and the Princes’ Assault on Bhīma (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय ११०)
जघान पाण्डुपुत्रस्य सैनिकान् रणमूर्थनि । शक्ति, कणप, प्रास, शूल, पट्टिश, तोमर, शतघ्नी, परिघ, भिन्दिपाल, फरसे, शिलाएँ, खड्ग, लोहेकी गोलियाँ, ऋष्टि और वज्र आदि अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंकी वर्षा होने लगी। राक्षसद्वारा की हुई उस भयंकर शण्त्रवर्षने युद्धके मुहानेपर पाण्डुपुत्र भीमके बहुत-से सैनिकोंका संहार कर डाला || ३०-३१ ह || तेन पाण्डवसैन्यानां सूदिता युधि वारणा:,राजन! राक्षस अलम्बुषने युद्धस्थलमें पाण्डव-सेनाके बहुत-से हाथियों, घोड़ों और पैदल सैनिकोंका बारंबार संहार किया, उसके बाणोंसे छिन्न-भिन्न होकर बहुतेरे रथी रथोंसे गिर पड़े
sañjaya uvāca | jaghāna pāṇḍuputrasya sainikān raṇamūrdhani | tena pāṇḍavasainyānāṃ sūditā yudhi vāraṇāḥ | rājan rākṣasa alambuṣoṇa yuddhasthale pāṇḍavasenāyā bahūn hastinaḥ aśvān padātīn ca punaḥ punaḥ saṃjahāra | tasya bāṇaiś chinna-bhinnā bahavaḥ rathinaḥ rathāt papātuḥ |
Sañjaya said: On the very front of the battlefield, the rākṣasa Alambuṣa struck down the soldiers of the son of Pāṇḍu. By him, O King, the elephants of the Pāṇḍava host were grievously afflicted in the fight; and on the field he repeatedly slaughtered many elephants, horses, and foot-soldiers of the Pāṇḍavas. Torn and shattered by his arrows, many chariot-warriors fell from their chariots.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of war: even a cause aligned with dharma faces severe losses, and courage must coexist with endurance. It implicitly warns that martial power without restraint becomes sheer devastation, and that ethical resolve is tested not in ideals but amid suffering and chaos.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the rākṣasa warrior Alambuṣa is wreaking havoc at the battlefront, repeatedly killing Pāṇḍava elephants, horses, and infantry; many chariot-fighters are cut down by his arrows and fall from their chariots.