Shloka 3
कर्णभीमसेनयुद्धम् | Karṇa–Bhīmasena Engagement
Chapter 111
अलनम्बुषो भृशं क्रुद्धो घटोत्कचमताडयत् । तयोरयुद्धं समभवद् रक्षोग्रामणिमुख्ययो:
alaṇambuṣo bhṛśaṁ kruddho ghaṭotkacam atāḍayat | tayor ayuddhaṁ samabhavad rakṣogrāmaṇimukhyayoḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Alaṇambuṣa, inflamed with fierce anger, struck Ghaṭotkaca. Then a direct combat arose between those two foremost leaders—chiefs among the rākṣasas—each driven by wrath and the grim duties of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked anger (krodha) rapidly intensifies conflict, even among powerful leaders. In the ethical frame of the Mahābhārata, warriors may be bound to fight, yet the narrative repeatedly shows that wrath clouds judgment and accelerates destruction—making self-mastery a crucial virtue even amid dharma-yuddha.
Sañjaya reports that Alaṇambuṣa, enraged, attacks Ghaṭotkaca. This blow triggers a focused duel between the two, described as foremost leaders among the rākṣasas, signaling an escalation into a major clash within the larger battle of Droṇa Parva.