Shloka 233

अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa

Devanagari script

आचार्य शरवर्षेण रथे सादयता कृपम्‌ | “मैंने आचार्य कृपको अपने बाणोंकी वर्षद्वारा रथपर सुला दिया है। निश्चय ही यह कर्म मैंने आज नरकमें जानेके लिये ही किया है

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | ācāryaḥ śaravarṣeṇa rathe sādayatā kṛpam |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “With a shower of arrows, the teacher Kṛpa has been struck down upon his chariot. Surely, by doing this deed today, I have acted as one bound for hell.”

Word by Word

• आचार्यः: the teacher (Drona)
• आचार्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आचार्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शरवर्षेण: by a shower of arrows
• शरवर्षेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरवर्ष
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• रथे: on/in the chariot
• रथे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• सादयता: by (him) causing to sit/bringing down/overpowering
• सादयता: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सादयत्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular, शतृ (present active participle), Parasmaipada

• कृपम्: Kripa
• कृपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kṛpa (Kr̥pācārya)
• chariot
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a righteous war, harming a revered elder or teacher can trigger acute moral anguish; the verse highlights the tension between kṣatriya duty in battle and the ethical weight of violence against venerable figures, expressed as fear of naraka (hell) and personal culpability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Kṛpa, a respected teacher-warrior, has been overwhelmed on his chariot by a heavy volley of arrows, and the speaker (as reflected in the cited line) laments the act as a deed that seems to merit hell—underscoring the brutality and moral cost of the ongoing combat in Droṇa Parva.