Shloka 53
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
तयोर्दृष्टवा महाराज कर्म सम्मूढचेतस: । सर्वे च समपश्यन्त तद् युद्धमतिमानुषम्
tayor dṛṣṭvā mahārāja karma sammūḍha-cetasaḥ | sarve ca samapaśyanta tad yuddham atimānuṣam ||
Sañjaya said: “O great king, on seeing those two, all the warriors’ minds were thrown into confusion about what ought to be done. And everyone beheld that battle as something beyond ordinary human measure.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In moments of overwhelming violence and extraordinary prowess, even seasoned people can lose clarity about right action (karma). The verse highlights the ethical disorientation that war can produce, and the need for steadiness of judgment amid awe and fear.
Sañjaya reports to the king that, as two formidable fighters confronted each other, the onlookers were stunned and mentally unsettled, witnessing the duel as ‘superhuman’ in intensity and scale.