Shloka 62
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
तत:ः कर्ण शिने: पौत्र: सर्वपारसवै: शरै:,शत्रुओंका दमन करनेवाले महाराज! तदनन्तर शिनिपौत्र सात्यकिने सम्पूर्णत:ः लोहमय बाणोंद्वारा कर्णको उसके सारे अंगोंमें बारंबार चोट पहुँचायी और एक भल्लद्दवारा उसके सारथिको रथकी बैठकसे नीचे गिरा दिया
tataḥ karṇaṃ śineḥ pautraḥ sarvapārasavaiḥ śaraiḥ | śatrūṇāṃ damana-karaṇe vājarāja tad-anantaraṃ śinipautraḥ sātyakiḥ samparṇataḥ lohamayabāṇair dvārā karṇaṃ tasya sarvāṅgeṣu bāraṃbāraṃ cotaṃ prāpādayām āsa | eka-bhallena ca tasya sārathiṃ ratha-niṣkūṭāt adhaḥ apātayat ||
Sañjaya said: Then Sātyaki, the grandson of Śini—subduer of foes—assailed Karṇa with a full shower of iron-tipped arrows, striking him again and again in every limb. With a single broad-headed shaft (bhalla) he also felled Karṇa’s charioteer from the chariot-seat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the uncompromising nature of kṣatriya warfare: skill, resolve, and tactical strikes decide outcomes moment by moment. Ethically, it points to the heavy cost of battle—victory is pursued through force, yet every blow intensifies the burden of violence borne by all combatants.
Sātyaki launches a concentrated attack on Karṇa, repeatedly wounding him with iron arrows, and then uses a bhalla (broad-headed shaft) to knock Karṇa’s charioteer down from the chariot-seat, disrupting Karṇa’s immediate combat effectiveness.