Shloka 68
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
हाहाकारस्ततो राजन् सर्वसैन्येष्वभून्महान् । कर्णोडपि विरथो राजन् सात्वतेन कृत: शरै:
hāhākāras tato rājan sarvasainyeṣv abhūn mahān | karṇo 'pi viratho rājan sātvatena kṛtaḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Then, O King, a great cry of alarm arose throughout all the armies. Even Karṇa, O King, was made chariotless by the Sātvata (Kṛṣṇa’s kinsman) through his arrows.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how swiftly fortune shifts in war: even a famed champion like Karṇa can be reduced to vulnerability. Ethically, it underscores the fragility of power and the sobering cost of violence—panic spreads through entire armies when a major warrior is brought low.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a great uproar erupts across the battlefield because Karṇa has been struck so effectively by a Sātvata warrior that he becomes viratha—deprived of his chariot—signaling a dramatic moment in the combat.