Shloka 9
कर्णभीमसेनयुद्धम् | Karṇa–Bhīmasena Engagement
Chapter 111
तां तामलम्बुषो राजन् माययैव निजध्निवान् | नरेश्वर! घटोत्कच युद्धस्थलमें जो-जो माया दिखाता, उसे अलम्बुष अपनी मायाद्वारा ही नष्ट कर देता था ।। तं॑ तथा युध्यमानं तु मायायुद्धविशारदम्
tāṃ tāṃlambuṣo rājan māyayaiva nijaghnivān | nareśvara! ghaṭotkaca yuddhasthale yaḥ-yaḥ māyāṃ darśayati, tāṃ tāṃ alambuṣaḥ svamāyayā eva naśayati sma || taṃ tathā yudhyamānaṃ tu māyāyuddhaviśāradaṃ |
Sañjaya dit : Ô roi, Alambuṣa déjouait chacune de ces illusions par sa seule sorcellerie. Ô seigneur des hommes ! Quelque prodige magique que Ghaṭotkaca déployât sur le champ de bataille, Alambuṣa le neutralisait par une illusion égale. Ainsi, tandis que cet expert de la guerre d’enchantements continuait à combattre de la sorte…
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how deceptive power (māyā) in war invites an equal and opposite deception; when conflict is driven by illusion and counter-illusion, victory depends less on righteousness and more on skillful neutralization—raising an ethical tension between dharma and expedient tactics.
On the battlefield, Ghaṭotkaca employs various magical illusions, but Alambuṣa—himself adept in māyā—counters and destroys each illusion with his own, showing a duel of rākṣasa-style magical warfare as Sanjaya reports it to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.