Shloka 27
Adhyāya 110: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament on Fate; Saṃjaya’s Reproof and the Princes’ Assault on Bhīma (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय ११०)
स वध्यमानो भीमेन निमेषाद् रथमास्थित: । जगाम धरणीं चैव क्षुद्र: खं सहसागमत्,भीमसेनके बाणोंकी मार खाकर राक्षस अलम्बुष पलक मारते-मारते अपने रथपर आ बैठा। वह क्षुद्र निशाचर कभी तो धरतीपर आ जाता और कभी सहसा आकाशमें पहुँच जाता था
sa vadhyamāno bhīmena nimeṣād ratham āsthitaḥ | jagāma dharaṇīṃ caiva kṣudraḥ khaṃ sahasāgamat ||
Sañjaya said: Struck down by Bhīma’s assault, the vile night-ranger Alambuṣa, in the blink of an eye, regained his chariot. Then, using his deceptive power, he would at one moment drop to the earth and at the next suddenly rise into the sky—an evasive, ignoble tactic amid the fierce press of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts straightforward martial valor with evasive, deceptive conduct: even under pressure, some fighters resort to sudden, illusory maneuvers (earth-to-sky) that are characterized as kṣudra—morally base—highlighting how adharma can manifest in wartime tactics.
After being struck by Bhīma’s arrows, the rākṣasa Alambuṣa quickly remounts his chariot and begins darting unpredictably—now on the ground, now suddenly in the sky—attempting to evade Bhīma and continue fighting through supernatural agility.