Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अलनम्बुषो भृशं क्रुद्धो घटोत्कचमताडयत्‌ । तयोरयुद्धं समभवद्‌ रक्षोग्रामणिमुख्ययो:

Transliteration

alaṇambuṣo bhṛśaṁ kruddho ghaṭotkacam atāḍayat | tayor ayuddhaṁ samabhavad rakṣogrāmaṇimukhyayoḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Alaṇambuṣa, inflamed with fierce anger, struck Ghaṭotkaca. Then a direct combat arose between those two foremost leaders—chiefs among the rākṣasas—each driven by wrath and the grim duties of war.

Word by Word

अलनम्बुषःAlambusha

भृशम्excessively, greatly

क्रुद्धःangry

घटोत्कचम्Ghaṭotkaca

अताडयत्struck, beat

तयोःof the two (of them)

अयुद्धम्a battle, combat

समभवत्arose, happened

रक्षोग्रामणिin/among the leader of the Rakṣasas (i.e., Alambusha)

मुख्ययोःof the two chiefs, of the two foremost

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Alaṇambuṣa

Ghaṭotkaca

Rākṣasas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how unchecked anger (krodha) rapidly intensifies conflict, even among powerful leaders. In the ethical frame of the Mahābhārata, warriors may be bound to fight, yet the narrative repeatedly shows that wrath clouds judgment and accelerates destruction—making self-mastery a crucial virtue even amid dharma-yuddha.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Alaṇambuṣa, enraged, attacks Ghaṭotkaca. This blow triggers a focused duel between the two, described as foremost leaders among the rākṣasas, signaling an escalation into a major clash within the larger battle of Droṇa Parva.