Shloka 37
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
धृतराष्ट उवाच योडसौ कर्णेन वीरस्य वाष्णेयस्य समागम: । हते तु भूरिश्रवसि सैन्धवे च निपातिते,धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--संजय! भूरिश्रवाके मारे जाने और सिंधुराजके धराशायी किये जानेपर कर्णके साथ वीरवर सात्यकिका जो संग्राम हुआ, वह कैसा था?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yo 'sau karṇena vīrasya vāṣṇeyasya samāgamaḥ | hate tu bhūriśravasi saindhave ca nipātite,
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, after Bhūriśravas had been slain and the king of Sindhu had been struck down, what was that encounter in battle between Karṇa and the heroic Vāṣṇeya (Sātyaki) like? Describe it to me.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pivotal deaths in war immediately reshape duty and strategy: leaders seek clear accounts to judge valor and conduct. Implicitly, it frames battle not as isolated duels but as a moral and tactical continuum where each fall (Bhūriśravas, Jayadratha) triggers new confrontations and fresh questions about righteous and effective action.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to narrate the subsequent clash between Karṇa and Sātyaki. The question is set specifically after Bhūriśravas has been slain and Jayadratha (the Saindhava king) has been brought down, indicating a new phase of fighting in which Karṇa and Sātyaki come into direct engagement.