Shloka 42
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
रथो मे युज्यतां कल्यमिति राजन् महाबल: । न हि देवा न गन्धर्वा न यक्षोरगराक्षसा:
ratho me yujyatāṁ kalyam iti rājan mahābalaḥ | na hi devā na gandharvā na yakṣoragarākṣasāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, let my chariot be yoked at once.” Thus spoke the mighty one; for neither the gods, nor the Gandharvas, nor the Yakṣas, nor the Nāgas and Rākṣasas can stand as a sufficient counter to his resolve. The line underscores the warrior’s fierce confidence and the escalating moral pressure of war, where pride and urgency drive action beyond ordinary restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the psychology of war: urgency and self-assurance can swell into near-invincibility claims, reminding readers that martial confidence often challenges even cosmic limits—an ethical warning about pride and the momentum of violence.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a mighty warrior orders his chariot to be harnessed, declaring that no class of supernatural beings—gods, Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Nāgas, or Rākṣasas—can oppose him, signaling imminent action and heightened intensity in the battle.