Shloka 486
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
अभ्यद्रवत राधेयं प्रवपन् सायकान् बहून् | उसमें इच्छानुसार चलनेवाले महान् वेगशाली और सुवर्णमय अलंकारोंसे विभूषित शैब्य, सुग्रीव, मेघपुष्प और बलाहक नामवाले श्रेष्ठ अश्व जुते हुए थे। वह रथ विमानके समान जान पड़ता था। उसपर आरूढ़ होकर बहुत-से बाणोंकी वर्षा करते हुए सात्यकिने राधापुत्र कर्णपर धावा किया
sañjaya uvāca | abhyadravat rādhēyaṁ pravapan sāyakān bahūn | tasmin icchānusāraṁ calamānā mahā-vegāḥ suvarṇa-mayālaṅkārair vibhūṣitāḥ śaibya-sugrīva-meghapuṣpa-balāhaka-nāmānaḥ śreṣṭhā aśvā yuktā āsan | sa ratho vimāna-samo babhūva | tam āruhya bahubhir bāṇair varṣamāṇaḥ sātyakir rādhā-putraṁ karṇam abhyadhāvat |
Sanjaya said: Satyaki charged at Radheya (Karna), showering him with many arrows. His chariot was yoked to the finest horses—Śaibya, Sugrīva, Meghapuṣpa, and Balāhaka—swift, obedient to the driver’s will, and adorned with golden ornaments. The chariot looked like a celestial craft. Mounted upon it, Satyaki rushed straight at Karna, raining shafts in the fury of battle—an image of relentless martial resolve within the grim ethics of a war where duty is pursued through violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights kṣatriya resolve and the grim moral tension of dharma in war: excellence, discipline, and unwavering intent are praised, yet they unfold through destructive means. It invites reflection on how duty and violence intertwine in epic ethics.
Sanjaya describes Satyaki mounting a splendid, fast chariot drawn by four named horses and charging directly at Karna, releasing a heavy volley of arrows as the battle intensifies.