Shloka 19
तब क्रोधमें भरे हुए अलम्बुषने उस महासमरमें भीमसेनकुमार घटोत्कचको दस बाणोंसे घायल कर दिया, मानो महावतने महान् गजराजको अंकुशोंसे मार दिया हो ।। तिलशस्तस्य संवाहं सूतं सर्वायुधानि च । घटोत्कच: प्रचिच्छेद प्रणदंश्वातिदारुणम्,अभियाति द्रुतं कर्ण तद् वारय महारथम् । संजय कहते हैं--राजन! युद्धस्थलमें इस प्रकार कर्णका वध करनेकी इच्छासे उद्यत हुए घटोत्कचको सूतपुत्रके रथकी ओर आते देख आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनने दःशासनसे इस प्रकार कहा--'भाई! यह राक्षस रणभूमिमें कर्णका वेगपूर्वक पराक्रम देखकर तीव्र गतिसे उसपर आक्रमण कर रहा है; अतः उस महारथी घटोत्कचको रोको यह देख अत्यन्त भयंकर गर्जना करते हुए घटोत्कचने अलम्बुषके सारथि, घोड़ों और सम्पूर्ण अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंकी तिल-तिल करके काट डाला
sañjaya uvāca |
atha krodhabhṛto 'lambuṣo mahāsamare bhīmasenaputraṃ ghaṭotkacaṃ daśabhir bāṇair viddhvā, yathā mahāmātraḥ mahāgajarājaṃ aṅkuśair āhanat ||
tilśastasya saṃvāhaṃ sūtaṃ sarvāyudhāni ca |
ghaṭotkacaḥ praciccheda praṇadan aśvāt idāruṇam |
abhiyāti drutaṃ karṇaṃ tad vārayā mahāratham ||
Sanjaya said: Inflamed with rage, Alambusha, even amid that great battle, pierced Ghatotkacha—the son of Bhimasena—with ten arrows, as a skilled elephant-driver strikes a mighty lord of elephants with goads. Then Ghatotkacha, roaring terribly, cut to pieces—bit by bit—the charioteer, the horses, and all the weapons of Alambusha. And as he rushed swiftly to attack Karna, Duryodhana urged Duhshasana: “Stop that great chariot-warrior!” The passage highlights how wrath and rivalry drive combatants to escalating violence, while loyalty to one’s side (protecting Karna) becomes the immediate ethical imperative within the battlefield code.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how anger (krodha) fuels destructive escalation in war, while battlefield ethics often reduce to immediate duties of protection and loyalty—here, the Kauravas’ urgency to shield Karna—showing the tension between righteous conduct and the momentum of violence.
Alambusha, enraged, wounds Ghatotkacha with ten arrows. Ghatotkacha responds ferociously, cutting down Alambusha’s charioteer, horses, and weapons, and then charges toward Karna. Seeing this, Duryodhana tells Duhshasana to stop Ghatotkacha.