Shloka 45
कर्णनिधनश्रवणम् — Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament
अलनम्बुषो राक्षसेन्द्र: खरबन्धुरयानवान् । घटोत्कचेन विक्रम्य गमितो यमसादनम्,घटोत्कचने पराक्रम करके गर्दभयुक्त सुन्दर रथवाले राक्षसराज अलम्बुषको यमलोक पहुँचा दिया है
sañjaya uvāca |
alambūṣo rākṣasendraḥ kharabandhurayānavān |
ghaṭotkacena vikramya gamito yamasādanam ||
Sañjaya said: The rākṣasa-king Alambuṣa, mounted on a splendid chariot drawn by asses, was overpowered by the valour of Ghaṭotkaca and sent to the abode of Yama. In the grim ethic of war, this marks the swift, fated end of a fierce combatant through superior might on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the battlefield reality that prowess and destiny swiftly determine outcomes; even a formidable warrior meets death when confronted by a stronger opponent. It also reflects the epic’s kṣatriya-war ethos where decisive victory and the enemy’s fall are narrated as the grim consequence of combat.
Sañjaya reports that Ghaṭotkaca, through superior valour, overpowers and kills the rākṣasa-king Alambuṣa, metaphorically ‘sending’ him to Yama’s abode (death).