Mahabharata 7.149.63 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 149, Shloka 63
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
बिभेद सर्वगात्रेषु पुन: पुनररिंदम । सारथिं चास्य भल्लेन रथनीडादपातयत्
sañjaya uvāca |
bibheda sarvagātreṣu punaḥ punar ariṃdama |
sārathiṃ cāsya bhallena rathanīḍād apātayat ||
ಓ ಶತ್ರುದಮನ ಮಹಾರಾಜ! ಶಿನಿಯ ಮೊಮ್ಮಗ ಸಾತ್ಯಕಿ ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ಕರ್ಣನ ಸರ್ವಾಂಗಗಳನ್ನೂ ಪುನಃ ಪುನಃ ಭೇದಿಸಿದನು; ಮತ್ತು ಒಂದು ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣ ಭಲ್ಲದಿಂದ ಅವನ ಸಾರಥಿಯನ್ನು ರಥಾಸನದಿಂದ ಕೆಳಗೆ ಬೀಳಿಸಿದನು.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in dharma-war, prowess is expressed through precise tactics—disabling an opponent’s capacity to fight (here, by wounding and unseating the charioteer). It also implicitly invites reflection on the ethical gravity of battlefield actions: effectiveness and duty operate alongside the human cost.
Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki repeatedly wounds Karṇa across his body with iron arrows and then uses a bhalla to knock Karṇa’s charioteer down from the chariot-seat, a decisive move that can disrupt control of the chariot and momentum in combat.
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