Shloka 433
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
तयो: प्रभावमतुलं शृणु युद्ध तु तत् तथा । उन्हें ब्रह्मा आदि देवता और सिद्ध पुरुष ही यथार्थ रूपसे जान पाते हैं। उन दोनोंके प्रभावकी कहीं तुलना नहीं है। अच्छा, अब युद्धका वृत्तान्त सुनिये
tayoḥ prabhāvam atulaṃ śṛṇu yuddhaṃ tu tat tathā |
Sañjaya berkata: Dengarlah kini tentang kekuatan tiada bandingan bagi kedua-dua mereka; tiada ukuran yang benar, tiada perbandingan yang dapat menyamai daya mereka. Bahkan Brahmā, para dewa purba, dan para resi yang telah sempurna (siddha) sahaja yang mampu mengenal mereka sebagaimana hakikatnya. Sekarang, dengarkanlah kisah jalannya peperangan sebagaimana ia berlaku.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the limits of ordinary judgment in assessing extraordinary beings: some forms of power and destiny in war are beyond common comparison and are truly known only to higher divine or perfected witnesses. It frames the narrative with humility before cosmic scale and truth.
Sanjaya transitions into describing the battle by first emphasizing the unmatched prowess of “those two” (contextually, two principal warriors) and asserting that only Brahmā, the gods, and siddhas can fully know their real nature; he then invites the listener to hear the ensuing war report.