Shloka 68

अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa

Devanagari script

हाहाकारस्ततो राजन्‌ सर्वसैन्येष्वभून्महान्‌ । कर्णोडपि विरथो राजन्‌ सात्वतेन कृत: शरै:

Transliteration

hāhākāras tato rājan sarvasainyeṣv abhūn mahān | karṇo 'pi viratho rājan sātvatena kṛtaḥ śaraiḥ ||

Translation

ତାପରେ, ରାଜନ, ସମସ୍ତ ସେନାମଧ୍ୟରେ ମହା ହାହାକାର ହେଲା। ରାଜନ, ସାତ୍ୱତ ସାତ୍ୟକି ନିଜ ବାଣଦ୍ୱାରା କର୍ଣ୍ଣଙ୍କୁ ମଧ୍ୟ ରଥହୀନ କରିଦେଲେ।

Word by Word

हाहाकारःa great cry of lamentation

ततःthen; thereafter

राजन्O king

सर्वसैन्येषुin all the armies

अभूत्arose; happened; became

महान्great

कर्णःKarna

अपिalso; even

विरथःwithout a chariot; chariotless

राजन्O king

सात्वतेनby the Sātvata (Krishna/one of the Vrishnis)

कृतःmade; rendered

शरैःwith arrows

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Karṇa

Sātvata (Vṛṣṇi/Yādava warrior; Kṛṣṇa’s kinsman)

armies (Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces)

arrows

chariot

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how swiftly fortune shifts in war: even a famed champion like Karṇa can be reduced to vulnerability. Ethically, it underscores the fragility of power and the sobering cost of violence—panic spreads through entire armies when a major warrior is brought low.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a great uproar erupts across the battlefield because Karṇa has been struck so effectively by a Sātvata warrior that he becomes viratha—deprived of his chariot—signaling a dramatic moment in the combat.