Mahabharata 7.149.68 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 149, 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

Sañjaya nói: “Rồi, tâu Đại vương, một tiếng kêu kinh hoàng lớn vang lên khắp các đạo quân. Ngay cả Karṇa, tâu Đại vương, cũng bị người Sātvata (thân tộc của Kṛṣṇa) dùng tên bắn khiến mất chiến xa.”

Word by Word

• हाहाकारः: a great cry of lamentation
• हाहाकारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हाहाकार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सर्वसैन्येषु: in all the armies
• सर्वसैन्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वसैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• अभूत्: arose; happened; became
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Aorist (simple past), 3rd, Singular

• महान्: great
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कर्णः: Karna
• कर्णः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: also; even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• विरथः: without a chariot; chariotless
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विरथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सात्वतेन: by the Sātvata (Krishna/one of the Vrishnis)
• सात्वतेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सात्वत
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• कृतः: made; rendered
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Karṇa
• Sātvata (Vṛṣṇi/Yādava warrior; Kṛṣṇa’s kinsman)
• armies (Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces)
• arrows
• chariot

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.