Санджая
तथा तौ भृशसंक्रुद्धौ राक्षसेन्द्रौ महाबलौ ॥
निर्विशेषम् अयुध्येतां मायाभिर् इतरेतरम् ॥
मायाशतसृजौ दृप्तौ मोहयन्तौ परस्परम् ॥
मायायुद्धे सुकुशलौ मायायुद्धम् अयुध्यताम् ॥
यां यां घटोत्कचो युद्धे मायां दर्शयते नृप ॥
तां ताम् अलम्बुसो राजन् माययैव निजघ्निवान् ॥
tathā tau bhṛśasaṃkruddhau rākṣasendrau mahābalau ||
nirviśeṣam ayudhyetāṃ māyābhir itaretaram ||
māyāśatasṛjau dṛptau mohayantau parasparam ||
māyāyuddhe sukuśalau māyāyuddham ayudhyatām ||
yāṃ yāṃ ghaṭotkaco yuddhe māyāṃ darśayate nṛpa ||
tāṃ tām alambuso rājan māyayaiva nijaghnivān ||
So those two, greatly enraged, mighty lords of the rakshasas, fought each other with illusions, neither gaining the upper hand. Conjuring hundreds of illusions, arrogant, bewildering one another, most skilled in the battle of illusion, they waged a war of illusions. Whatever illusion Ghatotkacha displayed in battle, O king, that very illusion Alambusa shattered with illusion of his own, O king.
1bdcf2fedf57 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:02:23 PM UTC
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Illusion meets illusion, and delusion is undone by delusion: "whatever illusion... he shattered with illusion in turn." So long as the fight is waged by deception alone, there is no resolution — illusion only multiplies illusion. It is telling that the circle of delusion cannot be broken from within itself. The verse teaches that deceit cannot be overcome by deceit: while a struggle is carried on by tricks alone, it has no end; resolution comes only when something else enters — direct force or higher truth, which alone breaks the very circle of illusions.