स तेषाम् अस्त्रवेगं तं प्रतिहत्यास्त्रमायया ॥
तस्माद् रथव्रजान् मुक्तो वनदाहाद् इव द्विपः ॥
स विस्फार्य धनुर् घोरम् इन्द्राशनिसमस्वनम् ॥
मारुतिं पञ्चविंशत्या भैमसेनिं च पञ्चभिः ॥
युधिष्ठिरं त्रिभिर् विद्ध्वा सहदेवं च सप्तभिः ॥
नकुलं च त्रिसप्तत्या द्रुपदेयांश् च मारिष ॥
पञ्चभिः पञ्चभिर् विद्ध्वा घोरं नादं ननाद ह ॥
sa teṣām astravegaṃ taṃ pratihatyāstramāyayā ||
tasmād rathavrajān mukto vanadāhād iva dvipaḥ ||
sa visphārya dhanur ghoram indrāśanisamasvanam ||
mārutiṃ pañcaviṃśatyā bhaimaseniṃ ca pañcabhiḥ ||
yudhiṣṭhiraṃ tribhir viddhvā sahadevaṃ ca saptabhiḥ ||
nakulaṃ ca trisaptatyā drupadeyāṃś ca māriṣa ||
pañcabhiḥ pañcabhir viddhvā ghoraṃ nādaṃ nanāda ha ||
He, having repelled that onslaught of their weapons with the illusion of his own weapons, broke free from that mass of chariots like an elephant from a forest fire. Drawing his terrible bow, its sound like Indra's thunderbolt, he pierced the son of Maruta [Bhima] with twenty-five arrows, the son of Bhimasena [Ghatotkacha] with five, Nakula with seventy-three, and the sons of Draupadi with five each, and let out a terrible roar.
7d064283dcd2 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:02:23 PM UTC
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Alambusa breaks free "like an elephant from a forest fire": a hunted power grown terrible in desperation. It is telling that evil, pressed from every side, does not surrender but redoubles its fury, scattering blows among the many. The verse teaches that the overcoming of untruth is never swift: pressed hard, it breaks out and deals harm, and so the struggle against it demands not a single assault but unrelenting, sustained effort — for a desperate foe is more dangerous than a confident one.