तथा तु तेनाभिहतस् तरस्वी; नप्ता शिनेश् चक्रधरप्रभावः ॥
अलम्बुसस्योत्तमवेगवद्भिर्; हयांश् चतुर्भिर् निजघान बाणैः ॥
अथास्य सूतस्य शिरो निकृत्य; भल्लेन कालानलसंनिभेन ॥
सकुण्डलं पूर्णशशिप्रकाशं; भ्राजिष्णु वक्त्रं निचकर्त देहात् ॥
निहत्य तं पार्थिवपुत्रपौत्रं; संख्ये मधूनाम् ऋषभः प्रमाथी ॥
ततो ऽन्वयाद् अर्जुनम् एव वीरः; सैन्यानि राजंस् तव संनिवार्य ॥
tathā tu tenābhihatas tarasvī; naptā śineś cakradharaprabhāvaḥ ||
alambusasyottamavegavadbhir; hayāṃś caturbhir nijaghāna bāṇaiḥ ||
athāsya sūtasya śiro nikṛtya; bhallena kālānalasaṃnibhena ||
sakuṇḍalaṃ pūrṇaśaśiprakāśaṃ; bhrājiṣṇu vaktraṃ nicakarta dehāt ||
nihatya taṃ pārthivaputrapautraṃ; saṃkhye madhūnām ṛṣabhaḥ pramāthī ||
tato 'nvayād arjunam eva vīraḥ; sainyāni rājaṃs tava saṃnivārya ||
Thus struck by him, the swift grandson of Shini [Satyaki], possessed of the power of the disc-bearer [Krishna], struck down Alambusa's horses — four of them — with four supremely swift arrows. Then, having cut off his charioteer's head with a bhalla resembling the fire of Time, he severed from the body [Alambusa's own] radiant face, adorned with earrings, shining like the full moon. Having slain that son and grandson of a king in battle, the bull of the Madhu line, the destroyer, then followed after Arjuna, the hero, having repelled, O king, your armies.
6296cf6ce0a5 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:25:13 PM UTC
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The radiant, moon-bright face of Alambusa is severed — beauty did not spare him ruin in an unjust cause. It is telling that Satyaki, having slain his enemy, does not linger in triumph but hurries at once after Arjuna: his aim is service, not celebration. The verse teaches that the valiant does not dwell over the fallen but returns to duty; and a feat done for a shared cause seeks no self-admiration, but leads on to the next act of service.