तथेत्य् उक्त्वा महाकायः समाहूय घटोत्कचम् ॥
जटासुरिर् भैमसेनिं नानाशस्त्रैर् अवाकिरत् ॥
अलंबलं च कर्णं च कुरुसैन्यं च दुस्तरम् ॥
हैडिम्बः प्रममाथैको महावातो ऽम्बुदान् इव ॥
ततो मायामयं दृष्ट्वा रथं तूर्णम् अलंबलः ॥
घटोत्कचं शरव्रातैर् नानालिङ्गैः समार्दयत् ॥
विद्ध्वा च बहुभिर् बाणैर् भैमसेनिम् अलंबलः ॥
व्यद्रावयच् छरव्रातैः पाण्डवानाम् अनीकिनीम् ॥
tathety uktvā mahākāyaḥ samāhūya ghaṭotkacam ||
jaṭāsurir bhaimaseniṃ nānāśastrair avākirat ||
alaṃbalaṃ ca karṇaṃ ca kurusainyaṃ ca dustaram ||
haiḍimbaḥ pramamāthaiko mahāvāto 'mbudān iva ||
tato māyāmayaṃ dṛṣṭvā rathaṃ tūrṇam alaṃbalaḥ ||
ghaṭotkacaṃ śaravrātair nānāliṅgaiḥ samārdayat ||
viddhvā ca bahubhir bāṇair bhaimasenim alaṃbalaḥ ||
vyadrāvayac charavrātaiḥ pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm ||
"With Drona, Karna and the rest, I am sufficient for the slaying of enemies; and you go by my command, slay Ghatotkacha in battle." Having said "so," the vast-bodied one, having summoned Ghatotkacha, the son of Jatasura -- the son of Bhimasena -- showered with all manner of weapons. Alambala and Karna, and the unconquerable army of the Kurus, the son of Hidimba [Ghatotkacha] crushed alone, like a great whirlwind -- the clouds. Then, seeing the magical chariot, swiftly Alambala struck Ghatotkacha with hosts of arrows of many kinds.
d0fc476fe339 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Ghatotkacha alone crushes Alambala, Karna, and the entire Kuru army, "like a whirlwind the clouds": one rakshasa stands equal to a whole host. It is telling that the son of Bhima, called upon as "a raft for the drowning," at once fulfills the hope placed in him. The verse teaches that a rightly chosen instrument reveals its full power in its hour; and one set where his gift is all-powerful -- a rakshasa in the night -- turns to dust a resistance unbearable to others.