ततः कर्णं शरव्रातैः कुरून् अन्यान् सहस्रशः ॥
अलंबलं चाभ्यवर्षन् मेघो मेरुम् इवाचलम् ॥
ततः संचुक्षुभे सैन्यं कुरूणां राक्षसार्दितम् ॥
उपर्य् उपरि चान्योन्यं चतुरङ्गं ममर्द ह ॥
जटासुरिर् महाराज विरथो हतसारथिः ॥
घटोत्कचं रणे क्रुद्धो मुष्टिनाभ्यहनद् दृढम् ॥
मुष्टिनाभिहतस् तेन प्रचचाल घटोत्कचः ॥
क्षितिकम्पे यथा शैलः सवृक्षगणगुल्मवान् ॥
tataḥ karṇaṃ śaravrātaiḥ kurūn anyān sahasraśaḥ ||
alaṃbalaṃ cābhyavarṣan megho merum ivācalam ||
tataḥ saṃcukṣubhe sainyaṃ kurūṇāṃ rākṣasārditam ||
upary upari cānyonyaṃ caturaṅgaṃ mamarda ha ||
jaṭāsurir mahārāja viratho hatasārathiḥ ||
ghaṭotkacaṃ raṇe kruddho muṣṭinābhyahanad dṛḍham ||
muṣṭinābhihatas tena pracacāla ghaṭotkacaḥ ||
kṣitikampe yathā śailaḥ savṛkṣagaṇagulmavān ||
To splinters that chariot of his, the charioteer, and all the weapons Ghatotkacha hacked, and roared most fiercely. Then Karna with hosts of arrows, and other Kurus by the thousand, and Alambala he showered, like a cloud -- the unmoving mountain Meru. Then the army of the Kurus, harried by the rakshasa, was thrown into turmoil; one upon another, the fourfold army he crushed. The son of Jatasura, O great king, without a chariot, his charioteer slain, struck Ghatotkacha in battle, enraged, hard with his fist.
b9055e9da234 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Stripped of his chariot, Alambala does not retreat, but fights with his fist: fury finds a weapon even in the bare hand. It is telling that the battle of giants descends from arrows to hand-to-hand combat -- to the primal power of bodies. The verse teaches that the loss of weapons does not take away the will to fight: a true warrior fights with what remains, even a fist; and beneath the craft of arms lies the original strength that does not surrender while breath remains in the body.