संजय उवाच
तम् आगतम् अभिप्रेक्ष्य भीमकर्माणम् आहवे ॥
हर्षम् आहारयां चक्रुः कुरवः सर्व एव ते ॥
तथैव तव पुत्रास् ते दुर्योधनपुरोगमाः ॥
अप्लवाः प्लवम् आसाद्य तर्तुकामा इवार्णवम् ॥
पुनर्जातम् इवात्मानं मन्वानाः पार्थिवास् तदा ॥
अलायुधं राक्षसेन्द्रं स्वागतेनाभ्यपूजयन् ॥
तस्मिंस् त्व् अमानुषे युद्धे वर्तमाने भयावहे ॥
कर्णराक्षसयोर् नक्तं दारुणप्रतिदर्शने ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
tam āgatam abhiprekṣya bhīmakarmāṇam āhave ||
harṣam āhārayāṃ cakruḥ kuravaḥ sarva eva te ||
tathaiva tava putrās te duryodhanapurogamāḥ ||
aplavāḥ plavam āsādya tartukāmā ivārṇavam ||
punarjātam ivātmānaṃ manvānāḥ pārthivās tadā ||
alāyudhaṃ rākṣasendraṃ svāgatenābhyapūjayan ||
tasmiṃs tv amānuṣe yuddhe vartamāne bhayāvahe ||
karṇarākṣasayor naktaṃ dāruṇapratidarśane ||
Seeing him arrived, dreadful in deeds in battle, all those Kurus rejoiced. Likewise your sons, led by Duryodhana, like boatless men who had found a boat, longing to cross the ocean, deeming themselves as though reborn, the kings then honored Alayudha, lord of rakshasas, with welcome. When that superhuman battle raged, striking terror — the battle of Karna and the rakshasa by night, terrible to behold...
56e84a512707 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:10 PM UTC
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The Kauravas greet the man-eater Alayudha as salvation — "like boatless men who had found a boat." It is telling that hope is placed in a monster: despair seeks support in whoever is strong. The verse teaches that calamity distorts judgment: a drowning man grasps even at ruin; and joy over a cannibal ally betrays not hope but the depth of the fall — for whoever celebrates the coming of a devourer of the living has already despaired of a righteous outcome.