Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (29 page)

‘“Then the mighty-armed and powerful Bhima suddenly arrived, wishing to aid the great-souled Parshata in that battle. O king! He pierced Drona with seven sharp arrows and swiftly took up Parshata on his own chariot. King Duryodhana despatched Kalinga to protect Bharadvaja’s son, with a large number of soldiers. O lord of men!
On the instructions of your son, that large army of Kalingas rushed towards Bhima. Drona, supreme among charioteers, abandoned Panchala and encountered and fought with the aged Virata and Drupada. In that battle, Dhrishtadyumna went to help Dharmaraja. A tumultuous battle commenced and it made the body hair stand up. This was between the Kalingas and the great-souled Bhima. It was terrible in form and awful, and was destructive of the universe.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “The immensely strong and brave Bhimasena roams around with a club, like death with a staff in his hands. He is the performer of extraordinary deeds. Kalinga, the general of an army, was instructed. But with his soldiers, how did he encounter him
¹¹²
in battle?”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O Indra among kings! Thus instructed by your son, the immensely strong one was protected by a large army and advanced towards Bhima’s chariot. That large army of the Kalingas was full of chariots, elephants and horses and was armed with many mighty weapons. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As the army of the Kalingas marched towards him, led by Ketuman and the son of Nishada, Bhimasena, accompanied by the Chedis, descended on it. Together with Ketuman, the angry Shrutayu
¹¹³
arranged his troops in battle formation and advanced before Bhima and Chedi in that battle. The king of Kalinga possessed many thousands of chariots. Other than Ketuman, the Nishadas had ten thousand elephants. O king! In that battle, they surrounded Bhimasena from all directions. With Bhimasena at the forefront, the Chedis, the Matsyas and the Karushas swiftly advanced against the Nishadas and the other kings. A fierce battle raged, terrible in form. In a desire to kill each other, the
warriors on both sides dashed forward. The sudden battle that was fought between Bhima and his enemies was terrible. O great king! It was like that between Indra and the large army of the daityas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As the armies fought on that field of battle, a tumultuous noise arose, like the roar of the ocean. O lord of the earth! The warriors killed each other. The entire ground was like a cremation ground, strewn with flesh and blood. Driven by the desire to kill, the warriors could not distinguish between their own and those of the enemy. Those brave ones were invincible in battle and even killed those from their own side. There was an extremely fierce fight, between the few and the many.
¹¹⁴
O lord of the earth! The Chedis fought with the Kalingas and the Nishadas. The extremely strong Chedis exhibited their manliness, to the best of their capacity, but then abandoned Bhimasena and retreated.

‘“When the Chedis retreated, Pandava did not retreat. Resorting to the strength of his own arms, he faced all the Kalingas. The immensely strong Bhimasena remained stationary on his chariot. He enveloped the Kalinga army with sharp arrows. The great archer who was the king of Kalinga and his maharatha son, famous by the name of Shakradeva, attacked Pandava with arrows. But the mighty-armed Bhima brandished his beautiful bow. Resorting to the strength of his arms, he fought with Kalinga. In that battle, Shakradeva shot many arrows. In that battle, he killed Bhimasena’s horses with those arrows and showered down clouds of arrows, like a downpour at the end of the summer. But the immensely strong Bhimasena remained stationed on his chariot, despite his horses having been slain, and hurled a club made completely of steel at Shakradeva.
¹¹⁵
O king! The son of Kalinga was thus killed. With his standard and charioteer, he fell down from the chariot onto the ground. On seeing that his own son had been killed, the king of Kalinga surrounded Bhima
from every direction with many thousands of chariots. At this, the mighty-armed Bhima discarded that giant club. He grasped a sword, so as to accomplish a terrible deed. O bull among kings! That bull among men also took up an unparalleled shield. It was marked with stars and half-moons and was made out of gold. The enraged Kalinga touched the string of his bow. He grasped a terrible arrow that was like the venom of a serpent and despatched it at Bhimasena, desiring to kill that lord of men. Despatched with force, that sharp arrow descended. O king! However, Bhimasena sliced it into two with his huge sword. He then roared in delight, frightening the soldiers. In that encounter with Bhimasena, Kalinga became even angrier. He swiftly hurled fourteen lances that had been sharpened on stone. O king! But before they could reach him, the mighty-armed Pandava used his supreme sword to swiftly cut them down in the sky.

‘“The bull among men saw that Bhanuman
¹¹⁶
was advancing towards him. Bhanuman enveloped Bhima with a shower of arrows and roared powerfully, making the sound echo in the sky. But Bhima was not prepared to tolerate that lion-like roar in that great battle. He possessed a giant roar himself and roared loudly. At this shout, the Kalinga soldiers were frightened. O bull among the Bharata lineage! In that battle, they no longer regarded Bhima as human. O great king! Bhima let out a loud roar. O venerable one! With the sword in his hand, he used the supreme elephant’s tusks
¹¹⁷
to climb onto the back of that king of elephants. With that large sword, he sliced Bhanuman down the middle. The scorcher of enemies killed the duelling prince in this way. His sword was capable of bearing a great load and he then made it descend on the neck of the elephant. With its neck severed, that leader of elephants screamed and fell down, like the summit of a mountain shattered by the battering of the sea. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! That descendant of the Bharata lineage then descended from the elephant that was falling down.

‘“Armoured, he stood on the ground, indomitable in soul and with a sword in his hand. He roamed around along many paths, bringing down frightened elephants. Everywhere, he looked like a whirling circle of fire. The lord slaughtered masses of horses, elephants, masses of chariots and large numbers of infantry, covering them with blood. Intoxicated with his valour, Bhima was seen in that battle, roaming around like a hawk amidst the enemy. With great force, he sliced off their bodies and their heads and also those who fought on elephants, using his sharp sword in that battle. He fought wrathfully on foot, increasing the terror of his enemies. He was like Yama at the time of destruction and confounded them. Only the foolish ones roared and advanced towards him, as he forcefully roamed around on that great field of battle, with his sword unsheathed. That powerful destroyer of enemies cut down chariots, the yokes of chariots and killed the horses yoked to chariots. Bhimasena was seen to display many different kinds of motions. He whirled around and leapt up. Pandava was seen to strike towards the sides and advance in front. The great-souled Pandava sliced down some with his supreme sword. Some shrieked as they were pierced in their inner organs and fell down, bereft of their lives. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Many elephants had their tusks and trunks severed. Others had their temples shattered. Without any riders, they killed their own soldiers as they screamed and fell down. O king! Broken lances, the heads of the drivers of elephants, colourful seats on the elephants, the sides blazing in gold, spikes that adorned the collars,
¹¹⁸
standards, weapons, quivers and other machines, colourful bows, beautiful pots with fire in them, goads, different kinds of bells and hilts that were embellished with gold—all these were seen by us, already fallen, or falling down, together with the riders. The elephants were slain, with the front and rear of their bodies, and their trunks, shattered. That arena seemed to be strewn with mountains that had fallen down. Having killed many giant elephants, that bull among men began to destroy the horses. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He brought down the foremost of horse-riders. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The
battle between him and them was extremely terrible. In the great battle, we saw the hilts of swords, thongs, reins resplendent in gold, cushions, spikes, extremely expensive swords, armour, shields and colourful carpets strewn over the ground. There were also sparkling weapons with colourful inlays. He made the earth look as if it was strewn with lilies. The immensely strong Pandava leapt up and brought some charioteers down. He cut them and their standards down with his sword. The renowned one repeatedly dashed in all the directions. He astounded the people by traversing diverse paths. He killed some with his legs. He brought down others and pressed them down. He beheaded some with his sword and frightened others with his roars. The force of his thighs brought others down on the ground. Others fled on seeing him, dying out of terror.

‘“Then the swift and large army of the Kalingas, which had surrounded Bhishma
¹¹⁹
in battle, attacked Bhimasena. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Shrutayu was at the head of the Kalinga army and on seeing him, Bhimasena attacked him. On seeing him advance, Kalinga, whose soul was immeasurable, pierced Bhimasena between the breasts with nine arrows. Struck by Kalinga’s arrows, Bhimasena was like an elephant goaded with a hook and blazed in anger, like a fire into which kindling had been offered. Ashoka then brought a chariot decorated with gold and Bhimasena ascended this chariot with that supreme of charioteers.
¹²⁰
Kounteya, the destroyer of enemies, swiftly climbed onto that chariot. He advanced towards Kalinga, exclaiming, ‘Wait. Wait.’ At this, the powerful Shrutayu was enraged and displaying the dexterity of his hands, despatched sharp arrows at Bhima. He was pierced by nine sharp arrows released from that supreme bow. O king! Having been thus wounded with force by Kalinga, the immensely famous Bhima was like a serpent that had been struck with a staff. Partha Bhima, the supreme among strong ones, was enraged and stretching his bow, killed the
king of Kalinga with seven iron arrows. With razor-like arrows, he despatched Satyadeva and Satya, the protectors of the chariot wheels of the immensely strong Kalinga, to Yama’s abode. In that battle, Bhima, the one whose soul is immeasurable, then used iron arrows and sharp weapons to send Ketuman to Yama’s abode.

‘“The kshatriyas in the Kalinga army, with many thousands of soldiers, became wrathful and attacked the intolerant Bhimasena. O king! The Kalinga surrounded Bhimasena with lances, clubs, swords, spikes, scimitars
¹²¹
and battleaxes. They enveloped him with a terrible shower of arrows. However, though enveloped, the immensely strong Bhima swiftly grasped a club and sent seven hundred warriors to Yama’s abode. The destroyer of enemies again sent two thousand Kalingas to the world of the dead and this was extraordinary. In that battle, the brave Bhima,
¹²²
great in his vows, repeatedly killed the Kalinga soldiers. The great-souled Pandava robbed elephants of their riders. They were wounded with arrows and wandered around shrieking, like clouds struck by the wind, trampling their own soldiers. The powerful and mighty-armed Bhima blew on his conch shell and the hearts of all the Kalinga soldiers trembled. O scorcher of enemies! The Kalingas were overcome by confusion. O king! The soldiers and all the mounts trembled, as Bhima roamed around everywhere in that field of battle, like an Indra among elephants. He dashed around, following many different paths and repeatedly leaping up. Terrified of Bhimasena, confusion was engendered in the soldiers and they trembled, like a large lake that is agitated by a crocodile. Frightened by Bhima’s extraordinary deeds, the brave ones fled in all directions and were then rallied again.

‘“Parshata, the commander of the army of the sons of Pandu, told his soldiers to fight with all the Kalinga warriors. On hearing the words of the general, the cohorts, with Shikhandi at the forefront,
came to help Bhima, with masses of chariots and warriors. Pandava Dharmaraja followed all of them, on the back of a large number of elephants with the complexion of clouds. Thus urging his own soldiers, Parshata, surrounded by many virtuous men, went to guard Bhimasena’s flanks. To the king of Panchala,
¹²³
there was no one in the world as beloved as Bhima and Satyaki and he was engaged in their welfare. The mighty-armed Parshata, the destroyer of enemy warriors, saw that Bhimasena, the destroyer of enemies, was roaming around amidst the Kalingas. O king! The scorcher of enemies uttered many large shouts. In that battle, he blew on his conch shell and roared like a lion. On seeing that gold-embellished chariot to which horses with the colour of pigeons were yoked and the red standard, Bhimasena was assured. On seeing Bhimasena, immeasurable in his soul, attacked by the Kalingas, Dhrishtadyumna advanced to his rescue. Beholding Satyaki from a distance, Dhrishtadyumna and Vrikodara, the spirited and brave ones, began to fight with the Kalingas in that battle. Swiftly advancing there, Shini’s descendant,
¹²⁴
supreme among victorious ones and a bull among men, started to protect Partha and Parshata’s flanks. He grasped his bow and arrows and created havoc there. In that encounter, he adopted a terrible form and killed the enemy. Bhima caused a river of blood to flow there, with mud created by the flesh and blood of the Kalingas. The immensely strong Bhimasena traversed the impassable river that flowed between the armies of the Kalingas and the Pandavas. O king! On seeing the enraged Bhimasena there, the soldiers exclaimed, ‘In Bhima’s form, this is death itself that is fighting with the Kalingas.’ Hearing their loud cries in battle, Bhishma, Shantanu’s son, swiftly advanced towards Bhima, surrounded by battle formations and soldiers.

‘“Satyaki, Bhimasena and Parshata Dhrishtadyumna advanced towards Bhishma’s gold-embellished chariot. In that encounter, they surrounded Gangeya from all sides and without losing any time, each of them pierced Bhishma with three terrible arrows. But your
father Devavrata, the great archer, pierced all of the striving ones back in return, using straight-tufted arrows. Having countered those maharathas with thousands of arrows, he used his arrows to kill Bhima’s horses, which were clad in golden armour. Although his horses were slain, the powerful Bhimasena remained stationed on his chariot. He powerfully hurled a spear towards Gangeya’s chariot. But in that battle, before that spear could reach him, your father Devavrata sliced it into three and it fell down on the ground. O bull among men! Bhimasena then grasped a large and heavy club made out of steel
¹²⁵
and leapt down from his chariot. Desiring to do that which would bring pleasure to Bhima, Satyaki used his arrows to swiftly bring down the aged Kuru’s charioteer. When his charioteer was killed, Bhishma, supreme among charioteers, was borne away from the field of battle by horses that were as fleet as the wind. O king! When the one who is great in his vows was thus carried away, Bhimasena blazed, like a fire consuming dry grass. He remained stationed in the midst of the Kalinga soldiers and killed them all. O bull among the Bharata lineage! No one from your side dared to oppose him. Dhrishtadyumna took up that supreme of charioteers on his own chariot. In the sight of all the soldiers, he took away that famous one. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Honoured by the Panchalas and the Matsyas, he embraced Dhrishtadyumna and then went to Satyaki. Satyaki, for whom his valour is truth, delightedly told Bhimasena, while Dhrishtadyumna, tiger among men, looked on, ‘It is through good fortune that the king of Kalinga, the princes Ketuman and Shakradeva of Kalinga and all the Kalingas have been slain in battle. They possessed many elephants, horses and chariots. The Kalingas possessed large battle formations. But through the valour of your own arms, they have been vanquished by you single-handedly.’ Having said this, Shini’s long-armed descendant, the destroyer of enemies, swiftly ascended onto the chariot and embraced Pandava. Then the maharatha again climbed onto his own
chariot and angrily began to kill those on your side, thus increasing Bhima’s strength.”’