Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (16 page)

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! When Sudakshina and the brave Shrutayudha were killed, all your soldiers became angry and swiftly attacked Partha. O king! The Abhishahas, the Shurasenas, the Shibis and the Vasatis started to pour down a shower of arrows on Dhananjaya. With his arrows, Pandava simultaneously killed six hundred of these. They were terrified and fled, like small animals before a tiger. Having returned again, they surrounded Partha from all sides. Wishing to defeat the enemy in battle, he was fighting
with the foes and killing them. Arrows were quickly released from Gandiva and descended on them. Dhananjaya brought down heads and arms. Without any gaps, the earth was strewn with fallen heads. Crows, vultures and wild crows flew around and seemed to form a shadowy canopy over the field of battle. On seeing that they were being routed, Shrutayu and Achyutayu became intolerant with rage and began to fight against Dhananjaya. They were strong, proud and brave, born in noble lineages and strong-armed. O great king! Desiring great fame, they swiftly showered down arrows from the left and from the right. For the sake of your son, those two archers wished to kill Arjuna. They angrily covered Arjuna with thousands of arrows with drooping tufts, like clouds filling a lake. The angry Shrutayu struck Dhananjaya, best among rathas, with a yellow and sharp javelin. Powerfully pierced by the enemy, the destroyer of enemies was overcome by supreme lack of consciousness in the battle, confounding Keshava also. At that instant, maharatha Achyutayu severely struck Pandava with an extremely sharp spear. It was as if he was pouring a corrosive
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into the great-souled Pandava’s wound. Severely pierced, Partha held onto the pole of the standard. O lord of the earth! A great sound, like the roar of lions, arose from all your soldiers, because they thought that Dhananjaya was dead. On seeing Partha bereft of his senses, Krishna was also extremely tormented and as his well-wisher, he comforted Dhananjaya with words of assurance. Those two foremost rathas
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were successful in striking the target and covered Dhananjaya and Varshneya Vasudeva with showers of arrows from every direction. In that battle, they made the wheels, the poles, the horses, the standards, the pennants and the entire chariot disappear and it was extraordinary.

‘“O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Bibhatsu slowly regained his senses, like one who has returned from the capital of the king of the dead. He saw that his chariot and Keshava were covered with a net of arrows and he also saw the two enemies stationed before
him, like flaming fires. At this, maharatha Partha invoked the Shakra weapon.
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From this, thousands of arrows with drooping tufts were released. Those arrows that were created struck those two great archers. Their arrows, which were traversing through the sky, were shattered by Partha’s arrows. Through the force of his arrows, Pandava swiftly countered their arrows. He roamed around there, fighting with the maharathas. The arms and heads of those two were severed by Phalguna’s arrows. They fell down on the ground, like two trees uprooted by the wind. On seeing that Shrutayu had been killed and that Achyutayu had also been killed, everyone in the world wondered. It was as if the waters in the ocean had dried up. Partha then slew five hundred rathas who had followed them and penetrated the army of the Bharatas, killing the best among them. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing that Shrutayu and Achyutayu had been killed, their sons, Ayutayu and Dirghayu, the best among men, became very angry and attacked Kounteya. Oppressed on account of their fathers, they showered down many different kinds of arrows. But the extremely wrathful Arjuna used straight-tufted arrows to instantly despatch them to Yama’s abode. He agitated those ranks, like an elephant amidst a pond full of lotuses. Those bulls among kshatriyas were incapable of resisting Partha.

‘“O king! Thousands of angry elephant-riders and well-trained elephants from Anga surrounded Pandava. Those elephants were like mountains and were urged on by Duryodhana. There were kings from the east and the south, with Kalinga at the forefront. When they descended on him, he swiftly shot arrows from Gandiva and severed the heads and the arms of those who were at the front, together with the ornaments. Those heads and arms, together with the armlets, were strewn around on the ground. They were as dazzling as golden stones, encircled with snakes. Arms and heads were severed and fell down. They seemed to be like birds falling down from trees. Thousands of elephants were pierced by arrows and blood began to flow from them. They seemed to be like mountains, with haematite
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flowing from
them. Slain by Bibhatsu’s sharp arrows, others were lying around. There were many
mleccha
s
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on the backs of elephants, hideous in form. O king! They were attired in many different kinds of garments and wielded diverse kinds of weapons. They were slain by colourful arrows and looked resplendent, blood flowing from their limbs. Wounded by Partha’s arrows, elephants vomited blood. Thousands of them had their bodies mangled, with their riders and with those who followed them on foot. They shrieked as they fell down. Others fled in different directions. Many were greatly terrified and as those elephants fled, they crushed their own ranks. There were other fighting elephants that were kept separately and they were as virulent as poison.
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These went mad and behaved in the same way.

‘“There were asuras skilled in the use of maya, terrible and with fierce eyes. There were Yavanas, Paradas, Shakas, Sunikas, Goyaniprabhas, mlecchas, armed Kalakalpas, Darvabhisaras, Daradas, Pundras and Bahlikas. There were hundreds and thousands of them and they formed a large force. They showered down weapons, but proved to be incapable. The arrows released by Dhananjaya enveloped all those soldiers, like a cloud of locusts in the sky. There were mlecchas with heads partly or completely shaved. Some had matted hair. Others were filthy in conduct, with malicious faces. Through the maya of his weapons, he killed hundreds of those assembled ones. Hundreds of those who lived in congregations were pierced by arrows.
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Those who lived in mountainous caverns were frightened in that battle and fled. Hundreds of elephants, horses, infantry and mlecchas were brought down by the arrows. Wild crows, herons and wolves were delighted and drank the blood. He created a passage with destroyed foot soldiers, horses, chariots and elephants.
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The showers of arrows were the terrible boats. The hair
was the moss and weeds. Blood constituted its fearful current and the waves were terrible. The helmets were the small fish and it seemed to be like Death at the end of a yuga. The bodies of slain elephants choked the flow and that river of blood flowed towards the left.
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There were bodies of princes, elephants, horses, rathas and foot soldiers and one could not distinguish high ground from the low, like when Vasava showers profusely.
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Everywhere the earth flowed over with blood. The bull among kshatriyas sent six thousand brave and supreme ones and a thousand other supreme kshatriyas to the world of the dead. As if decreed by destiny, thousands of elephants were pierced by the arrows. They lay down on the ground, like mountains shattered by thunder. Thus did Arjuna roam around and kill horses, rathas and elephants. He was like an elephant with rent temples crushing a forest of reeds. He was like a fire, aided by the wind, consuming a forest, with its many trees, lantanas and creepers and heaps of dense and dry grass. Your soldiers were like a forest and Krishna was like the wind. The angry Pandava Dhananjaya, with his rays of arrows, was like the fire. He made the seats of chariots bereft of them and made them lie down on the ground. With the bow in his hand, Dhananjaya seemed to dance around in that melee. His arrows were like the touch of the vajra and he covered the ground with blood. The angry Dhananjaya penetrated the army of the Bharatas.

‘“As he advanced, Shrutayu from Ambashtha
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countered him. O venerable one! As he endeavoured, Arjuna swiftly used sharp arrows tufted with the feathers of herons to bring down his horses. Partha used other arrows to sever his bow. At this, Ambashtha’s eyes became red with anger. He grasped a club and attacked Keshava and maharatha Partha in that battle. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The brave one laughed and raised his club. He obstructed the chariot with his club and struck Keshava. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing that Keshava had been struck with the
club, Arjuna, the destroyer of enemy heroes, became extremely angry with Ambashtha. In that battle, he used gold-tufted arrows to cover the supreme of rathas and his club, like clouds enveloping the rising sun. Partha then used other arrows to shatter the club of the great-souled one and it was extraordinary. On seeing that it had fallen down, he grasped another mighty club and used that to again repeatedly strike Arjuna and Vasudeva. Arjuna used two kshurapra arrows to slice down his arms, with the upraised club. He then used another arrow to slice down his head, which was like Indra’s pole. O king! Thus slain, he roared and fell down on the ground. It was like Indra’s standard, when it has been freed from the bonds that tie it to the implement. Partha was then surrounded on all sides by a dense array of chariots and hundreds of elephants and horses and disappeared, like the sun shrouded by clouds.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “Wishing to kill the king of Sindhu, Kounteya penetrated. He shattered Drona’s array and the irresistible array of Bhoja. O king! Sudakshina, the heir of Kamboja, was slain. The valiant Shrutayudha was also killed by Savyasachi. On seeing that the soldiers were scattered and routed in every direction and that his own army was destroyed, your son went to Drona. He swiftly approached Drona on a single chariot and said, ‘That tiger among men has shattered this giant army and has departed.
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Use your intelligence to reflect on what should be done after this. Given this terrible slaughter of people, how do we kill Arjuna and ensure that the tiger among men does not kill Jayadratha? O fortunate one! You are our ultimate refuge. Act accordingly. This Dhananjaya is a fire and his anger is the wind that goads him. He is consuming the soldiers like kindling, like a raging fire against dry grass. O scorcher of enemies! O supreme among those who have knowledge of the
brahman! Kounteya has shattered the soldiers and has proceeded. The lords of men who are stationed to protect Jayadratha are overcome by great anxiety. They thought that Dhananjaya would never be able to pass beyond Drona, not with his life. O immensely radiant one! But while you looked on, Partha has passed through your soldiers. All of them are extremely distressed. I think that I no longer have an army left. O immensely fortunate one! I know that you have always been engaged in the welfare of the Pandavas. O brahmana! I am confounded, thinking about what should be done. O brahmana! I have sought to please you to the best of my strength. To the best of my capacity, I have given you the best of livelihoods. But you do not recognize this. O infinitely valorous one! We have always been devoted to you. But you have always been affectionate towards the Pandavas and have been engaged in bringing injury to us. Though you have obtained your livelihood from us, you have been engaged in bringing injury to us. I did not know you earlier. You are like a razor dipped in honey. If you had not granted me the boon that you would afflict the Pandavas, I would not have restrained the lord of Sindhu from returning to his own home. I displayed weak intelligence in depending on your assurance and your weapons. Having stupidly assured the lord of Sindhu, I have given him death. Even if a man enters Yama’s mouth, he may escape. But once Jayadratha has come within Arjuna’s reach, there is no escape for him. O one with the red horses! Act so that Jayadratha can be protected. Do not be angry at my distressed lamentations. Protect Saindhava.’

‘“Drona replied, ‘I have found no fault with your words. You are like Ashvatthama to me. O lord of the earth! I am telling you this truthfully and act accordingly. Krishna is a supreme charioteer. His horses are swift. They are supreme steeds. Even if a small space is created, Dhananjaya passes quickly through it. Have you not seen the innumerable arrows shot by Kiriti? As he swiftly advances, they descend one
krosha
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behind his chariot. I am old now and am incapable to travelling at such great speed. The force of the Parthas has presented itself at the mouth of our array. O mighty-armed one!
I should now capture Yudhishthira. Before all the archers and in the midst of all the kshatriyas, this is the pledge that I made. Having been abandoned by Dhananjaya, he is stationed in front of me. I will not move from the front of this vyuha and go to Phalguna. He is your equal in birth and deeds. With your aides, you should go and fight with that solitary enemy. Do not be frightened. You are a lord of the earth. You are a king. You are brave, accomplished and skilled. You can uproot enemies like Pandava. O brave one! You should yourself swiftly go to the spot where Dhananjaya is.’

‘“Duryodhana said, ‘O preceptor! O supreme among those who wield all weapons! How can I cross Dhananjaya? He has countered you too. I am capable of vanquishing Purandara, the wielder of the vajra, in battle. But I cannot withstand Arjuna, the vanquisher of enemy cities, in battle. Through the power of his weapons, he has vanquished Bhoja Hardikya
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and you, who are an equal of the gods. His arrows have killed Shrutayu, Sudakshina, King Shrutayudha, Shrutayu
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and Achyutayu. Hundreds of mlecchas have been killed. He has consumed many enemies. How can I fight with Pandava? How can I fight with that invincible one? He is learned in the use of weapons. How do you think that I am fit to fight with him today? Instruct me. I am dependent on you and your servant. Preserve my fame.’

‘“Drona replied, ‘O Kouravya! You have spoken the truth. Dhananjaya is invincible. But I will act so that you are able to withstand him. Let all the archers in the world witness something extraordinary today. While Vasudeva looks on, you will repulse Kounteya. O king! I will fasten this golden armour on you and arrows and weapons will not be able to penetrate you in the battle, even if the gods, the asuras, the yakshas, the serpents, the rakshasas and the three worlds fight against you, together with all men. You have no reason to fear. Krishna, Kounteya, or anyone else who uses weapons in battle, will not be able to pierce this armour with arrows. Resorting to this armour today, go and fight with the angry Arjuna in the battle. Go yourself and go swiftly. He won’t be able to withstand you.’”