Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (28 page)

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! All this has happened because of Duryodhana’s evil counsel and deeds. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Listen attentively to what I am telling you. On your son’s instructions, the samshaptakas returned, having made up their minds to fight to their utmost. There were three thousand riders, with Duryodhana at the forefront—Shakas, Kambojas, Bahlikas, Yavanas, Paradas, Kunindas, Tanganas, Ambashthas, Pishachas and those from mountainous regions. They attacked Shini’s descendant, like insects towards a flame. They were joined by rathas from the mountainous regions, those who fought with stones. O king! Five hundred such brave ones attacked Shini’s descendant. There were one thousand rathas and a hundred maharathas. There were one thousand elephants and two thousand horses. Those maharathas showered many different kinds of arrows. In that battle, infantry attacked Shini’s descendant. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O great king! Duhshasana urged all of them to surround Satyaki and kill him. We witnessed the great and marvellous conduct of Shini’s
descendant. Without any fear, he single-handedly fought against many. He slew that array of rathas, the army of elephants, all the riders and all those dasyus. He mangled and routed them with his supreme weapons. Many wheels were shattered and beautiful chariot poles were destroyed. Bumpers were fragmented and standards brought down. The earth was strewn with armour and whisks. O venerable one! There were garlands, ornaments, garments and yokes. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The earth was littered with these, like the sky with planets. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The best of elephants, with the forms of mountains, were brought down. They were born in the lineages of Anjana, Vamana, Supratika, Mahapadma, Airavata and many other lineages.
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O king! The best of tuskers were slain in large numbers and lay down there. O king! The best of horses, from Vanayu, mountainous regions, Kamboja and Bahlika breeds, were slain there by Satyaki. There were foot soldiers who had been raised in many different countries, born in many races. Hundreds and thousands of them were killed there by Shini’s descendant.

‘“When the soldiers confronted death in this way, Duhshasana spoke to the dasyus. ‘Return. You are not those who are familiar with dharma.
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Why are you running away without fighting?’ On seeing that they did not listen, your son, Duhshasana, urged the brave ones from the mountainous regions, the ones who fought with stones. ‘You are skilled in fighting with stones and Satyaki is not familiar with this. You know about fighting with stones. Use that mode to kill the one who desires to fight. None of the Kurus are skilled in fighting with stones. Do not be frightened. Attack. Satyaki will not be able to approach you. Those mountain-dwellers raised boulders that were like elephant cubs, and desiring death, advanced against Yuyudhana.
Others hurled those at him, wishing to kill Satvata. They were urged by your son and hemmed him in from all directions. On seeing them descend on him, desiring to fight with boulders, Satyaki fought against them and released three hundred arrows. Those from the mountainous regions rained down a tumultuous shower of boulders. However, the bull among the Shini lineage countered these with iron arrows that were like serpents. These shattered the boulders and the fragments shone like fireflies. O venerable one! Some of these slew the soldiers and sounds of lamentation arose. O king! There were five hundred brave ones with giant boulders raised. Their arms were severed and fell down on the ground. Other brave ones who fought with stones were stationed there. Many thousands of these were slain and it was extraordinary. The foremost among them again attacked, showering boulders from every direction. They held iron in their hands. There were Daradas with spears in their hands and Khasas and Tanganas. There were Ambashthas and Kunindas. They were enraged and Satyaki was also wrathful. The immensely strong one released iron arrows and countered them. With his sharp arrows, he shattered those boulders in the sky. O king! This produced a noise that made elephants, horses, rathas and infantry run away. Struck by shards from those boulders, powerful and armoured men were incapable of remaining there and roamed around. The remaining elephants
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were covered with blood. Their heads and frontal globes were shattered. They ran away from Yuyudhana’s chariot. O venerable one! A great noise arose among your soldiers when they were afflicted by Madhava, like that of the fierce ocean.

‘“On hearing this tumultuous sound, Drona told his charioteer. ‘O charioteer! In this battle, maharatha Satvata is angry. As he roams around in the encounter, like Death, he is shattering the soldiers in many ways. O charioteer! Take the chariot to the spot where the tumultuous sound has arisen. There is no doubt that Yuyudhana is fighting with the mountain-dwellers. It is there that all the rathas are being destroyed and the horses are running away. The foot soldiers are bereft of their armour. They are wounded and are falling down.
In that melee, the charioteers can no longer control their horses.’ Having been thus addressed by Bharadvaja’s intelligent son, the charioteer spoke to Drona, supreme among those who wielded weapons. ‘O one with a long life! The Kourava soldiers are running away, in every direction. Behold. The warriors have been shattered and are fleeing here and there. The brave Panchalas and Pandavas have united. They are attacking us from every direction, wishing to kill you. O destroyer of enemies! The time has come for you to decide what must be done. Should we remain here, or should we advance further, towards where Satyaki is proceeding?’ O venerable one! Thus did he speak to Bharadvaja’s son. At that time, Shini’s descendant was seen, killing many different kinds of rathas. In the encounter, those on your side were killed by Yuyudhana. They abandoned Yuyudhana’s chariot and fled towards Drona’s army. All of them were terrified and fled towards Drona’s chariot. With other rathas, Duhshasana had already retreated there earlier.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “On seeing that Duhshasana’s chariot was stationed near his, Bharadvaja’s son spoke these words to Duhshasana. ‘O Duhshasana! Why are all these rathas running away? Is the king well and is Saindhava still alive? You are a prince and your brother is a maharatha. Why are you running away from the battle? Accept the status of heir apparent.
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You have yourself brought on this great enmity with the Panchalas and Pandavas. In the battle, how can you be frightened of the single-handed Satyaki? In the gambling match in earlier times, when you grasped the dice, did you not know that they would become terrible arrows in the future, like venomous
serpents? Your words towards the Pandavas were especially hateful. You were the cause of the hardships that Droupadi faced in earlier times. Where is that insolence, pride and swagger about valour now? You enraged the Parthas, who are like venomous serpents. Why are you running away now? The army of the Bharatas is sorrowing now, as is King Suyodhana. He has a harsh brother, who is now intent on running away. O brave one! The army is shattered and is afflicted by terror. There is no doubt that you should resort to the strength of your arms and protect it now. But you are abandoning the fight in fright now and are delighting the enemy. O destroyer of enemies! You are the leader of your army and are fleeing. When the refuge is itself frightened, which other terrified person will remain stationed in the battle? O unblemished one! You are fighting with the single-handed Satvata now. Even then, your mind turns towards flying from the field of battle. O Kourava! What will you do when you behold the wielder of Gandiva, Bhimasena and the twins in the battle? In a battle, Phalguna’s arrows are like the sun and the fire in their energy. Satyaki’s arrows are equal to those and you are terrified and are running away from those. In that event, let there be peace and hand over the earth to Dharmaraja. Have peace with the Pandavas before Phalguna’s iron arrows, which are like snakes that have cast off their skins, penetrate your body. Have peace with the Pandavas before the great-souled Parthas kill one hundred of your brothers in battle and fling them down on the ground.
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Have peace with the Pandavas before King Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, and Krishna, who prides himself in battle, are enraged. Have peace with the Pandavas before the mighty-armed Bhima penetrates the large army and grasps your brothers. This is what Bhishma told your brother Suyodhana earlier. “O amiable one! The Pandavas cannot be vanquished in battle. Have peace with the Pandavas.” But your wicked brother, Suyodhana, did not act accordingly. Therefore, resolve to fight and endeavour to battle with the Pandavas. Swiftly go on your chariot to the spot where Satyaki is stationed. O descendant of the Bharata
lineage! Without your presence, the army will be driven away. Truth is Satyaki’s valour. For your own sake, fight with him in the battle.’ Having been thus addressed, your son did not say anything in reply. He pretended not to have heard what had been said and went to the spot where Satyaki was.

‘“He was accompanied by a large army of mlecchas who did not retreat. Having approached Yuyudhana in the battle, he sought to fight with him. Drona, foremost among rathas, angrily advanced against the Panchalas and the Pandavas, using a medium speed. In that battle, Drona penetrated the Panchala array. He drove away those warriors, in hundreds and thousands. O great king! Drona proclaimed his name in the battle and caused great carnage among the Pandus, Panchalas and Matsyas. The radiant Viraketu, the son of Panchala, attacked him. He pierced Drona with five arrows that had drooping tufts. He pierced his standard with one and his charioteer with another seven. O great king! What I witnessed in that encounter was extraordinary. Despite his violence, Drona could not approach Panchala in that battle. O venerable one! O king! On seeing that Drona had been checked in that battle, all the Panchalas
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desired the victory of Dharma’s son and surrounded him from all sides. O king! They enveloped Drona with arrows that were like fire, extremely thick javelins and many kinds of weapons. O king! But in every direction, Drona destroyed those masses of arrows, like a giant cloud in the sky, driven away by the wind. The destroyer of enemy heroes then released an extremely terrible arrow, which was like the sun and the fire, towards Viraketu’s chariot. O king! That arrow penetrated the descendant of the Panchala lineage and quickly entered the earth, like a flaming and red mountain.
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The descendant of the Panchala lineage swiftly fell down from the chariot, like a giant
champaka
tree that has been shattered by the wind and has fallen from a mountain top. When that prince, immensely strong and a great archer, was killed, the Panchalas quickly surrounded Drona from
every direction. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Chitraketu, Sudhanva, Chitravarma and Chitraratha were stricken with grief on account of their brother. They attacked and unitedly fought against Bharadvaja’s son. They released showers of arrows, like clouds at the end of the summer. He was struck in many ways by these maharatha princes. Those princes were angry in the battle. But he deprived them of their horses, charioteers and chariots. The immensely illustrious one then used other extremely sharp and broad-headed arrows to sever and bring down their heads, as if he was plucking flowers. O extremely radiant king! Slain, they fell down on the ground from their chariots. They were like daityas and danavas, in the ancient battle between the gods and the asuras.

‘“Those maharatha Panchalas were like the gods. On seeing that they had been killed, Dhrishtadyumna became extremely angry and tears flowed from his eyes. In that battle, he angrily advanced towards Drona’s chariot. O king! In that battle, Drona was enveloped by Panchala’s
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arrows and on seeing this, great sounds of lamentation suddenly arose. But though he was enveloped in many ways by the great-souled Parshata, Drona was not distressed and smilingly, continued to fight. O great king! Panchala became senseless with rage and wrathfully struck Drona in the chest with ninety arrows with drooping tufts. Bharadvaja’s powerful and immensely illustrious son was severely wounded. He lost his senses and sat down on the floor of his chariot. On seeing him in that state, the valiant Dhrishtadyumna cast aside his bow. The brave one quickly grasped a sword. O venerable one! The maharatha quickly descended from his chariot and swiftly ascended the chariot of Bharadvaja’s son. His eyes were red with rage and he wished to sever his
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head from his body. Meanwhile, the immensely strong Drona regained his senses and grasped a bow. O king! He pierced him with
vaitastika
arrows
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that were meant to be used for fighting at close quarters. O king! In that battle, maharatha Dhrishtadyumna was struck by
vaitastika arrows that are meant for fighting at close quarters. These were known to Drona and they weakened Dhrishtadyumna. Having been struck by many such arrows, the immensely strong one quickly descended from the chariot. The brave one’s speed had been baffled. The brave one ascended his own chariot and grasped a giant bow. In that encounter, maharatha Dhrishtadyumna pierced Drona. O great king! The clash between them was marvellous and large numbers of beings applauded it, the kshatriyas, as well as other soldiers present there. O king! The Panchalas loudly exclaimed, ‘There is no doubt that, having engaged in this encounter, Drona will be subjugated by Dhrishtadyumna.’ In that battle, Drona quickly brought down the head of Dhrishtadyumna’s charioteer, like a ripe fruit from a tree. O king! The great-souled one’s horses ran away. When they had run away in the battle,
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the powerful one drove away the Panchalas and the Srinjayas. Bharadvaja’s powerful son defeated the Pandus and the Panchalas. The scorcher of enemies re-established his vyuha and stationed himself there. O lord! The Pandavas evinced no interest in defeating him in the battle.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! Meanwhile, Duhshasana attacked Shini’s descendant. He showered thousands of arrows, like a cloud pouring down rain. He pierced Satyaki with sixty arrows, and yet again with sixteen. But in that battle, he could not make him tremble. He
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was like Mount Mainaka. The brave one covered Duhshasana with a severe storm of arrows. It was as if a spider had got a mosquito
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within its strands. On seeing that Duhshasana was afflicted by hundreds of arrows, the king
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urged the Trigartas
to advance towards Yuyudhana’s chariot. Those performers of evil deeds approached near Yuyudhana. There were three thousand Trigartas, skilled in fighting. They surrounded him with a large army of chariots. They had resolved to fight and had sworn to be samshaptakas.
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They advanced in that battle and released showers of arrows. Five hundred foremost warriors were stationed at the forefront of that array. But the supreme one of the Shini lineage quickly uprooted, brought down and killed them with his arrows. They were like giant trees that had been shattered by the force of a violent wind. O lord of the earth! Many chariots and standards were shattered. Horses with golden harnesses fell down on the ground. O great king! The arrows released by Shini’s descendant made them flow with blood and they were as beautiful as flowering kimshukas. In that battle, those on your side were slaughtered by Yuyudhana. They could not find a protector, like elephants that have sunk into a swamp. All of them fled towards Drona’s chariot. They were like giant serpents, penetrating a hole, because of fear of the king of the birds.
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The brave one killed five hundred warriors with arrows that were like venomous serpents and then slowly advanced towards Dhananjaya’s chariot.