Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (29 page)

‘“As that best of men was advancing, your son, Duhshasana, quickly pierced him with nine arrows that had drooping tufts. The great archer
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pierced him back with five sharp arrows that were gold-tufted and had the feathers of vultures. O great king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Duhshasana laughed and pierced Satyaki with three arrows, and yet again with five. Shini’s descendant pierced your son with five arrows. In that battle, he severed his bow and while smiling, proceeded towards Arjuna. Duhshasana became angry. As the brave one from the Vrishni lineage was proceeding, he wished to kill him and hurled a javelin that was entirely made out of iron at him. O king! Your son hurled that terrible javelin. But Satyaki used sharp arrows tufted with heron feathers to shatter
it into a hundred fragments. O lord of men! Your son then grasped another bow. He pierced Satyaki with ten arrows and roared like a lion. In that encounter, Satyaki became enraged and confounded your son. He struck him between the breasts with arrows that were like the flames of fires. He again pierced him with ten sharp and pointed arrows that were completely made out of iron. Duhshasana pierced Satyaki back with twenty arrows. O great king! Satvata pierced him between the breasts with three arrows that were extremely powerful and had drooping tufts. The maharatha used some sharp arrows to kill his mounts and extremely angry, slew his charioteer with arrows with drooping tufts. He severed his bow with a broad-headed arrow and his arm-guard with another five. The one who was skilled in the use of supreme weapons then used a couple of broad-headed arrows to sever his standard and the pole of his chariot. He then used sharp arrows to bring down the two parshnis. His
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bow was severed. He was without a chariot. His horses were slain. His charioteer was killed. The general of the Trigartas then picked him up on his own chariot. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Shini’s descendant followed him for some time. But remembering Bhimasena’s words, the mighty-armed one did not kill him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the assembly hall and in everyone’s presence, Bhimasena had sworn to kill your sons in battle. O lord! O king! Thus did Satyaki vanquish Duhshasana in that encounter and quickly proceeded along Dhananjaya’s route.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “Were there no maharathas among my soldiers who could kill or stop Satyaki on his journey? Truth is his valour. In that battle, he single-handedly accomplished deeds that were like those of the great Indra against the danavas. In a battle, he
was Shakra’s equal in strength. Or is it the case that Satyaki’s route was empty? Single-handedly, the bull among men drove away many soldiers. How did Shini’s great-souled descendant single-handedly overcome the many who attacked him and wished to fight with him? O Sanjaya! Tell me all this.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! The soldiers prepared themselves, with chariots, elephants, horses and infantry. Your soldiers were tremendous and it was like the end of a yuga. O one who gives honours! Your entire army was assembled. It is my view that an assemblage like this has never been seen in the world. O lord of the earth! The gods and the assembled charanas said, ‘A vyuha like the one Drona has formed at the time of Jayadratha’s death will never again be seen.’ There was a terrible roar, like that of the oceans. In that battle, those large numbers of soldiers rushed against each other in waves. O supreme among men! There were many kings, hundreds and thousands, who had assembled on your side and that of the Pandavas. Those brave ones were angry. They were the performers of firm deeds in battle. A great and tumultuous sound arose and it made the body hair stand up. O venerable one! Bhimasena, Dhrishtadyumna, Nakula, Sahadeva and Pandava Dharmaraja exclaimed, ‘Come. Strike. Attack with force. The brave Madhava and Pandava have penetrated into the forces of the enemy. Swiftly act, so that they can advance towards Jayadratha’s death with ease.’ Thus did they urge the soldiers. ‘If they are vanquished, the Kurus will have succeeded in their objective and we will have been been defeated. Unite and quickly agitate this ocean of soldiers, like extremely forceful winds against the ocean.’ O king! They were goaded by Bhimasena and Panchala.
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In the battle, they killed the Kouravas, ready to give up their beloved lives. They were greatly energetic and desired death from weapons in that battle, for the sake of heaven and for the sake of their friends. They were not interested in protecting their lives. O king! In similar fashion, those on your side desired great fame. The noble ones desired to fight and remained stationed in the battle. A tumultuous battle commenced and it gave rise to great fear. Having
killed all the soldiers, Satyaki proceeded towards Arjuna. In every direction in that battle, the colourful rays of the sun illuminated the armour and rebuffed the sight of the soldiers who sought to strike back. O great king! In similar fashion, without any fear, Duryodhana made efforts to immerse himself in the great army of the Pandaveyas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There was a fierce clash between them and him. There was a great destruction among all the soldiers.”

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O charioteer! When he advanced against those soldiers, he must himself have confronted great hardships. I hope he did not turn his back on the battle. It seems to me that the encounter between the one and the many must have been unequal, especially because the single one was a king.
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Duryodhana has been reared in great happiness. He is also the lord of prosperity and of men. When he single-handedly confronted many, I hope he did not retreat.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Listen to the extraordinary battle that your son fought, one against many. Listen. I will describe it. In that battle, Duryodhana suddenly descended on the Pandava soldiers and agitated them like an elephant, as if he was an elephant among lotuses. O Kourava! On seeing that your son was acting in this way against the army, the Panchalas, with Bhimasena at the forefront, attacked. He
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pierced Bhimasena with ten arrows, each of Madri’s sons with three, Virata and Drupada with six each and Shikhandi with one hundred. He pierced Dhrishtadyumna with twenty, Dharma’s son with seven, the Kekayas with ten and each of Droupadi’s sons with three arrows. In that battle, like an angry Yama against beings, he used his fierce arrows to bring down hundreds of other warriors, elephants and rathas. As he affixed and released arrows, his bow was seen to be stretched into a continuous circle. He killed the enemy with the skill and strength of his weapons. He killed the foes with his giant bow that possessed a golden back. O venerable one! The eldest of the
Pandavas
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used a couple of broad-headed arrows to sever his bow into three fragments and pierced him with many sharp and excellent arrows. But having touched the armour, they shattered and penetrated the earth. The delighted Parthas surrounded Yudhishthira, like the rejoicing gods and maharshis around Shakra, when Vritra had been killed. At this, King Duryodhana picked up a firmer bow and asked the Pandava king to wait. When your maharatha son spoke and advanced against the king, the Panchalas, desiring victory, cheerfully counter-attacked. Wishing to protect him,
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Drona received the warring Pandavas. He was like a mountain receiving rain from a cloud that has been stirred up by a violent wind. O king! There was a loud noise in that battle and it rose above everything else. It was as if Rudra was sporting, when he destroys all living beings.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! In the afternoon, there was again an encounter between Drona and the Somakas. It was accompanied by a sound that was like that of clouds thundering. The foremost among men
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was stationed on a chariot with red horses. He attacked the Pandus in that battle, resorting to a medium speed. The immensely strong and great archer was engaged in what would bring you pleasure. He was born from a supreme pot.
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O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He used sharp arrows with colourful tufts and struck down the best of warriors. O king! Bharadvaja’s powerful son seemed to be sporting in that battle.

‘“Maharatha Brihatkshatra from Kekaya, the eldest of five brothers and brave and indomitable in battle, advanced against him.
He released sharp arrows and severely shrouded the preceptor. He was like a mighty cloud that releases rain on Gandhamadana. O great king! At this, Drona became extremely angry. He released seventeen arrows that were gold-tufted and had been sharpened on stone. Those terrible arrows were released from Drona’s bow and were like venomous serpents. However, in the battle, he cheerfully sliced down each of them with ten of his own arrows. On beholding his dexterity, the best of the brahmanas laughed and dispatched eight arrows that had drooping tufts. On seeing these arrows released from Drona’s bow swiftly descend on him, he severed those arrows with firm and sharp arrows of his own. O great king! Your soldiers were astounded at this. They beheld Brihatkshatra perform an extremely difficult deed. O great king! Drona also applauded Kekaya’s special act. In that battle, the greatly ascetic one then invoked the divine and invincible brahmastra. O king! But in that battle, the mighty-armed Kekaya released his own brahmastra and countered it. Having destroyed the weapon of Bharadvaja’s son in that encounter, he pierced the brahmana with sixty arrows with gold tufts that had been sharpened on stone. At this, Drona, best among men, released an iron arrow. O supreme among kings! This penetrated his armour and entered the ground, like a cobra penetrating a termite hill when it is released. In that battle, the arrow penetrated Kekaya and entered the earth. O great king! He was thus severely pierced by Drona, knowledgeable about weapons, and became overcome by great rage. He dilated his beautiful eyes and pierced Drona with seventy arrows that were gold-tufted and had been sharpened on stone. With a broad-headed arrow, he struck the charioteer in the arms and the chest. O venerable one! Pierced by Brihatkshatra in many ways, Drona released many sharp arrows towards Kekaya’s chariot. Drona made maharatha Brihatkshatra anxious. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O great king! He released sharp arrows towards Kekaya and quickly struck him severely between the breasts. The heart of that tiger among men was shattered and he fell down from his chariot.

‘“O king! On the death of the maharatha from Kekaya, Shishupala’s son became extremely angry and spoke to his charioteer. ‘O charioteer! Go to the spot where the armoured Drona is stationed
and is slaughtering all the Kekayas and the Panchalas and their armies.’ On hearing his words, the charioteer took the supreme of rathas to Drona, on swift horses that hailed from Kamboja. Dhrishtaketu, bull among the Chedi lineage was extremely proud of his strength and suddenly attacked Drona, like an insect towards a flame. Having attacked, he pierced Drona, his horses, his chariot and his standard with sixty arrows. He again used other sharp arrows, as if against a sleeping tiger. As the powerful king endeavoured in the battle, Drona used a sharp kshurapra arrow to sever his bow in the middle. Shishupala’s maharatha son picked up another bow. He again pierced Drona with extremely sharp and firm arrows. The immensely strong Drona killed his horses and his charioteer and pierced him with twenty-five arrows. In that battle, the king of the Chedis was without a chariot and without his bow. He angrily hurled a club towards the chariot of Bharadvaja’s son. It was terrible in form and fearsome. It was heavy, completely made out of stone and embellished with gold. On seeing it suddenly descend, Bharadvaja’s son brought it down with many thousands of arrows. Bharadvaja’s son used arrows to bring the club down onto the ground, like a star with a red garland of clouds falling down from the sky. On seeing that the club had been destroyed, the intolerant Dhrishtaketu quickly hurled a javelin and a spear that was as bright as gold. In that great battle, Drona used his arrows to shatter the javelin into three pieces. Using his lightness of hand, the immensely strong one also violently severed the spear. He
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was trying to kill him. In that encounter, Bharadvaja’s powerful son wished to kill him instead and released an extremely sharp arrow. The arrow penetrated the armour and the heart of the infinitely energetic one and then penetrated the ground, like a swan entering a pond full of lotuses. O king! Just as an insect is grasped by a hungry blue jay, in that great battle, the brave Drona devoured Dhrishtaketu. When the king of Chedi was killed, his son wished to take up his father’s burden. The son was supreme in the knowledge of weapons and was overcome by intolerance. But Drona laughed at him and used his arrows to dispatch him to Yama’s eternal
abode. The powerful one was like a huge tiger in a large forest, against a young deer.

‘“O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The Pandavas were thus being decimated. Jarasandha’s brave son himself attacked Drona. O great king! He enveloped Drona with his sharp arrows and swiftly made him invisible, like the sun by clouds. On seeing his dexterity, Drona, the destroyer of kshatriyas, quickly released hundreds and thousands of arrows. In that encounter, Drona, supreme among rathas, remained stationed on his chariot. While all the enemy archers looked on, he enveloped and killed Jarasandha’s son.

‘“Drona was like Death and devoured whoever dared to approach Drona. He was like death, which grasps all beings when the right time has come. Drona, the great archer, proclaimed his name in that battle. He released many thousands of arrows and stupefied the Pandaveyas. These arrows were gold-tufted, sharpened on stone and were marked with Drona’s name. In that battle, in every direction, he slew men, elephants and horses. They were slaughtered by Drona, like Shakra against the great asuras. The Panchalas trembled, like cows afflicted by the cold. O bull among the Bharata lineage! When the soldiers were thus slaughtered by Drona, a terrible uproar arose among the Pandavas. In that encounter, they were confounded by the shower of arrows released by Bharadvaja’s son. The maharatha Panchalas were like those whose thighs had been grasped by crocodiles. O great king! The Chedis, the Srinjayas and the Somakas sought to cheerfully fight against Bharadvaja’s son and attacked, shouting, ‘Drona has been slain. Drona has been slain.’ Those tigers among men used their utmost strength against the immensely radiant one. In that encounter, they wished to dispatch Drona to Yama’s abode. While those brave ones strove, Bharadvaja’s son used arrows that had been sharpened on stone to send them, especially the foremost among the Chedis, to Yama. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing what had become to the foremost among the Chedis, the Panchalas trembled and were oppressed by Drona’s arrows. O venerable one! On witnessing Drona’s form and deeds, they loudly called out, in the direction of Bhimasena and Dhrishtadyumna’s chariots, ‘There is no doubt that this brahmana has performed austerities that are difficult
to perform and his conduct is great. He is valiant in the battle and is consuming the bulls among the kshatriyas. Fighting is the dharma of kshatriyas and supreme austerities that of brahmanas. But an ascetic who is accomplished in learning can burn with his sight. Drona’s weapons are like fire to the touch and are penetrating the bulls among the kshatriyas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage!
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There are many who have approached this unassailable and terrible one and have been consumed. The immensely radiant one is using the utmost of his strength, the utmost of his endeavour and the utmost of his spirits. Drona is killing our soldiers and is confounding all the beings.’ Kshatradharma was stationed there and heard these words.