Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (32 page)

‘Sanjaya said, “On the instructions of the preceptor, Duryodhana quickly left with his followers, to accomplish an extremely difficult task.
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The two Panchalas, Yudhamanyu and Uttamouja, the
protectors of the chariot wheels,
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were passing through the periphery of the army and advancing towards Savyasachi. O great king! Those two had earlier been contained by Kritavarma. O king! They were in search of Arjuna, who had penetrated your army in a desire to fight. Duryodhana engaged in a supreme battle with those two. The powerful descendant of the Bharata lineage quickly engaged with those two spirited brothers. Those foremost of kshatriyas were known as maharathas. They raised their bows and attacked him. Yudhamanyu was extremely angry.
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He quickly released arrows and pierced your son between the breasts with thirty arrows. O Indra among kings! Duryodhana killed the four horses of the infinitely energetic Panchala and also his two parshnis. With his horses and his charioteer slain in that battle, Yudhamanyu climbed onto his brother’s chariot. When he had ascended his brother’s chariot, he struck Duryodhana’s horses with many arrows. They were killed and fell down on the ground. In that encounter, when the horses were killed, Yudhamanyu quickly used a supreme arrow to sever his
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bow and arm-guard. When the horses and charioteer were slain, your maharatha son descended from the chariot. He grasped a club and attacked the Panchalas. On seeing that enraged destroyer of enemy cities descend, Yudhamanyu and Uttamouja jumped down from the terrace of the chariot. That supreme chariot was decorated in gold. In that encounter, he
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used the club to smash the chariot down onto the ground, with its horses, charioteer and standard. Though he killed them, your son’s horses had also been killed. His charioteer had been slain. The scorcher of enemies swiftly ascended the chariot of the king of Madra. Those two immensely strong princes, the foremost among the Panchalas, also climbed onto another chariot and advanced towards Dhananjaya.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “How was the battle between Karna and Bhima, both of whom were immensely strong? In the vicinity of Arjuna’s chariot, what was its nature? In the earlier encounter, Karna had been defeated by Bhimasena. How could maharatha Radheya progress against Bhima? In the battle, how did Bhima face the son of the suta, regarded as a maharatha and the foremost among all rathas on earth? Having surpassed Bhishma and Drona, Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, did not fear anyone as much as he did the archer Karna. Thinking of the maharatha, he
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always lay down in fear. How did Bhima fight with the son of the suta in battle? He never retreated in a battle. He was full of valour and devoted to brahmanas. How did Bhima fight with Karna, foremost among warriors, in the battle? In the encounter near Arjuna’s chariot, how did the son of the suta and Vrikodara, fight with each other? Since the son of the suta had earlier been told about the fraternal relationship,
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he was compassionate. Remembering the word that he had given to Kunti, how did he fight with Bhima?
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Bhima must have remembered the earlier enmity caused by the suta’s son? In the battle, how did the brave one fight with Karna? My son, Duryodhana, was always assured that Karna, the son of the suta, would defeat the united Pandavas in a battle. In the battle, for my wicked son, he was the hope for victory. How did he fight with Bhimasena, the performer of terrible deeds? Using him as a refuge, my sons engendered the enmity with those maharathas. O son! How did Bhima fight with that son of a suta? Having remembered the many hardships that the son of the suta had caused, how did Bhima fight with the son of the suta? The valiant son of a suta conquered the entire world on a single chariot. How did Bhima fight with him? He was born
with earrings and armour. How did Bhima fight with that son of a suta in battle? Tell me in detail about the battle that raged between those two and which of the two was victorious. O Sanjaya! You are skilled in narrating.”

‘Sanjaya said, “Abandoning Radheya, supreme among rathas, Bhimasena attempted to go where the brave Krishna and Dhananjaya were. O great king! As he was leaving, Radheya attacked him and showered down arrows tufted with feathers of herons on him, like a cloud raining on a mountain. The face of Adhiratha’s powerful son was as beautiful as a blooming lotus and he challenged the departing Bhima to do battle. Bhimasena could not tolerate Karna’s summons to do battle. He did a semicircle
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and began to fight with the son of the suta. Armoured for the duel, the supreme among all wielders of weapons sought to bring down a great shower of iron arrows that travelled straight. Wishing to kill Karna, he began to tire him out, thinking that this was a means for bringing the quarrel to an end. O venerable one! The angry and intolerant Pandava, scorcher of enemies, showered down many kinds of fierce arrows. His gait was like that of a mad elephant and he showered down those arrows. However, the suta’s greatly illustrious son used the maya of his own weapons to devour them. Karna, the great archer, was greatly honoured because of his knowledge and began to roam around in that battle like a preceptor. As Bhimasena angrily fought, Radheya seemed to smile and taunt the furious and intolerant Vrikodara. In the battle, Kounteya could not tolerate Karna’s smile, since all the brave ones were fighting and watching them in every direction. Having approached him, the powerful and angry Bhimasena pierced him between the breasts with vatsadanta arrows, like a giant elephant being goaded. He pierced the charioteer of the son of the suta with well-tufted and sharp arrows and then used seventy-three well-directed arrows to pierce his
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colourful armour. The brave one enveloped the brave Karna’s horses, which were as swift as the wind and were clad in golden harnesses, and pierced each of them
with five arrows. O king! Karna released a net of arrows towards Bhimasena’s chariot and in a short instant, made Pandava disappear, with his chariot, his standard and his charioteer. O great king! Karna completely covered them with arrows released from his bow. Then Karna used sixty-four arrows to firmly pierce his armour and angrily struck him in the sides with iron arrows that could penetrate the inner organs. But Vrikodara ignored the extremely forceful arrows released from Karna’s bow and without any fear, struck the son of the suta. O great king! The arrows released from Karna’s bow were like venomous serpents. Though Bhima bore them in that battle, he suffered from no pain. In that encounter, the powerful Bhimasena struck Karna with thirty-two sharp and broad-headed arrows that were extremely energetic. However, Karna paid no attention to them. The mighty-armed Bhimasena wished to kill Saindhava and he covered him
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with arrows. Radheya fought mildly with Bhima. However, remembering the earlier enmity, Bhima, the conqueror of enemies, fought with anger and quickly released a shower of arrows. O king! The arrows released by Bhimasena in that battle descended all over him, like warbling birds.
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O great king! The arrows released from Bhima’s bow were gold-tufted. They dashed towards Radheya, like a wolf towards small deer. O king! Karna was foremost among rathas and in that encounter, released showers of fierce arrows that shrouded all the directions. He was the ornament of any battle and his arrows were like the vajra. However, before they could reach him, Vrikodara sliced them down with many broad-headed arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that battle, Vaikartana Karna again enveloped maharatha Bhimasena with a shower of arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that battle, we saw Bhima covered with those arrows and his body looked like that of a porcupine, with its quills jutting out. Those arrows released from Karna’s bow were gold-tufted and sharpened on stone. In that encounter, the brave one bore them, like the sun withstanding its own rays. Bhimasena looked beautiful, with blood
flowing from all his limbs. He was as golden as a flowering
palasha
tree in a grove. O great king! Bhima could not tolerate Karna’s conduct in that encounter. The great archer dilated his eyes in rage and struck Karna with twenty-five iron arrows. Karna looked like a white mountain, with the foothills covered with poisonous snakes.
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In that great battle, Bhima again pierced the son of the suta, who was as valorous as an immortal, with sixty-eight arrows in his inner organs. The powerful and enraged Bhimasena quickly severed Karna’s bow and all his implements. He used swift arrows to slay the four horses and the charioteer. With iron arrows as radiant as the sun’s rays, he struck Karna in the chest. O venerable one! After having pierced Karna, all of them penetrated the earth. O king! It was as if the sun’s rays were penetrating the clouds. He
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was proud of his manliness. But his bow had been severed and he was afflicted with arrows. He was overcome by great despondency and went to another chariot.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! The hopes of my sons being victorious have always been vested in him. On seeing him retreat in the battle, what did Duryodhana say? O son! In that encounter, what did Karna do after that?”

‘Sanjaya replied, “On seeing Bhimasena in that battle, blazing like a fire, Karna resorted to another chariot that had been properly prepared and again attacked Pandava, like an ocean agitated by the wind. O lord of the earth! On seeing that Adhiratha’s son was enraged, your sons thought that Bhimasena was like oblation being poured into the mouth of a fire. Radheya created a great sound with the twang of his bow and a fierce sound with the slapping of his palms. He advanced towards Bhimasena’s chariot. O king! O lord
of the earth! A great and extremely terrible sound arose again, in the conflict between the son of the suta and Bhima. The mighty-armed ones were wrathful and wished to kill each other. They glanced at each other and seemed to burn each other down with their eyes. The eyes of the maharathas were red with rage and they sighed. Both of them were scorchers of enemies and they attacked and mangled each other. They fought against each other like angry tigers, or swift hawks, or wrathful
sharabha
s.
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‘“Bhima remembered the hardships due to the gambling match and in the forest. The scorcher of enemies thought of the difficulties in Virata’s city. Their prosperous and bejewelled kingdom had been robbed by your sons. You and your sons have always caused them difficulties and tried to burn down the innocent Kunti and her sons. The evil-souled ones mistreated Krishna
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in the assembly hall. ‘Accept another husband, since your husbands no longer remain. All the Parthas have descended into hell, like sesamum seeds that have no kernel.’
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O Kouravya! In your presence, these were the words the Kurus spoke then. Your sons wished to enjoy Krishna, as they would enjoy a servant maid. They were later banished, attired in black antelope skin. In your presence, in the assembly hall, Karna then spoke harsh words to them. Your son thought that the Parthas were no more than mere straws. They were in desperate straits and he, deluded of his senses, was insolent. The slayer of enemies
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thought about these and other miseries suffered since childhood. Vrikodara, with dharma in his soul, no longer cared about remaining alive. He stretched his giant and invincible bow, with a golden back. Ready to give up his life, the tiger among the Bharata lineage attacked Karna. Bhima released a net of arrows, sharpened on stone, towards Karna’s chariot and shrouded him and the rays of the sun. Adhiratha’s son laughed at this. He swiftly
used his own net of arrows, sharpened on stone, to counter these and pierce Bhimasena. Adhiratha’s son was a maharatha. He was mighty-armed, immensely forceful and greatly strong. He pierced Bhima with nine sharp arrows. It was as if an elephant had been goaded. Vrikodara countered those arrows and without any fear, attacked the son of the suta. On seeing that the bull among the Pandava lineage was descending on him, with great ferocity and force, Karna countered him in that battle, like an elephant against a maddened elephant. He blew on his conch shell, with a sound that was like that of a hundred drums beating. Like a turbulent ocean, he agitated the army.
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That army was full of chariots, elephants, horses and infantry. On beholding the extraordinary sight,
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Bhima attacked Karna and covered him with arrows.

‘“In that battle, Karna covered Pandava, and the horses and the men, with arrows. His supreme horses possessed the complexion of swans and he mixed these up with the horses of his opponent, which had the complexion of bears and were as swift as the wind or thought. On seeing that the horses had been mixed up, great lamentations issued from your sons. As swift as the wind, those horses were mixed up and looked extremely beautiful. O great king! They looked like black and white clouds that were mingled in the sky. Karna and Vrikodara were angry and their eyes were coppery red in rage. On seeing this, the maharathas on your side trembled in fright. The terrain where those warriors fought became as terrible as Yama’s kingdom. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! It was dreadful to look at, like the capital of the king of the dead. The maharathas seemed to look at a painted assembly, where, in warding off each other, they could see neither destruction, nor victory. O king! O lord of the earth! They only saw the clash of mighty weapons being released, a consequence of the evil counsels of you and your son.

‘“Wishing to kill the enemy, those two
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shrouded each other with sharp arrows. They showered down arrows and covered the
sky with nets of arrows. Those maharathas wished to kill each other and used sharp arrows. They were beautiful to see, like two clouds showering down rain. O lord! The scorchers of enemies released arrows decorated with gold and made the sky look radiant, as if with flaming meteors. They shot arrows tufted with the feathers of herons and peacocks and these looked like arrays of excited cranes in the autumn sky.