Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (33 page)

‘“On seeing that the son of the suta was engaged with Bhima, the scorcher of enemies, Krishna and Dhananjaya thought that an extremely heavy burden had been imposed on Bhima. However, firm in the use of their hands, Adhiratha’s son and Bhima shot arrows at each other and brought down horses, men and elephants with those arrows. There were many that were falling and those that had fallen, devoid of their lives. O great king! There was a great destruction of men amongst your sons. O bull among the Bharata lineage! In a short instant, men, horses and elephants lost their lives and their lifeless bodies were strewn around on the ground.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “I think Bhimasena’s valour is extraordinary, since he fought with Karna, who is brave and dexterous, in that battle. In an encounter, Karna is capable of repulsing the gods, the yakshas, the asuras and men, even if they are united and armed with every kind of weapon. O son! O Sanjaya! Pandava is blazing in his prosperity. But how could he not be vanquished? Tell me that. How did the battle between them continue, in which, each of them wagered their lives? I think that either of them was capable of being victorious, or being defeated. O suta! Having obtained Karna in the battle, my son, Suyodhana, was confident of defeating the Parthas, with Govinda and the Satvatas. But having heard that Karna was repeatedly defeated in the battle by Bhimasena, terrible in his deeds, I have lost my senses. Because of the wicked policies of my son, I
think that the Kouravas have already been destroyed. O Sanjaya! Karna will not be able to defeat those great archers, the Parthas. Whenever Karna has fought with the sons of Pandu, the Pandavas have always defeated him in the field of battle. O son! The Pandavas are incapable of being vanquished, even by the gods, with Vasava. My wicked son, Duryodhana, does not comprehend this. Partha
³³⁰
is like the lord of riches. Having robbed him of his riches, my son, whose intelligence is limited, is like a searcher of honey and does not know about the downfall.
³³¹
He is wise about deceit and used deceit to rob the great-souled ones of their kingdom. He thinks that it
³³²
belongs to him and disregards the Pandavas. My soul is also unclean. I have been overcome by affection for my son and have maltreated the sons of Pandu, who are great-souled and have been established in dharma. Partha Yudhishthira is far-sighted and has always desired peace. But my sons thought that he was incapable and maltreated him. The mighty-armed Bhima bears all the assorted hardships and diverse ill-treatment in his heart and has fought with the son of the suta. O Sanjaya! Karna and Bhima are foremost among warriors and wished to kill each other. In that battle, tell me how they fought.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! Listen to the account of the battle between Karna and Bhima. They wished to kill each other and were like elephants in a forest. O king! Vaikartana was enraged and used his valour to pierce the brave and angry Bhima, the scorcher of enemies, with thirty arrows. These were extremely powerful, sharp at the tip and embellished with gold. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! Bhima was struck by Vaikartana’s arrows. However, while he was attacking, Bhima used three sharp arrows to sever his bow and used a broad-headed arrow to bring his charioteer down from the seat of the chariot onto the ground. Vaikartana Vrisha
³³³
wished to kill Bhimasena. He grasped a giant javelin, which was like a javelin
used by Death. The shaft and handle of that javelin was colourfully decorated with gold and lapis lazuli. The immensely strong Radheya hurled it at Bhimasena and it was capable of robbing him of his life. Having released the javelin, like Purandara with his vajra, the powerful son of the suta emitted an extremely loud roar. On hearing that roar, your sons were delighted. That javelin was released from Karna’s hands and was as radiant as the sun or the fire. However, while it was still traversing, Bhima severed it with seven arrows. O venerable one! Thus severed by Bhima as it was travelling through the air, the javelin looked like a snake that has cast off its skin. Wishing to rob the son of the suta of his life, he then angrily released many arrows shafted with the feathers of peacocks. They were gold-tufted and sharpened on stone and in that battle, each of them was like Yama’s staff. Karna took up another bow that possessed a golden back and was unassailable. The immensely energetic one drew it and shot many arrows. However, Pandu’s son severed these with nine arrows with drooping tufts. O king! Having severed those great arrows shot by Vasushena,
³³⁴
Bhima roared like a lion. O great king! Those two powerful ones roared like bulls desiring to find an opportunity, or like roaring tigers that attacked each other. They sought to strike each other and looked for each other’s weakness. They glanced towards each other, like giant bulls in a pen. They were like giant elephants, striking each other with their tusks. They drew their bows back to the full extent and struck each other with arrows. O great king! They scorched each other with showers of arrows. They glanced towards each other, with eyes dilated with rage. They laughed at each other and repeatedly censured each other. As they fought with each other, they blew on their conch shells. O venerable one! Bhima again severed the bow in his hand and with his arrows, dispatched his horses, which had the complexion of conch shells, to Yama’s abode.

‘“On seeing that Karna was confronting difficulties, King Duryodhana trembled with anger and instructed Durjaya,
³³⁵
‘O
Durjaya! Go to that spot in front, where Radheya is about to be devoured by Pandava. Quickly slay that eunuch and give Karna strength.’ Having been thus addressed there by your son, your son
³³⁶
agreed and attacking Bhimasena, covered him with arrows. He struck Bhima with nine arrows, his charioteer with six, his standard with three and struck him again with seven arrows. Bhimasena became extremely angry. With his arrows, he pierced Durjaya, his horses and his charioteer in the inner organs and dispatched them to Yama’s abode. His ornamented body lay down on the ground, mangled like a writhing snake. Karna wept and circumambulated your son. Having deprived him
³³⁷
of his chariot, he
³³⁸
laughed at the enemy and covered him with a mass of arrows, making him look like a
shataghni
³³⁹
with spikes sticking out. Atiratha Karna, scorcher of enemies, was pierced by those arrows. However, he did not avoid Bhima in that battle.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “Karna was without a chariot and was again defeated by Bhima. He ascended another chariot and again began to pierce Pandava. They were like giant elephants, goring each other with their tusks. They drew their bows back to the full extent and struck each other with arrows. Karna powerfully struck Bhima with a storm of arrows. He roared loudly and again struck him on the chest. Bhima pierced him back with ten arrows and again struck him with twenty arrows with drooping tufts. O king! Karna pierced Bhima between the breasts with nine arrows and pierced his standard with a sharp arrow. Partha pierced him back with sixty-three arrows,
like a giant elephant struck by a goad or a horse with a whip. O great king! Having been thus pierced by the illustrious Pandava, he licked the corners of his mouth and his eyes became red with rage. O great king! He shot an arrow that was capable of penetrating all bodies towards Bhimasena, like Indra hurling his vajra towards Bala. That arrow had a colourful tuft and was sharpened on stone. Released from the bow of the suta’s son, it pierced Partha in that battle and penetrated the earth. The mighty-armed Bhima grasped a heavy club that was completely made out of iron. This had six sides and was decorated with gold. It was four
kishku
s long.
³⁴⁰
Without reflecting, he hurled this at the son of the suta. The wrathful descendant of the Bharata lineage hurled this club, like Indra with the vajra against the asuras. The horses of Adhiratha’s son were well trained and well controlled and it slew them. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He then used a couple of razor-sharp arrows to bring down the standard of Adhiratha’s son and kill his charioteer. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With his horses and charioteer slain and his standard brought down, Karna was extremely distressed. But he drew his bow and we witnessed Radheya’s extraordinary valour. Though he was without a chariot, the foremost among rathas countered his enemy.

‘“O king! On seeing that Adhiratha’s son, the best of rathas, was without a chariot in that battle, Duryodhana addressed Durmukha.
³⁴¹
‘O Durmukha! Radheya has been deprived of his chariot by Bhimasena. Provide a chariot to that maharatha, who is the best among men.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On hearing Duryodhana’s words, Durmukha swiftly advanced towards Karna and enveloped Bhima with arrows. On beholding Durmukha in that battle, following in the footsteps of the son of the suta, Vayu’s son was delighted and licked the corners of his mouth. O great king! Pandava repulsed Karna with arrows that had stone heads and quickly drove his chariot towards Durmukha. O great king! At that moment, Bhima
used nine other arrows with drooping and excellent tufts to dispatch Durmukha to Yama’s abode. O king! On seeing that Durmukha had been killed, Adhiratha’s son mounted his
³⁴²
chariot and stationed there, was as radiant as the blazing sun. Durmukha’s inner organs were shattered and he lay down, blood flowing from his wounds. On seeing this, Karna’s eyes were full of tears and he paused for a while. The brave Karna circumambulated the one who had lost his life and left him there. His sighs were deep and warm and he did not know what to do. O king! Using that gap, Bhimasena shot fourteen iron arrows that were shafted with the feathers of vultures at the son of the suta. These were colourful, gold-tufted and extremely energetic and were the drinkers of blood. O great king! These illuminated the ten directions and penetrated his armour, drinking the blood of the son of the suta. O Indra among kings! Those arrows were like angry serpents, urged by destiny, as they penetrated the earth, after having passed through his body. They were like large and angry serpents, half-inserted into their holes.
³⁴³
Without any reflection, Radheya pierced him back with fourteen extremely sharp and iron arrows that were decorated with gold. Those arrows penetrated Bhimasena’s left arm and penetrated the earth, like fierce curlews entering a tree. On having penetrated the ground, those iron arrows were resplendent. They were like the blazing rays of the sun, as it heads towards setting. In that battle, Bhima was mangled by those iron arrows that penetrated the inner organs. He shed a great deal of blood, like water flowing out of a mountain. In turn, Bhima pierced the son of the suta with three arrows and used another seven arrows, with the force of Suparna,
³⁴⁴
to pierce his charioteer. O great king! Afflicted by Bhima’s strength, Karna was agitated. The immensely illustrious one gave up the battle and fled on his swift horses. Bhimasena stretched his bow, embellished in gold. In that battle, the atiratha was stationed like a blazing fire.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “I think that destiny is supreme. Since Adhiratha’s son strove and could not overcome Pandava in the battle, shame on manliness. Karna is capable of vanquishing the Parthas, with Govinda, in an encounter. The world has never seen a warrior who is Karna’s equal. I have repeatedly heard Duryodhana speak in this vein. ‘Karna is powerful and brave. He wields a firm bow and has conquered exhaustion. O king!
³⁴⁵
If I have Vasushena as my aide, even the gods will not be able to withstand me in battle, not to speak of the sons of Pandu, who have lost their spirits and their endeavour.’ On seeing this Karna defeated in the battle, like a snake that has lost its poison and has run away, what did Duryodhana say? Alas! Durmukha was not skilled in fighting. But he
³⁴⁶
sent him alone and he entered the fierce battle, like a deluded insect. O Sanjaya! There is no doubt that Ashvatthama, the king of Madra and Kripa, united with Karna, cannot stand before Bhima. He is extremely terrible and possesses the strength of ten thousand elephants. They know this and the cruelty and energy of Maruta’s
³⁴⁷
son. Why did they anger the performer of cruel deeds, who is proud of his strength and valour and is like Yama at the end of a yuga, in the battle? It seems that Karna, the mighty-armed son of the suta, has depended on the strength of his arms alone and disregarding this,
³⁴⁸
has chosen to fight with Bhimasena in the battle. Pandu’s son defeated Karna in the encounter, like Purandara against the asuras. Who is capable of vanquishing him in a fight? In his search for Dhananjaya, he shattered Drona and penetrated my army. Who is capable of approaching Bhima and remaining alive? O Sanjaya! He is like the great Indra, with the thunderous vajra raised against the danavas. Who has the enterprise to station himself in front of Bhima? Having reached the capital
of the king of the dead, a man may return. But having approached Bhimasena, no one can ever return. Those with limited intelligence will enter and advance against the wrathful Bhimasena, like insects advancing towards a flame, bereft of their senses. In the assembly hall and in the hearing of the Kurus, Bhima took a pledge about killing my sons. Having seen Karna defeated, Duhshasana and his brothers must be thinking about that and, out of fear, must have retreated from attacking Bhima. O Sanjaya! That evil-minded son
³⁴⁹
of mine repeatedly said in the assembly, ‘In the battle, Karna, Duhshasana and I will conquer the Pandavas.’ O Sanjaya! On seeing Karna deprived of his chariot and defeated by Bhima, there is no doubt that he must be severely repenting his refusal of Krishna.
³⁵⁰
On seeing his armoured brothers killed in the battle by Bhimasena, there is no doubt that my son is greatly tormented by his own crimes. No one who wishes to live will advance against Pandava Bhima. His weapons are terrible and he is enraged. He is stationed like Death himself. A man can escape from the mouth and midst of the
vadava
fire.
³⁵¹
But it is my view that no one can escape, having approached Bhima’s mouth. When they are enraged in battle, the Pandavas, the Panchalas, Keshava and Satyaki, do not know how to protect their own lives.”