Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (46 page)

‘“He sighed like a serpent and showered him with arrows. O supreme among kings! In that battle, he was enveloped by Drona’s son, though that supreme among rathas was surrounded by all the Panchala soldiers. However, the mighty-armed one did not tremble and resorting to his own fortitude, shot many kinds of arrows at Ashvatthama. In that battle, they countered each other, as if they were in a gambling match in which their lives were the stakes. They could not tolerate each other and countered those torrents of arrows. The great archers created showers of arrows in every direction. The clash between Drona’s son and Parshata was terrible in form and fierce. On beholding this, the siddhas and charanas worshipped them. The torrents of arrows filled the sky and the directions and as they fought, they created a great darkness with those arrows, so that they could not be seen. They seemed to be dancing around in that encounter, with the bows drawn in circles. They sought to kill each other and wished to defeat each other. Those mighty-armed ones fought wonderfully, showing their dexterity and skills. In that encounter, thousands of foremost among warriors applauded them. They were seen to fight in that battle, like wild elephants in the forest. Both the armies were filled with great delight. O venerable one! Roars like lions’ were heard and conch shells were blown. The fierce battle increased the terror of cowards. For a short instant, that tumultuous battle seemed to be equal. O great king! Then Drona’s son severed the standard, bow, the umbrella, the two parshni charioteers, the charioteer and the four horses of great-souled Parshata. He killed them in the battle and brought them down on the ground. The one with an immeasurable soul then used straight-tufted arrows to drive away hundreds and thousands of Panchalas. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The Pandava soldiers were distressed on seeing the great deeds, which were like those of Vasava, of Drona’s son in the battle. He killed a hundred maharatha Panchalas with a hundred arrows. With three sharp arrows, Drona’s son killed three other maharathas, while Drupada’s son
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and Phalguna looked on.
He killed many Panchalas who were stationed before him. In that encounter, the Panchalas and the Srinjayas were slaughtered. Their chariots and standards were strewn around. They dared not approach Drona’s son and abandoned him. Thus did Drona’s maharatha son defeat the enemies in that battle. He let out a mighty roar, like clouds at the end of summer. Having killed many brave ones, Ashvatthama was resplendent. He was like the fire that consumes all beings at the end of a yuga. Having defeated thousands of enemies in the battle, he was honoured by the Kouraveyas. Drona’s powerful son was resplendent, like Indra of the gods, after having killed large numbers of the enemy.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! Then Yudhishthira and Pandava Bhimasena surrounded Drona’s son from every direction. King Duryodhana and Bharadvaja’s son attacked the Pandavas in that encounter and a battle commenced. O great king! It was terrible in form and increased the terror of cowards. Yudhishthira was angry and dispatched large numbers of Ambashthas, Malavas, Vangas, Shibis and Trigartas to the world of the dead. Bhima was indomitable in battle. He killed Abhisahas, Shurasenas and other kshatriyas and filled the earth with the mire of blood. O king! In that battle, Kiriti used sharp arrows to send large numbers of Youdheyas, those from the mountainous regions and Madrakas to the world of the dead. They were severely afflicted with iron arrows. Tuskers fell down on the ground, like mountains with two peaks.
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The trunks of elephants were severed and rolled around, here and there. The earth was strewn with these and looked beautiful, as if with serpents that moved around. O king! The earth was resplendent, because golden and colourful umbrellas were flung away. It was as if the
sky was resplendent with the sun, moon and planets at the time of the destruction of a yuga. ‘Kill. Strike without any fear. Pierce. Slice down.’ These and other fierce sounds were heard in the vicinity of the chariot of the one with the red horses.
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Drona became extremely angry and used the vayavya weapon in the battle. He was unapproachable and killed them, like a turbulent wind driving away clouds. While Bhimasena and the great-souled Partha looked on, the Panchalas were slaughtered by Drona and fled. But Kiriti and Bhima forcefully restrained them. They attacked your army with a large number of chariots. Bibhatsu was on the right flank and Vrikodara on the left. They showered down great torrents of arrows on Bharadvaja’s son. O great king! Maharatha Srinjayas, Panchalas, Matsyas and Somakas followed them. There were the best of rathas in the army of your son, skilled in striking. With a large army, they approached Drona’s chariot. That large army of the Bharatas was slaughtered by Kiriti. On top of this, they were afflicted by darkness and sleep. O great king! Though Drona himself and your son tried to restrain them, they were incapable of restraining the warriors. That large army was shattered by the arrows of Pandu’s son. With the world covered in darkness, they fled in all the directions. Some kings abandoned hundreds of their mounts. O great king! They were overcome by fear and ran away in different directions.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “On seeing Somadatta stretch his large bow, Satyaki addressed his charioteer. ‘Take me towards Somadatta. Without killing the enemy, Bahlika’s son and the worst of the Kouravas, in the battle today, I will not return from the encounter. O suta! I tell you this truthfully.’ Thus addressed, the charioteer urged those extremely fast horses from the Saindhava region. They possessed
the complexion of conch shells and were capable of withstanding all sounds in the battle. They were as fast as thought or the wind and bore Yuyudhana. O king! They were like Indra’s tawny steeds in earlier times, when he ventured to kill the daityas. On seeing that Satvata was powerfully descending in the encounter, the mighty-armed Somadatta was not frightened and attacked him. He released showers of arrows, like clouds showering down rain. He shrouded Shini’s descendant, like clouds covering the sun. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Satyaki was also not frightened in that battle. In every direction, he enveloped the bull among the Kuru lineage with a torrent of arrows. Somadatta pierced Madhava in the chest with sixty arrows. O king! Satyaki pierced him back with sharp arrows. Wounded by each other’s arrows, those bulls among men looked resplendent. They were like blossoming kimshuka trees with beautiful blossoms at the time of flowering. The limbs of the illustrious ones from the Kuru and Vrishni lineages were covered with blood. They glanced at each other and seemed to burn each other down with their sight. Those scorchers of enemies roamed around in chariots that traversed circular paths. They were terrible in form and were like clouds that showered down rain. O Indra among kings! With arrows mangling their bodies everywhere and wounded by those arrows, they looked like porcupines. Those arrows were well tufted and struck by these, they were beautiful. O king! They looked like trees during the monsoon, covered by fireflies. The limbs of the maharathas blazed with those arrows. In that battle, they looked like angry elephants, covered with flaming torches.

‘“O great king! In that encounter, maharatha Somadatta used an arrow in the shape of a half-moon to slice down Madhava’s great bow. He then swiftly struck him with twenty five arrows. At a time when speed was of the essence, he again struck him with ten arrows. Satyaki took up another bow that was more powerful. He quickly pierced Somadatta with five arrows. O king! In that encounter, Satyaki seemed to smile. He used another broad-headed arrow to cut down the golden standard of Bahlika’s son. On seeing that his standard had been brought down, Somadatta wasn’t scared. He struck Shini’s descendant with twenty-five arrows. Satvata became
enraged in that battle. In that encounter, he used a sharp kshurapra arrow to slice down the archer Somadatta’s bow. O king! He
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was like an elephant with its tusks shattered and he struck him in many ways with a hundred gold-tufted arrows that flew straight. Maharatha Somadatta took up another bow. The immensely strong one enveloped Satyaki with a shower of arrows. Extremely wrathful, Satyaki pierced Somadatta in that battle. Somadatta also afflicted Satyaki with his net of arrows.

‘“For Satvata’s sake, Bhima struck Bahlika’s son with ten arrows. However, without any fear, Somadatta struck Shini’s descendant with arrows. For Satvata’s sake, Bhimasena took up a new, firm and terrible club and hurled it towards Somadatta’s chest. On seeing that the club, terrible in form, was descending towards him in the battle, Kourava laughed and sliced it down into two fragments. That large and iron club was seen to be shattered into two fragments and fell down, like the giant summit of a mountain that has been shattered by thunder. O king! In that encounter, Satyaki used a broad-headed arrow to slice down Somadatta’s bow and used five more to cut down his arm-guards. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He quickly struck his four supreme horses with four arrows and sent them to the king of the dead. With a broad-headed arrow with drooping tufts, he severed the charioteer’s head from his body. The tiger among rathas, the bull among the Shini lineage, laughed. O king! Satvata then released an extremely terrible arrow that flamed like the fire. It was gold-tufted and had been sharpened on stone. With great force, Shini’s descendant shot that supreme of arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! That terrible arrow quickly struck the lord and brought him down. Severely wounded by the powerful maharatha Satvata, the mighty-armed Somadatta fell down and died.

‘“On seeing that Somadatta had been killed, the maharathas attacked Yuyudhana and brought down a great shower of arrows on him. They attacked him with a large army and with Drona’s battle formation. The immensely strong ones on your side were angry. While Bharadvaja’s son looked on, Yudhishthira drove them away
with arrows. On seeing that the soldiers were being driven away by Yudhishthira, Drona attacked with great force. His eyes were red with rage. He pierced Partha with seven extremely sharp arrows. Having pierced him, the mighty-armed one licked the corners of his mouth and severed Yudhishthira’s standard and bow. In that encounter, with his bow severed, and at a time when speed was of the essence, the supreme among kings swiftly took up another firm bow. The king pierced Drona with a thousand arrows and his horses, charioteer, standard and chariot too. It was wonderful. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! For a short while, Drona was distressed and oppressed by that storm of arrows. He sank down on the floor of his chariot. However, in a short while, the supreme of brahmanas regained his senses. He was overcome by great rage and invoked the vayavya weapon. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! However, the valiant Partha was not frightened in the battle and stretched his bow, repulsing that weapon with a weapon of his own.

‘“Vasudeva spoke to Yudhishthira, Kunti’s son. ‘O Yudhishthira! O mighty-armed one! Listen to what I tell you. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Give up this battle with Drona. Drona has always desired to seize you in the battle. I do not think that you should fight with him in this way. The one who has been created to kill him
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will kill him tomorrow. Abandon the preceptor and go to the spot where King Suyodhana is. Bhima, tiger among rathas, is fighting with the Kouravas there.’ Having heard Vasudeva’s words, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira thought for an instant. He then went to the spot where Bhima, the destroyer of enemies, was stationed and was fighting a fierce battle. He was slaying your warriors, like Death with a gaping mouth. Pandava
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made the earth resound with the great clatter of his chariot. It was as if a cloud was roaring in the ten directions, at the end of the summer. To kill the enemy, he positioned himself along Bhima’s flank. At the commencement of the night, Drona also began to kill the Pandus and the Panchalas.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “The terrible and fierce battle continued. O lord of the earth! The world was covered in darkness and dust. As they were stationed in that encounter, the warriors could not see each other. The great battle continued on the basis of guessing and signs. Men, elephants and horses encountered supreme destruction and it made the body hair stand up. O supreme among kings! The brave Drona, Karna and Kripa and Bhima, Parshata and Satyaki, agitated each other’s soldiers. In every direction, the maharathas slaughtered the soldiers. Because of the darkness and the dust, the elephants fled in different directions. The warriors were terrified and bereft of their senses. They also fled in different directions. O great king! They were killed and fled in that encounter. Thousands of maharathas killed each other in that battle. They were blind and confounded by the darkness and this was due to your stupid son’s policy. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the soldiers, and the protectors of the soldiers, were confused in that battle. Everything was covered in darkness.”

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “They were agitated by the Pandavas and their energy was sapped. Those on my side were blinded and shattered by the darkness. What was the state of your minds then? O Sanjaya! When the world was covered in darkness, how did their soldiers and those on my side again become visible?”

‘Sanjaya replied, “There were soldiers who had not been killed.
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Instructed by their leaders, they again arranged themselves in the form of a vyuha. Drona was in the front and Shalya at the rear. O king! Drona and Soubala were along the flanks. During that night, the king himself
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protected all the soldiers. O king! Duryodhana spoke to the large numbers of infantry and comforted them. ‘Abandon your supreme weapons. Take up flaming lamps in your hands.’ Thus instructed by the supreme of kings, they were cheered and took up
lamps. Divided through different standards, during that night, the army was beautiful because of the radiance of the fire. They were adorned in extremely expensive ornaments. They possessed divine weapons. These blazed as they were hurled. In a short while, properly arranged, those lamps lit up the entire army. The foot soldiers held lamps with oil in their hands and this made all the soldiers look radiant. They looked like clouds in the night sky, illuminated by lightning. When the soldiers were illuminated in this way, Drona, who was like the fire, scorched all the directions. O Indra among kings! In his golden armour, he was like the midday sun with its rays. As the light was reflected from golden ornaments, sparkling swords and bows and yellow weapons, it was beautiful. There were bright clubs and dazzling bludgeons. There were lances and spears. O Ajamidha! As they were repeatedly lit, the rays of the lamps reflected from these. O king! There were umbrellas, new whisks and other accompaniments and they flamed like giant meteors. There were golden garlands that were whirled around. They looked brilliant. Because of the reflection from the weapons and the illumination from the lamps, your army then looked dazzling. O king! There was the radiance from the reflection on ornaments and it was extremely beautiful. There were yellow weapons that were well crafted, used for mangling bodies. They were whirled by the brave ones and created a flaming radiance there, like the lightning in the sky at the end of summer. These were brought down with great force to kill the enemy and the faces of the men trembled as they did this, like large clouds driven by the wind. It was as if a raging conflagaration blazes like the sun and destroys a large forest. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The army blazed in that light and looked fierce in form, generating great fear.

‘“On seeing that our army was thus illuminated, the Parthas quickly instructed all their soldiers and the large numbers of foot soldiers to also light lamps. Seven lamps were placed on each elephant. Ten lamps were placed on each chariot. There were two lamps on the back of each horse. There were other lamps on the flanks, the standards and the rear. There were others along the flanks of all the soldiers, at the rear and in the front, in every direction. Other men roamed around in the midst of the two armies, with flaming torches
in their hands. All the soldiers and the masses of infantry got mixed up with the elephants, the chariots and the large numbers of horses. The army of the sons of Pandu was illuminated with others who were in the midst and held flaming torches in their hands. It was as if a fire was rendered more powerful because of an additional blaze and those two armies assumed greater strength. It was like the sun making the planets more radiant, or the sun fiercely illuminating the flames of a fire. That radiance spread on the earth and into the sky and spreading over all the directions, seemed to increase. The splendour was extremely fierce and made your soldiers, and theirs, visible. O king! As that radiance spread up towards the sky, the masses of gods, the gandharvas, the yakshas, the asuras and large numbers of siddhas were awakened and assembled, with all the apsaras. The place was full of gods, gandharvas, yakshas, leaders among the asuras, masses of apsaras and brave warriors who had been killed and had ascended to heaven. The field of battle looked like heaven itself. There were chariots, horses, elephants, all illuminated with lamps. Angry warriors roamed around and so did wounded horses. Those large armies of chariots, horses and elephants were arrayed in battle formation and were as resplendent as the gods and the asuras, arranged in vyuhas. The force of spears was like a turbulent wind. The large chariots were like clouds. There was the roar of chariots and horses. Weapons showered down, like clouds raining blood. As night commenced, there was a battle between the men who were like gods. The great-souled one
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was like a giant fire. He tormented the foremost among the Pandavas. O Indra among men! He was like the sun that has reached the midpoint of the sky at the end of the monsoon.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “The world, covered in dust and darkness, was thus illuminated. Wishing to kill each other, the brave ones
attacked. O king! They clashed in that battle, with weapons, lances and swords in their hands. Overcome with rage, they glanced at each other. There were thousands of blazing lamps in every direction. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The ground was beautiful, like the firmament decorated with planets. The field of battle was dazzling, as if with hundreds of flaming torches. The earth looked as if the worlds were about to be consumed.
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All the directions were illuminated with lamps in every direction. They were as beautiful as trees with fireflies during a monsoon evening. Brave ones separately clashed against brave ones, elephants clashed with elephants, horses with horses and chariots clashed against chariots. At the commencement of the night, on the instructions of your son, they were all cheerful. O great king! Arjuna started to swiftly destroy the Kourava soldiers and weaken all the kings.”

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “When the invincible and intolerant one angrily penetrated into the army of my son, what was the state of your minds then? When that scorcher of enemies penetrated, what did the soldiers think? Given the occasion, what did Duryodhana think should be done? In that battle, who were the scorchers of enemies who advanced against that brave one? Who protected Drona’s right wheel and who was on the left? As the brave one fought, which valiant ones protected his rear? Who advanced in front, killing the enemies in the battle? That unvanquished one, great archer, penetrated the Panchalas.
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The valiant tiger among men seemed to be dancing around in the path of his chariot. Advancing on his chariot, Drona consumed the Panchalas with his arrows. He was as angry as a fire.
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How did he come about his death? You always speak of the enemy as undisturbed and unvanquished. But in the battle, you have always said that those on my side were killed, distressed and routed and that the rathas were deprived of their chariots.”