Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (48 page)

‘“Bhima thought that your maharatha son
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had been killed. He roared loudly like a lion and challenged the Kouravas. Your soldiers also thought that the king had been killed. In every direction, sounds of lamentation arose. On hearing those lamentations, all the
warriors were frightened. O king! On hearing Bhimasena’s roar, the great-souled King Yudhishthira thought that Suyodhana had been killed. He speedily rushed to the spot where Partha Vrikodara was. O lord of the earth! Wishing to fight with Drona, the Panchalas, Kekayas, Matsyas and Srinjayas made their efforts and speedily advanced against him. A great battle commenced between Drona and the enemy. Everything was immersed in fierce darkness and they started to kill each other.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O lord of the earth! Sahadeva wished to advance against Drona. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that battle, Vaikartana Karna countered him. Sahadeva pierced Radheya with nine swift arrows. He again pierced him with ten sharp arrows with straight tufts. Karna pierced him back with one hundred arrows with straight tufts. Displaying the lightness of his hands, he quickly severed his bow. Madri’s powerful son picked up another bow. He pierced Karna with twenty arrows and it was extraordinary. Karna killed his horses with arrows with straight tufts. With a broad-headed arrow, he swiftly conveyed his charioteer to Yama’s eternal abode. Deprived of his chariot, Sahadeva grasped a sword and a shield. But Karna struck these down with his arrows and laughed. He
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then grasped an extremely terrible and extremely large club that was heavy and decorated with gold. In that battle, he hurled it towards Vaikartana’s chariot. It was violently released by Sahadeva and descended. Karna shattered it with his arrows and made it fall down on the ground. On seeing that the club had been destroyed, Sahadeva swiftly hurled a lance towards Karna. But it was struck down by the arrows. O great king! On seeing that Karna was stationed before him, Sahadeva was filled with rage and descended from his chariot. He picked up the wheel of a chariot and hurled it towards Adhiratha’s
son. It descended powerfully, like an upraised wheel of time. The son of a suta shattered it with thousands of arrows. Having rendered the wheel unsuccessful, the great-souled Sahadeva was restrained with arrows and left the battle. O bull among the Bharata lineage! For a short while, Radheya followed him. O lord of the earth! He laughed and spoke these words to Sahadeva. ‘O brave one! In a battle, do not fight with rathas who are superior. O son of Madri! Fight with those who are your equals. Do not entertain any doubt about my words.’ He then touched him with the tip of his bow and again spoke these words. ‘In the battle there, Arjuna is endeavouring to fight with the Kurus. O son of Madri! Go there. Or if you wish, go home.’ Having spoken those words, Karna, supreme among rathas, laughed. On his chariot, he proceeded towards the Panchala and Pandu soldiers. O king! The maharatha was devoted to the truth and remembered the words that he had given to Kunti.
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Though the destroyer of enemies could have killed Madri’s son in the battle, he did not slay him. O king! Sahadeva was miserable and afflicted by the arrows. Tormented by the stakes of Karna’s words, he no longer wished to remain alive. In that battle, he swiftly ascended the chariot of the great-souled Janamejaya from Panchala.

‘“Virata advanced against Drona, powerfully and swiftly. But the king of Madra shrouded the archer with a torrent of arrows. In the battle, both of them were firm archers and a duel commenced between them. O king! It was like that between Jambha
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and Vasava in ancient times. O great king! Virata was the leader of an army and the king of Madra quickly struck him with a hundred sharp arrows with straight tufts. The king
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pierced him back with nine sharp arrows. He then struck him again with seventy-three arrows and yet again with one hundred. The king of Madra slew the four horses that were yoked to his chariot. In that encounter, he brought down his charioteer and his standard from his chariot. With his horses slain,
the maharatha swiftly descended from his chariot. He stretched his bow and released sharp arrows. While the entire world looked on, Shatanika
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saw that his brother’s mounts had been slain and swiftly approached him on his chariot. In that great battle, the king of Madra saw that Shatanika was approaching. He pierced him with many arrows and conveyed him to Yama’s eternal abode. When the brave one had been killed, Virata swiftly ascended his supreme chariot. That chariot was decorated with standards and garlands. His eyes were dilated with rage and his valour was doubled. He quickly enveloped the king of Madra’s chariot with arrows. The king of Madra became angry. He used a hundred arrows with straight tufts to firmly strike Virata, the leader of an army, in the chest. O great king! O bull among the Bharata lineage! Having been thus severely struck, Virata sank down on the floor of his chariot. He was gravely struck and lost his senses. He was wounded by the arrows and his charioteer bore him away from the field of battle. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the night, that great army fled. Shalya, the adornment of a battle, slaughtered them with hundreds of arrows.

‘“O Indra among kings! On seeing that the soldiers were running away, Vasudeva and Dhananjaya quickly arrived at the spot where Shalya was stationed. O king! Alambusa, Indra among rakshasas, advanced against them. He was on a supreme chariot that possessed eight wheels. Pishachas, terrible in visage, were yoked to it and had the faces of horses. The flags were red and yellow and it was decorated with red garlands. It was made out of black iron and was covered with fierce and large bear skins. A fierce king of vultures was perched on the standard. Its wings were spotted and it dilated its eyes as it shrieked. It had an elongated beak. O king! That rakshasa was as beautiful as an unbroken mass of collyrium. He advanced against Arjuna, like a hurricane against a king of mountains. O king! He showered down hundreds of storms of arrows towards Arjuna’s head. In that battle, there was an extremely fierce encounter between the man and the rakshasa. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On
witnessing it, everyone was filled with delight. Arjuna struck him with one hundred arrows. He severed his standard and his umbrella with nine sharp arrows. He pierced his charioteer with three arrows and his trivenu with another three. He severed his bow with one arrow and killed his four horses with four arrows. Deprived of his chariot, he
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raised a sword, but that was shattered into two pieces with arrows. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Partha then struck the Indra among rakshasas with four sharp arrows and he fled in fear. Having defeated him, Arjuna quickly advanced in Drona’s direction. O king! He showered large numbers of arrows as he proceeded, towards men, elephants and horses. O great king! They were slaughtered by the illustrious Pandava. The soldiers were brought down, like trees uprooted by a storm. They were thus shattered by the great-souled Phalguna. O lord of the earth! The entire army of your sons was routed and fled.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “Shatanika
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quickly consumed your soldiers with arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Your son, Chitrasena, countered him. Nakula’s son severely struck Chitrasena with an iron arrow and he pierced him back with ten sharp arrows. O great king! In that battle, Chitrasena again struck Shatanika between the breasts with nine sharp arrows. Nakula’s son used straight-tufted arrows to sever his
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armour from his body and it was wonderful. O king! O Indra among kings! Divested of his armour, your son looked extremely beautiful, like a snake that has cast off its skin at the right season. O great king! Nakula’s son then made efforts and severed his standard and his bow with sharp arrows. In that encounter, the maharatha’s bow was severed and he was deprived
of his armour. O great king! He picked up another bow that was capable of shattering the enemy. Chitrasena swiftly struck Nakula’s son with nine arrows. In that encounter, the maharatha among the Bharata lineage angrily struck him. O venerable one! Shatanika, supreme among men, was extremely angry and killed Chitrasena’s four horses and his charioteer. Maharatha Chitrasena jumped down from his supreme chariot. The powerful one struck Nakula’s son with twenty-five arrows. In that battle, Nakula’s son performed a deed. With an arrow in the shape of a half-moon, he severed his bow, which was adorned with gems. His
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bow was severed. He was without a chariot. His horses were slain. His charioteer was killed. He swiftly climbed onto the chariot of the great-souled Hardikya.

‘“Maharatha Drupada, with his army, was advancing towards Drona. Vrishasena swiftly showered hundreds of arrows on him. O unblemished one! In that encounter, Yajnasena
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pierced Karna’s maharatha son, in the arms and in the chest, with sixty arrows. Yajnasena was stationed on his chariot. Vrishasena angrily struck him, between the breasts, with many sharp arrows. O great king! In that battle, their limbs were wounded with arrows. The arrows were like thorns. They were as beautiful as porcupines with erect quills. Those arrows were gold-tufted and sharp at the tip. Their armour was shattered by those arrows. In that great battle, they were covered with blood and looked extremely beautiful. They were as radiant and colourful as beautiful
kalpavriksha
s.
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In the forefront of the battle, they were as dazzling as flowering kimshukas. O king! Vrishasena struck Drupada with nine arrows and again pierced him with seventy arrows. He again pierced him with three other arrows. O great king! Karna’s son shot thousands of arrows and was as resplendent as a cloud that was showering down. The armour of Drupada’s soldiers was shattered with arrows. O king! In the battle which took place in the night, they
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assumed a fierce form and drove them away.
The lamps that had been lit were abandoned everywhere. O king! The earth was as beautiful as a cloudless sky, adorned with planets. The earth was beautiful because of the armlets that had fallen down. O great king! It was like clouds during the monsoon, tinged with lightning. The Somakas were frightened and were driven away by Karna’s son. It was like the danavas, terrified of Indra at the time of the tarakamaya battle. The Somakas were afflicted and driven away in that battle. O great king! They were illuminated in that battle and looked beautiful. Having defeated them in the encounter, Karna’s son was resplendent. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He was like the sun when it has attained midday. Among the thousands of kings on your side and those of the enemy, there was a single one who blazed there and it was the powerful Vrishasena. He defeated the brave maharatha Somakas in that encounter. He then swiftly proceeded to the spot where King Yudhishthira was.

‘“Prativindhya angrily consumed enemies in that battle. Your maharatha son, Duhshasana, advanced against him. O king! The clash between them was wonderful in form. It was like a conjunction between Budha and Bhargava in a cloudless sky.
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Prativindhya was the performer of extremely difficult deeds and in that encounter, Duhshasana pierced him in the forehead with three arrows. Thus pierced by your powerful archer son, the mighty-armed one looked beautiful, like a mountain with peaks. In that encounter, maharatha Prativindhya pierced Duhshasana with nine arrows and pierced him again with seven. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Your son then performed an extremely difficult deed. With fierce arrows, he brought down Prativindhya’s horses. He used a broad-headed arrow to bring down his charioteer and also his standard. O king! The archer shattered the chariot into one hundred fragments. The lord angrily used straight-tufted arrows to shatter into tiny fragments the flag, the quiver, the harness and the yoke. Deprived of his chariot, the great-souled one
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stood with the bow in his hand and fought
with your son, showering many hundreds of arrows. He
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showed the dexterity of his hands and severed the bow with a kshurapra arrow. Once the bow had been severed, he struck him
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with ten broad-headed arrows. On seeing that he was without a chariot there, his maharatha brothers
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impetuously arrived with a large army. O great king! He ascended Sutasoma’s
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radiant chariot and taking up a bow, pierced your son. Then, all those on your side surrounded your son. In that battle, they advanced forcefully, with a large army. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A battle commenced between those on your side and the others at that terrible time of the night and it extended Yama’s kingdom.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “In that battle, Nakula was impetuously slaughtering your soldiers. Enraged, Soubala advanced against him, asking him to wait. Those two brave ones were firm in their enmity and wished to kill each other. They drew their bows completely back and struck each other with arrows. O king! Just as Soubala swiftly released showers of arrows, Nakula also exhibited his skills in fighting. O great king! In that battle, those two brave ones were covered with the thorns of arrows and were as beautiful as
shalmali
trees with thorns. O king! They dilated their eyes and glanced obliquely at each other. Their eyes were red with rage and they consumed each other with their sight. Your brother-in-law was extremely angry and laughing at Madri’s son, pierced him in the heart with a sharp and barbed arrow. Having been severely wounded by your archer brother-in-law, Nakula
sank down on the floor of his chariot and lost his senses. O king! Beholding that his ultimate and insolent enemy, firm in his enmity, was in that state, Shakuni roared like a cloud at the end of summer. Having regained his senses, Nakula, Pandu’s son, rushed against Soubala again, like Death with a gaping mouth. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Enraged, he pierced Shakuni with sixty arrows. He again struck him between the breasts with one hundred iron arrows. He then severed the bow in his
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hand, with an arrow still affixed to it. He swiftly severed his standard and brought it down from the chariot onto the ground. O great king! O unblemished one! Having been severely wounded, your brother-in-law sank down on the floor of his chariot and in the forefront of that army, on seeing that he had fallen down and had lost his senses, his charioteer quickly bore him away on his chariot. The Parthas and their followers roared loudly. Having vanquished the enemy in the encounter, Nakula, the scorcher of enemies, angrily told his charioteer, ‘Take me to Drona’s battle formation.’ O king! On hearing the words of Madri’s intelligent son, in the battle, his charioteer took him to the spot where Drona was fighting.