Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (51 page)

‘“O lord of the earth! He arrived before them, with armour, arrows, sword and bow. He paid his respects to Krishna and Pandava Dhananjaya. He cheerfully addressed them, ‘Command me.’ He was like a cloud. He was radiant and was adorned with blazing earrings. Dasharha smiled and spoke to Hidimba’s son. ‘O Ghatotkacha! O child! Listen to what I tell you. The time has come for you, and no one
else, to show valour. Be a raft to your relatives, who are submerging. You possess many kinds of weapons and the maya of rakshasas. O Hidimba’s son! Behold. The Pandava army is being driven away by Karna in the field of battle, like cattle by a herdsman. It is my view that this great archer, Karna, is firm in his valour. The bull among kshatriyas is slaughtering the Pandava soldiers. The one with the firm bow is releasing a great shower of arrows. Oppressed by the rays of his arrows, no one is capable of standing before him. In this night, the son of a suta is afflicting them with his shower of arrows. The Panchalas are being driven away, like frightened deer before a lion. O one who is terrible in valour! With your exception, there is no one else who can be seen, capable of countering the son of a suta, when he is thus engaged in battle. O mighty-armed one! Perform the deeds that only you are capable of. You possess the energies of your maternal uncle
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and fathers and have the strength of your weapons. O Hidimba’s son! It is for reasons like this that men desire sons, to save them in times of difficulty. Therefore, save your relatives. The strength of your weapons is fierce. Your maya is difficult to withstand. O son of Bhima! You have always fought in a battle. The Pandavas have been routed by Karna’s sharp arrows. O scorcher of enemies! They are sinking in the ocean of the sons of Dhritarashtra and cannot reach the shore. During the night, the rakshasas become invested with extreme valour, power and bravery. They roam around valiantly and are invincible. Using maya in the battle, slay the great archer, Karna, during the night. The Parthas, with Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront, will kill Drona.’ O Kouravya! On hearing the words of Keshava, Bibhatsu, the scorcher of enemies, also spoke to the rakshasa Ghatotkacha. ‘O Ghatotkacha! In my view, you, the mighty-armed Satyaki and Pandava Bhimasena are the best among all our soldiers. In the night, go and engage in a duel with Karna. Maharatha Satyaki will protect your rear. Aided by Satvata, slay the brave Karna in the battle, just as Indra, aided by Skanda, struck Taraka in ancient times.’
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Ghatotkacha replied, ‘I am a match for Karna, the supreme Drona and all the other kshatriyas who are skilled in the use of weapons. In this night, I will present the son of the suta with a battle. People will speak about it as long as this earth lasts. I will not save brave ones, or those who are frightened and join their hands in salutation. I will resort to the dharma of rakshasas and kill everyone.’ Having spoken thus, Hidimba’s mighty-armed son, the destroyer of enemy heroes, violently advanced against Karna, frightening your soldiers.

‘“On seeing that he was angrily descending, like an insect towards a flame, the son of a suta, the supreme archer, received him. At night, a battle commenced between Karna and the rakshasa. O tiger among kings! They roared at each other, like Shakra and Prahlada.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! Ghatotkacha spiritedly advanced towards the chariot of the son of a suta, desiring to kill Karna in the battle. On seeing this, your son
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spoke these words to Duhshasana. ‘On witnessing Karna’s valour in the battle, this rakshasa is swiftly advancing. Advance quickly and prevent this maharatha from reaching Karna. Surround yourself with a large army and go to the spot where the immensely strong Karna is stationed. Vaikartana is fighting with the rakshasa in this battle. O one who grants honours! Surrounded by the soldiers, make an effort to protect Karna in the battle.’ O king! At this time, Jatasura’s powerful son approached Duryodhana. He was supreme among strikers and spoke. ‘O Duryodhana! Your enemies are famous and invincible in battle. But with your permission, I wish to kill the Pandavas and their followers. In earlier times, my father, Jatasura, was the foremost among rakshasas. Performing a deed that could kill rakshasas, the inferior Parthas brought him down.
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O
lord! I wish to satisfy the one who has departed
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and you should grant me permission.’ Having been thus addressed, the king was delighted and repeatedly said, ‘Aided by Drona, Karna and the others, I am capable of slaying the enemy. But with my permission, go. Slay Ghatotkacha in the battle.’ Having been thus addressed, the one with a gigantic form challenged Ghatotkacha.

‘“Jatasura’s son countered Bhimasena’s son with diverse kinds of weapons. However, Hidimba’s son crushed Alambala,
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Karna and the unassailable Kuru soldiers, like a giant wind driving away clouds. On seeing that the ratha Ghatotkacha was using maya, Alambala quickly shot many different kinds of arrows at him. Alambala pierced Bhimasena’s son with many arrows. He drove away the Pandava soldiers with his storm of arrows. O venerable one! The Pandava soldiers were thus driven away in the night, like clouds dispelled by the wind. O king! Similarly, the Kuru soldiers were mangled by Ghatotkacha’s arrows and fled in the night, throwing away thousands of flaming torches. Alambala became angry in that great battle. He struck Bhimasena’s son with many arrows, like a giant elephant being goaded. Ghatotkacha shattered into tiny fragments his
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chariot, his charioteer and all the fierce weapons, capable of destroying life, that were hurled at him. Like clouds raining down on Mount Meru, he showered down thousands of storms of arrows on Karna, the other Kurus and Alambala. Afflicted by the rakshasa, the Kuru soldiers were agitated. The four kinds of forces
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began to crush each other down repeatedly. O great king! Jatasura’s son was without a chariot. His charioteer was slain. In that battle, he angrily struck Ghatotkacha with a firm blow of the fist. Having been struck by the fist, Ghatotkacha wavered, like a mountain, with its large number of trees and creepers, as if during an earthquake. He then raised his arms, which were like clubs and capable of slaying the enemy. Bhimasena’s son severely struck Jatasura’s son with his fist.
Hidimba’s son angrily crushed him and swiftly hurled him down. He seized him with arms that were like Indra’s standard and forced him down on the ground. Alambala also seized the rakshasa Ghatotkacha in the encounter and wrathfully seizing him, forced him down on the ground. There was a duel between those gigantic ones, Ghatotkacha and Alambala. As they roared, it was tumultuous and made the body hair stand up. In particular, they were well versed in maya and resorted to maya to overpower each other. Those immensely valiant ones fought, like Indra and Virochana’s son.
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They became fire and the ocean
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and Garuda and Takshaka.
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They again became a cloud and a giant wind, or thunder and a giant mountain. They then became an elephant and a tiger and again became Svarbhanu
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and the sun. In this way, wishing to kill each each other, they created a hundred different kinds of maya. Alambala and Ghatotkacha fought wonderfully well. They struck each other with clubs, maces, lances, bludgeons, battleaxes, mallets and the summits of mountains. The foremost among rakshasa warriors resorted to great powers of maya and fought as horses, elephants, infantry and chariots. O king! Wishing to kill Alambala, Ghatotkacha descended violently, like a hawk. The Indra among rakshasas seized Alambala, whose form was gigantic. He raised him and pressed him down in the battle, like Vishnu against Maya.
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Ghatotkacha grasped a sword that was extraordinary to look at. He severed the terrible head from the body and it was dreadful to see.

‘“The rakshasa grasped the head by the hair, with the blood dripping from it. Ghatotkacha then swiftly advanced towards Duryodhana’s chariot. The mighty-armed rakshasa approached and
smiling, flung the head, with a distorted face and dreadful hair, onto the chariot. He then roared loudly, like a cloud during the monsoon. O king! He spoke these words to Duryodhana. ‘Witness the valour of your friend. He has been killed. You will now witness Karna’s destruction and that of your own self.’ O lord of men! Having said this, he departed in Karna’s direction. He shot hundreds of sharp arrows towards Karna’s head. O great king! A duel commenced between the man and the rakshasa in that battle and it was terrible in form. It gave rise to great fear and was wonderful.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “Vaikartana Karna and the rakshasa Ghatotkacha clashed against each other in the night. Tell me about that wonderful event. What kind of terrible fight did the rakshasa resort to? What kind of chariot did he create with his maya and what were his weapons? What were the sizes of his horses, chariot, standard and bow? What was his armour like and the guard around his neck? O Sanjaya! You are skilled in narrating. I am asking you. Tell me all this.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “His eyes were red. His form was gigantic. He had the complexion of copper. His stomach hung low. His body hair stood up. His hair was green. His eyes were like cones. His jaw was large. His gaping jaw was wide, extending from one ear to another. His teeth were pointed and looked deadly. His tongue and lips were extremely long, with the hue of copper. His eyebrows were long. His nose was thick. His body was blue. His neck was red. He was as tall as a mountain and was a terrible sight. His form was gigantic. He was mighty-armed, with a large head, and immensely strong. His body was harsh to the touch. The hair was tied into a fierce bun on his head. His hips were broad. His navel was deep. But though he was gigantic, his waist was thin. The ornaments on his arms were also appropriate. He wore armlets and possessed great powers of maya.
He wore a breastplate that was like a garland of fire on a mountain. A dazzling crown adorned his head. It was as large as a gate. It was golden and colourful and it had many beautiful segments. His earrings were like the rising sun. His golden garland sparkled. His gigantic body was bedecked in extremely radiant armour made of brass. The giant chariot, which was as large as a
nalva
,
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roared with a hundred bells. It was covered with bear skins. The standard and flags were red. It possessed a standard and garlands and was stocked with all the supreme weapons. It possessed eight wheels and rumbled deeply, like a cloud. It was borne by powerful horses. They were fierce, with red eyes, and looked like elephants. They were swift and adopted whatever complexion one wished. The rakshasa Virupaksha was the charioteer and he was resplendent, with earrings. The reins were like the rays of the sun and he grasped these and controlled the horses in battle. He arrived with him, like the sun god with Varuna. A giant standard was raised aloft the chariot. It looked like a giant mountain, encircled by giant clouds. It seemed to stretch up into the sky. An extremely fierce and carnivorous vulture was perched on it and its head was red. The chariot roared like Vasava’s vajra. The bejewelled bow could slay the enemy and was twelve kishkus long.
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The bowstring was firm when stretched. The arrows were as long as a chariot’s axle and he enveloped all the directions with these. In the night that was destructive of brave ones, he advanced towards Karna. He was stationed on that chariot and stretched his bow. The roar of the bow, when stretched, was heard to be like the sound of thunder. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! This terrified your soldiers. All of them trembled, like giant waves on the ocean.

‘“On seeing the fierce one with the malformed eyes advance, Radheya seemed to smile and quickly countered him. Karna approached the smiling one
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and struck him from a close distance. He was like an elephant against another elephant, like the bull who
leads a herd against another bull. O lord of the earth! O king! There was a tumultuous clash between Karna and the rakshasa, like that between Indra and Shambara. They grasped immensely powerful bows that made a fierce noise. They enveloped and struck each other with giant arrows. They drew their bows all the way back and released straight-tufted arrows. They countered each other and pierced the brass armour. They were like tigers fighting with their claws, or giant elephants with their tusks. They flung spears
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at each other and wounded each other with their arrows. They mangled each other’s limbs and struck each other with arrows. They scorched each other with storms of arrows and it was impossible to look at either of them. They were wounded all over their limbs and they were covered with streams of blood. They looked beautiful, like mountains covered with red ore, with streams flowing down them. Their limbs were pierced with the tips of arrows and they mangled each other. But though those immensely radiant ones struggled, neither could make the other tremble. O king! For a long time, that duel in the night seemed to be equal. Karna and the rakshasa gambled in that battle, with their lives as stakes. They affixed sharp arrows and shot them. They terrified those on their own side, and on the side of the enemy, with the roars of their bows. O king! Karna could not get the better of Ghatotkacha.

‘“The supreme among those who have knowledge of weapons then invoked a divine weapon. On seeing that Karna had invoked a divine weapon, the rakshasa Ghatotkacha, the descendant of the Pandu lineage, created a great maya. He was surrounded by a large army of rakshasas, fierce in visage. They wielded spears and clubs and held mountains and trees in their hands. On seeing that he
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had raised his great bow, all the kings were distressed. He advanced like the destroyer of all beings, like Yama wielding a staff. Ghatotkacha emitted terrible roars like a lion. The elephants passed urine and the men were severely distressed. A large and fierce shower of stones rained down in every direction. It was midnight and the powerful
rakshasas released these with their enhanced strength. Iron chakras, catapults, lances, javelins, spears, shataghnis and battleaxes rained down incessantly. The kings saw that the battle had become extremely fierce and terrible. Your sons and the warriors were distressed and fled. There was only a single proud one who was not distressed. This was Karna, who prided himself on the strength of his weapons. Using his arrows, he destroyed the maya that had been created by Ghatotkacha. When that maya was dispelled, Ghatokacha became intolerant. He released a terrible shower of deadly arrows towards the son of the suta. In the great battle, these arrows penetrated Karna and covered with blood, entered the ground, like angry snakes. The powerful son of the suta was enraged and using the dexterity of his hands, surpassed Ghatotkacha and pierced him with ten arrows. Ghatotkacha was pierced in his inner organs by the son of the suta. Severely wounded, he picked up a divine chakra with one thousand spokes. The edges were as sharp as a razor and it was decorated with gems and jewels. Its complexion was like that of the rising sun. Wishing to kill him, Bhimasena’s son angrily hurled this towards Adhiratha’s son. It was hurled with great force. However, Karna struck it with his arrows and rendered it unsuccessful, like the wishes of an unfortunate person. It fell down on the ground. On seeing that the chakra had been brought down, Ghatotkacha became extremely angry. He shrouded Karna with arrows, like Svarbhanu eclipsing the sun. The son of the suta possessed the valour of Indra and Upendra
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and was not frightened. He swiftly enveloped Ghatotkacha’s chariot with arrows. Enraged, Ghatotkacha grasped a club decorated with gold and hurled it. While it was still traversing, Karna shattered it with his arrows and made it fall down.