Mahabharata: Volume 7 (22 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “On seeing that Yudhishthira was protected by Shini’s descendant and by the brave sons of Droupadi, Drona’s son cheerfully attacked him. He showered large numbers of gold-tufted and fierce arrows that had been sharpened on stone. He displayed many different kinds of motion, his learning and the dexterity of his hands. The one who was learned in the use of weapons invoked his arrows with the mantras of divine weapons and surrounded Yudhishthira in the battle. Everything was shrouded by the arrows of Drona’s son and nothing could be seen. It was as if the heads of all the warriors were covered by arrows. The firmament was
covered by a net of arrows and seemed to be shrouded by a golden net. O best of the Bharata lineage! It was beautiful, as if it had been covered with a canopy. O king! In that battle, enveloped by that radiant net of arrows, the sky seemed to be obstructed by arrows, as if by the shadow of clouds. Because of the arrows, the sight that we beheld there was extraordinary. As a result of the valour of Drona’s son, nothing could be seen to descend on earth.
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O great king! On beholding the dexterity of Drona’s son, the maharathas there were astounded and were incapable of glancing at him. It was as if all the kings were being scorched by the sun.

‘ “Though Satyaki, Dharmaraja Pandava and the other soldiers made efforts, they could not withstand his valour. When the soldiers were being slaughtered, Droupadi’s maharatha sons, Satyaki, Dharmaraja and the Panchalas united, abandoning their fear of death and fiercely attacked Drona’s son. Satyaki pierced Drona’s son with twenty-five arrows with stone heads. He again pierced him with seven iron arrows that were decorated with gold. Yudhishthira struck him with seventy-three, Prativindhya with seven, Shrutakarma with three arrows, Shrutakirti with seven arrows, Sutasoma with nine and Shatanika with nine.
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Many other brave ones pierced him from all directions. O king! He became angry at this and sighed like a venomous serpent. He pierced Satyaki back with twenty-five arrows that had been sharpened on stone, Shrutakirti with nine, Sutasoma with five, Shrutakarma with eight and Prativindhya with three arrows. He struck Shatanika with nine arrows and Dharma’s son
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with seven. He struck each of the other brave ones with two arrows each. With sharp arrows, he severed Shrutakirti’s bow. At this, maharatha Shrutakirti picked up another bow and pierced Drona’s
son with three arrows, following this up by striking him with many other sharp arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Drona’s son showered down arrows and covered the soldiers and the kings from every direction with arrows. Drona’s son, immeasurable in his soul, again severed Dharmaraja’s bow with three sharp arrows and laughed. O king! At this, Dharma’s son picked up another giant bow and struck Drona’s son in the arms and the chest with seventy arrows. In the battle, Satyaki angrily struck Drona’s son and used an extremely sharp arrow that was in the form of a half-moon to sever his bow. Having done this, he roared loudly. With his bow severed, Drona’s son, supreme among strong ones, hurled a lance and swiftly brought down the charioteer of Shini’s descendant from his chariot. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Drona’s powerful son then picked up another bow and enveloped Shini’s descendant with a shower of arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With his
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charioteer brought down in the encounter, his horses were seen to run around here and there. With Yudhishthira at the forefront, they
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powerfully attacked Drona’s son, supreme among the wielders of weapons, and showered down sharp arrows. In that great battle, on seeing that they were rushing to the attack and adopting fierce forms, Drona’s son, scorcher of enemies, laughed and received them. In that battle, Drona’s maharatha son used hundreds of flaming arrows to consume the flanks of the soldiers, like a fire burning dead wood in the forest. O foremost among the Bharatas! The army of Pandu’s son was afflicted by Drona’s son, like the mouth of a river by a whale. O great king! On witnessing the valour of Drona’s son, everyone thought that the Pandus had already been slain by Drona’s son.

‘ “Spiritedly approaching Drona’s maharatha son, Yudhishthira spoke to Drona’s son, anger and intolerance flooding his mind. ‘O tiger among men! Since you wish to kill me today, your name is not affection, nor is your name gratitude. A brahmana’s task is austerities, donations and studying and a bow should be stretched by a kshatriya.
You say that you are a brahmana. O mighty-armed one! While you look on, I will vanquish the Kouravas in the battle.’ O great king! Having been thus addressed, Drona’s son smiled. He thought about what was proper and did not say anything in reply. Without saying anything, he showered arrows on Pandava and enveloped him in the battle, like an angry Yama against beings. O venerable one! Having been thus shrouded by Drona’s son, Partha abandoned that large army and swiftly departed from the spot. O king! Dharma’s son, Yudhishthira, departed. However, Drona’s great-minded son still remained stationed in that region. Thus, King Yudhishthira abandoned Drona’s son in the great battle and advanced against your soldiers, having decided to perform cruel deeds.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “Vaikartana himself countered and restrained Bhimasena, supported by the Panchalas, Chedis and Kekayas, with his arrows. While Bhimasena looked on, Karna angrily killed many Chedi, Karusha and Srinjaya maharathas. Bhimasena avoided Karna, supreme among rathas, and advanced against the Kourava soldiers, like a blazing fire amidst dead wood. The son of a suta, the great archer, slaughtered thousands of Panchalas, Kekayas and Srinjayas in the battle. The maharathas caused great carnage—Partha against the samshaptakas, Vrikodara against the Kouravas and Karna against the Panchalas. O king! Because of your evil counsel, those three were like fires and consumed and destroyed the kshatriyas in the encounter.

‘ “O foremost amongst the Bharata lineage! Meanwhile, Duryodhana was angry and struck Nakula with nine arrows, also piercing his four horses. O lord of men! Your son, immeasurable in his soul, again severed Sahadeva’s golden standard with a razor-sharp arrow. O king! Nakula became enraged and struck your son with seventy-three arrows in the battle. Sahadeva pierced him with five.
Those two were the best amongst the Bharata lineage and the best among all archers. But he
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angrily struck each of them with five arrows. O king! With other broad-headed arrows, he severed the bows of the twins and laughed, piercing them with seven arrows. Those two brave ones were resplendent in the battle, equals of the sons of the gods. They picked up other supreme bows that were as beautiful as Shakra’s bow. O king! In that encounter, the two brothers proudly fought against a brother. They showered down arrows on him, like two giant clouds on a mountain. O great king! Your maharatha son became enraged and repulsed Pandu’s sons, great archers, with arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the encounter, the circle of his bow could be seen. In every direction, arrows could be seen to whiz around. The two Pandavas were enveloped by his arrows and looked beautiful, like the sun and the moon in the sky, when covered by clouds and robbed of their radiance. O great king! Those arrows were gold-tufted and sharpened on stone. Like the rays of the sun, they covered all the directions. The firmament was covered by those arrows. The forms of the twins were like that of Yama, at the time of the destruction of an era. On witnessing your son’s valour, the maharathas thought that the sons of Madri had attained the presence of death. O king! At this, the great-souled commander-in-chief of the Pandavas, Parshata, went to the spot where King Suyodhana was.

‘ “Abandoning the valiant and maharatha sons of Madri, your son oppressed Dhrishtadyumna with arrows. O bull among men! Your son, immeasurable in his soul, was intolerant, and piercing Panchala with twenty-five arrows, laughed. O lord of the earth! Your son, immeasurable in his soul, again pierced Panchala with sixty-five arrows and roared. O venerable one! In the battle, the king used extremely sharp kshurapra arrows to sever his bow, with an arrow affixed to it, and his arm-guards. Discarding his severed bow, Panchala, the destroyer of enemies, quickly picked up a new bow that was capable of bearing a great load. The great archer, Dhrishtadyumna, was covered with wounds. But he blazed violently
because of his anger, with eyes that were red as blood. He looked beautiful. Dhrishtadyumna sighed like a serpent and wishing to kill the foremost among the Bharata lineage, shot fifteen iron arrows that had been sharpened on stone. Those forceful arrows were shafted with the feathers of herons and peacocks. They penetrated the king’s gold-decorated armour and entered the ground. O great king! Having been severely struck, your son looked dazzling, like a blossoming kimshuka dotted with flowers during the spring. His armour was shattered by the iron arrows. He was exhausted because of the blows. However, he angrily severed Dhrishtadyumna’s bow with a broad-headed arrow. O king! Having severed the bow, the lord of the earth swiftly struck him between the eyebrows with ten arrows. These arrows had been polished by artisans and with these, his
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face looked beautiful, like a flowering
champaka
tree visited by bees desiring honey.
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The great-minded Dhrishtadyumna abandoned the severed bow and quickly picking up another bow, struck Duryodhana with sixteen broad-headed arrows, slaying his horses and charioteer with five arrows. With a broad-headed arrow that was embellished with gold, he sliced down his bow. With nine broad-headed arrows, Parshata severed your son’s chariot, his seat, his umbrella, his lance, his sword, his club, his standard and his colourful and golden armlet, sparkling with gems and the sign of an elephant.
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All the kings saw that the standard of the lord of the Kurus had been brought down. In the battle, Duryodhana was without a chariot and deprived of his weapons. O bull among the Bharata lineage! His brother, Dandadhara, sought to rescue his brother. O king! While Dhrishtadyumna looked on, he raised the frightened king onto a chariot and bore him away.

‘ “Having defeated Satyaki, the immensely strong Karna wished to save the king. In the battle, he advanced against Drona’s fierce
slayer.
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Shini’s descendant quickly pursued him from the rear, showering down arrows, like an elephant goring another elephant from the rear with its tusks. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The great-souled warriors fought extremely fierce and great battle in the space between Karna and Parshata. The Pandava warriors, nor those on our side, desired to retreat. On seeing this, Karna swiftly advanced against the Panchalas. O best among men! At that time, there was a destruction of elephants, horses and men. When the sun attained midday, this gave rise to great fear. O great king! The Panchalas desired victory and quickly attacked Karna from all sides, like birds flocking to a tree. Adhiratha’s son was spirited and sought to angrily repulse them. With fierce arrows, he clashed against those who were at the forefront—Vyaghraketu, Susharma, Shanku, the fierce Dhananjaya,
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Shukla, Rochamana, Simhasena and Durjaya. Those valiant ones advanced forcefully on their chariots and surrounded the best of men. They angrily released many arrows towards Karna, the ornament of a battle. Those brave and powerful kings of men fought there. But Radheya killed all eight of them with sharp arrows. O great king! O king! In that encounter, the powerful son of a suta, skilled in fighting, then angrily slew many thousands of other warriors—Vishnu, Vishnukarma, Devapi, Bhadra, Danda, Chitra, Chitrayudha, Hari, Simhaketu, Rochamana,
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maharatha Shalabha and many other maharathas amongst the Chedis. While he was slaughtering them, the body of Adhiratha’s son was smeared in blood in all his limbs and he looked like the great Rudra himself. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Many elephants were afflicted by Karna’s arrows. Terrified, they fled in all the directions, causing greater destruction. Afflicted by Karna’s arrows, they shrieked and fell down in the encounter, roaring in many different ways, as if mountains had been shattered by the thunder. In every direction, elephants, horses and men fell down and the earth became impassable because of the large numbers of chariots and horses. No other person
on your side had performed such a deed in the battle—not Bhishma, nor Drona. O tiger among men! The son of a suta created a great destruction of elephants, chariots, horses and men. He was seen to fearlessly roam around, like a lion amidst deer. In that fashion, Karna fearlessly roamed around amidst the Panchalas. Just as large numbers of deer are driven away in diverse directions by a lion, in that way, the array of Panchala chariots was routed by Karna. On approaching a lion, a deer does not remain alive. In that way, on approaching Karna, the maharathas did not remain alive. People are usually burnt if they approach a blazing fire. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that way, in that battle, the Srinjayas were consumed by the fire that was Karna. O descendant of the Bharata linege! Proclaiming his name, Karna single-handedly killed many amongst the Chedis and the Panchalas who prided themselves on their bravery. O Indra among men! On witnessing Karna’s valour, I thought that not a single one among the Panchalas would escape from Adhiratha’s son in the battle.

‘ “O venerable one! Having slain the Panchalas in the battle, the powerful son of a suta angrily rushed against Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son. Dhrishtadyumna and Droupadi’s sons surrounded the king. The destroyer of enemies
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was surrounded by hundreds of others—Shikhandi, Sahadeva, Nakula, Nakula’s son, Janamejaya, Shini’s grandson and many Prabhadrakas. In that encounter, they placed Dhrishtadyumna at their forefront. Those infinitely energetic ones looked beautiful, as they attacked Adhiratha’s son with weapons. In that battle, Adhiratha’s son single-handedly descended on those Chedis, Panchalas and Pandavas, like Garuda on numerous serpents.

‘ “In that battle, Bhimsena, the great and angry archer, single-handedly attacked the Kurus, Madras and Kekayas and looked extremely resplendent in the encounter. Elephants were struck in their inner organs by Bhima’s iron arrows. With their riders slain, they fell down, making the earth tremble. Horses and their riders were slain and foot soldiers lost their lives. They were mangled and
lay down on the ground, vomiting copious quantities of blood. Thousands of rathas fell down, their weapons dislodged. Those that were not wounded lost their lives because of their fear of Bhima. The earth was strewn with chariots, horses, charioteers, foot soldiers and elephants that were destroyed by Bhimasena’s arrows. O king! Duryodhana’s army was afflicted because of Bhimasena’s strength and though it remained there, it was dispirited and covered with wounds. In that great and tumultuous battle, it was seen to be immobile and cheerless. O king! It looked like an ocean when the waters are still. Your son’s army had possessed the best of anger, valour and strength. But because of the arrows, it lost all that strength. It was covered in waves of blood and was drenched in blood. In the battle, the son of a suta angrily attacked the Pandava soldiers and the resplendent Bhimasena drove away the Kurus. There was a fierce battle there and it was extraordinary to behold.

‘ “In the midst of the army, having slain large numbers of samshaptakas, Arjuna, best among victorious ones, spoke to Vasudeva. ‘O Janardana! This army, which was fighting, has been shattered. The samshaptaka maharathas are running away, together with their followers. They cannot bear my arrows, like deer cannot stand the sound of a lion. In the great battle, the large army of the Srinjayas has also been shattered. O Krishna! The intelligent Karna’s standard, with the mark of an elephant’s housing, can be repeatedly seen, resplendent in the midst of the king’s soldiers. In a battle, I don’t think those maharathas are capable of defeating Karna. You know about Karna’s bravery and valour. Go to the spot where Karna is driving away our army. Abandon the battle here and advance against the maharatha son of a suta. O Krishna! Unless you are exhausted, do that, or whatever else you desire.’ O great king! Having been thus addressed, Govinda laughed. He told Arjuna, ‘O Pandava! Slay the Kouravas swiftly.’ Urged by Govinda, those horses, with the complexion of swans, penetrated that large army, bearing along Krishna and Pandava. The horses were controlled by Keshava. They were white, with golden harnesses. They penetrated your army and drove it away in the four directions. When Keshava and Arjuna entered, that large army was shattered. Those two greatly resplendent
ones were angry and dazzling. Their eyes were red with rage. They took delight in fighting and in that field of battle, were challenged by the enemy. They looked like the gods, the two Ashvins, summoned to a sacrifice by the officiating priests in the proper way. Since they were enraged, the speed of those tigers among men increased. In that great battle, they were like elephants enraged by the sound of slapping palms.
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Phalguna roamed around the arrays of chariots and the numerous horses. In the midst of those formations, he was like Yama with a noose in his hand. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On witnessing his valour in the battle, your son again urged the large numbers of samshaptakas. At this, one thousand chariots, three hundred elephants, fourteen thousand horses and two hundred thousand foot soldiers and archers attacked him in the great battle. They were known for their bravery. They were skilled. Those maharathas attacked and enveloped those two brave ones.
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Having been thus shrouded in the battle by arrows, the destroyer of enemy forces displayed his fierce self, like Yama with a noose in his hand. Partha slaughtered the samshaptakas and became a sight worth beholding. His arrows, decorated with gold, dazzled like lightning. Kiriti incessantly covered the sky with these. Mighty arrows were released from Kiriti’s arms and descended. They covered everything, with the radiance of Kadru’s offspring.
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They were gold-tufted and fierce at the tip. They were arrows with drooping tufts. Pandava, immeasurable in his soul, was seen to shoot them in all the directions. The maharatha killed ten thousand kings. Kounteya then swiftly attacked the extreme flank of the samshaptakas. Having approached the extreme flank, protected by the Kambojas, Partha crushed it with the force of his arrows, like Vasava against the danavas. Using broad-headed arrows, he swiftly servered the arms, with the hands still holding on to weapons, and the heads of those among the enemy who wished to slay him. Limbs and bodies were sliced down. Deprived
of weapons, they fell down on the ground. They were shattered, like trees with many branches broken by a storm. The storm that was Arjuna destroyed elephants, horses, chariots and infantry. Sudakshina’s younger brother showered down a hail of arrows on him.
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His arms were like clubs. However, with two arrows in the shape of a half-moon, he
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sliced off those arms. His face was like the full moon. However, with a kshurapra arrow, he severed that head. He fell down from his vehicle, exuding blood, like the summit of a mountain, when it is struck by the thunder and exudes red arsenic. Sudakshina’s younger brother, from Kamboja, was seen to be slain. He was tall. His eyes were like the petals of lotuses. He was extremely handsome. He was like a golden pillar, or a golden mountain, and was shattered. Thereafter, the battle continued and it was fierce and wonderful to behold. In many different ways, the warriors fought there. The Kambojas, the Yavanas and the Shakas abandoned their horses. O lord of the earth! All of them were covered with blood and everything seemed red. Chariots lost their rathas, horses and charioteers. The riders of horses were slain. The riders of elephants were killed. The drivers of elephants were slain. O great king! They fought with each other and created a great destruction of men.