Mahabharata: Volume 7 (23 page)

‘ “The great-souled Arjuna, foremost among victorious ones, destroyed the flank and the extreme flank.
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Drona’s son brandished his great bow, decorated with gold, and swiftly advanced against him. He released many terrible arrows that were like the rays of the sun. O great king! The arrows released by Drona’s son descended in all the directions. They enveloped Krishna and Dhananjaya, who were stationed on the chariot. Bharadvaja’s powerful descendant released hundreds of sharp arrows and in that battle, immobilized Madhava and Pandava. On seeing that the protectors of the mobile and the immobile were thus shrouded by arrows, lamentations arose everywhere, amidst the mobile and the immobile. Large numbers
of siddhas and charanas assembled there from every direction and began to reflect about the welfare of the worlds. O king! I have not witnessed valour like this earlier, as Drona’s son enveloped the two Krishnas with his arrows. The twang of the bow of Drona’s son generated great terror in the battle. O king! It was repeatedly heard, like the roaring of a lion. He roamed around in that battle, to the left and to the right. His bowstring was as beautiful as a cloud tinged with lightning. Pandava was swift in acting and his hand was firm. However, on seeing Drona’s son, he seemed to be overcome with great stupefaction. He thought that his own valour had been surpassed by the great-souled one. O king! In that battle, his
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form was impossible to behold. O Indra among kings! In that great battle between Drona’s son and Pandava, the great strength of Drona’s son was seen to increase. On seeing that Kounteya was waning, Krishna was overcome with rage. O king! He sighed repeatedly with rage and glanced towards Drona’s son and Phalguna in that encounter, as if burning them down with his eyes. Krishna angrily spoke to Partha, though with affection. ‘O Partha! On seeing you in this encounter, I find it to be extraordinary. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Drona’s son is surpassing you today. O Arjuna! Is Gandiva not in your hand? Or are you not stationed on your chariot? Are your arms well? Is your valour still there?’ Having been thus addressed by Krishna, he
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was enraged. At a time when speed was of the essence, he quickly used fourteen broad-headed arrows to destroy the bow and chariot of Drona’s son and also his standard, umbrella, flags, chariot, javelin and club. With vatsadanta arrows, he struck him severely in the shoulder joints. Having become completely unconscious, he
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grasped the pole of his standard. To protect him from Dhananjaya, his charioteer bore him away from the field of battle. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! At that time, Vijaya, the scorcher of enemies, destroyed hundreds and thousands of your soldiers, while your brave son looked on. Thus, as they engaged with
the enemy, there was the destruction of your soldiers. O king! That cruel and terrible destruction was because of your evil counsel. In that battle, Kounteya completely destroyed the samshaptakas, Vrikodara the Kurus and Vasushena the Panchalas.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “Krishna was advancing quickly and again spoke softly to Partha. ‘O Kouravya! Behold. The kings are advancing towards Pandava.
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Behold Karna in this great arena, blazing like a fire. This Bhima is a great archer and has returned to fight again. With Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront, the others have also returned and are following him—with the Panchalas, the Srinjayas and the Pandavas leading the way. The large army of the enemy is being shattered by the returning Parthas. O Arjuna! The Kouravas who were running away have been held together by Karna. His force is like that of Yama and his valour is Shakra’s equal. O Kouravya! Drona’s son, supreme among the wielders of weapons, is advancing there. In the battle, maharatha Dhrishtadyumna is advancing against him.’ In this way, the invincible Vasudeva described it to Kiriti. O king! Then, an extremely great and extremely fierce battle commenced. As the clash started, roars like lions’ were heard. O king! Both sets of soldiers preferred death to retreat.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “Without any fear, the Kurus and the Srinjayas started to fight again. The Parthas had Yudhishthira at the
forefront and we had Vaikartana at the forefront. There was a fierce battle between Karna and the Pandavas and it extended Yama’s kingdom and made the body hair stand up. That tumultuous battle created waves of blood. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Only a few of the samshaptakas remained. O great king! With Dhrishtadyumna and all the kings, the maharatha Pandavas rushed against Karna. They were cheerful and attacked in that battle, desiring victory. Alone in that battle, Karna received them, like a mountain receives a flood of water. Having clashed against Karna, those maharathas were shattered and beaten back in all the directions, like a flood of water against a mountain. O great king! The battle that commenced made the body hair stand up. Dhristhadyumna angrily asked Radheya to wait and struck him with an arrow with drooping tufts. The maharatha
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brandished Vijaya, foremost among bows, and severed Parshata’s bow with arrows that were like venomous serpents. He angrily struck Parshata with nine arrows. O unblemished one! The great-souled one shattered his gold-decorated armour and, covered with blood, they
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looked as beautiful as shakragopa insects. Maharatha Dhrishtadyumna discarded his severed bow and picked up another bow. With seven straight-tufted arrows that were like venomous serpents, he pierced Karna. O king! In that fashion, Karna, the great archer, pierced Parshata, the scorcher of enemies and Drona’s enemy,
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with sharp arrows. O great king! Karna angrily dispatched a gold-decorated arrow that was like Yama’s staff. O lord of the earth! O king! On seeing it suddenly descend, terrible in form, Shini’s descendant displayed the lightness of his hand and shattered it into seven fragments. O lord of the earth! On seeing that the arrow had been repulsed by arrows, Karna showered arrows from every direction on Satyaki. In that encounter, he pierced him with seven iron arrows and Shini’s descendant pierced him back with arrows that were decorated with gold. The battle that raged was fearful to those who saw and heard. O king! Though it was fearful in every
direction, it was wonderful to see. O king! On witnessing the deeds of Karna and Shini’s descendant in the battle, the body hair of all the beings there stood up.

‘ “Drona’s son was extremely strong. At that time, he rushed against Parshata, the destroyer of enemies who could rob the valour of the foe. Dhananjaya was still at a distance and Drona’s son angrily addressed him.
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‘O slayer of a brahmana! Stay. Stay. You will not escape from me with your life.’ Having spoken thus, the brave one swiftly struck Parshata and enveloped him with sharp arrows that were terrible in form and extremely energetic. The maharatha
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strove to the best of his capacity. O venerable one! In the encounter, Drona’s son glanced towards Parshata and in that encounter, Parshata, the slayer of enemy heroes, also glanced towards Drona’s son. In the battle, Drona’s son was delighted to see Parshata, the slayer of enemy heroes. But he was not greatly delighted, thinking that his own death might be before him.
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O Indra among kings! On seeing Dhrishtadyumna stationed in the battle, Drona’s brave son sighed with anger and attacked Parshata. On seeing each other, they were overcome with supreme rage. O great king! O lord of the earth! Drona’s powerful son swiftly approached Dhrishtadyumna and said, ‘O worst of the Panchala lineage! I will send you to death. On an earlier occasion, you committed an evil deed by killing Drona. O stupid one! You will regret that today and no longer remain hale, as long as you are stationed in the battle and not protected by Partha. I am telling you this truthfully.’ Having been thus addressed, the powerful Dhrishtadyumna replied. ‘I will reply to your words with my sword, which also answered your father when he endeavoured in the battle. You are a brahmana only in name. If Drona could be slain by me, why should I not use my valour and kill you in the battle?’ O great king! Having spoken thus, the intolerant Parshata, the commander-in-chief, pierced Drona’s son with sharp arrows. O king! In that encounter, Drona’s son became wrathful and enveloped
Dhrishtadyumna from every direction with straight-tufted arrows. O great king! Shrouded by thousands of arrows everywhere, the sky, the directions and the warriors could not be seen. O king! In that fashion, while the son of a suta looked on, Parshata enveloped Drona’s son, the ornament of a battle, with arrows. O great king! Meanwhile, while everyone looked on from every direction, Radheya single-handedly countered the Panchalas, the Pandavas, Droupadi’s sons, Yudhamanyu and maharatha Satyaki. In the battle, Dhrishtadyumna severed the bow of Drona’s son. Abandoning that bow in the battle, he picked up another bow that was powerful and terrible. O Indra among kings! Using arrows that were like venomous serpents, he sliced down Parshata’s bow, javelin, club and standard and in an instant, used his arrows to destroy his horses, charioteer and chariot. His bow was severed. He was without a chariot. His horses were slain. His charioteer was killed. He grasped a giant sword and a shield that blazed like the sun and was marked with the sign of one hundred moons. O Indra among kings! However, Drona’s maharatha son was brave. He was firm in using weapons and light in use of his hands. Before he
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could descend from his chariot, he swiftly severed these with his broad-headed arrows and it was extraordinary. Dhrishtadyumna was without a chariot. His horses had been slain and his bow had been severed. O best of the Bharata lineage! The maharatha
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tried his best. But though he tried his best, pierced him with many arrows and shattered his weapons, he could not kill him. O king! When Drona’s son could not kill him with his arrows, the brave one cast aside his bow and quickly advanced towards Parshata. O king! The great-souled one attacked and descended powerfully, like Garuda descending to pick up the best of serpents.

‘ “At this moment, Madhava spoke to Arjuna. ‘O Partha! Behold. Drona’s son is making great efforts for Parshata’s destruction and there is no doubt that he will kill him. O mighty-armed one! Free Parshata, the scorcher of enemies. He has reached the mouth of Drona’s son, as if he is within the mouth of death.’ O great king!
Having said this, the powerful Vasudeva swiftly urged the horses towards the spot where Drona’s son was. Those horses possessed the complexion of the moon and were urged by Keshava. As they advanced towards the chariot of Drona’s son, they seemed to drink up the sky. O king! On seeing that the immensely valorous and radiant Krishna and Dhananjaya were advancing, the immensely strong one
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made great efforts to kill Dhrishtadyumna. O lord of men! On seeing that Dhrishtadyumna was being dragged,
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the immensely strong Partha shot arrows towards Drona’s son. Those arrows were decorated with gold and dispatched from Gandiva. They severely struck Drona’s son and penetrated, like serpents entering a termite hill. Drona’s powerful son was devastated by those fierce arrows. Afflicted by Dhananjaya’s arrows, the brave one climbed onto his chariot. He picked up his supreme bow and pierced Partha with arrows. O lord of men! At this time, the brave Sahadeva picked up Parshata, the scorcher of enemies, on his chariot and bore him away. O great king! Arjuna pierced Drona’s son with arrows and Drona’s son angrily struck him on the arms and the chest. Becoming enraged in that battle, Partha used an iron arrow that was like death. It was like Yama’s staff and he released it towards Drona’s son. Immensely radiant, it descended on the brahmana’s shoulder. O great king! In that battle, because of the force of that arrow, he lost his senses. Overcome by supreme lassitude, he sank down on the floor of his chariot. O great king! On seeing Arjuna engaged in the battle, Karna repeatedly brandished his Vijaya bow. In the great battle, he desired to have a duel with Partha. On seeing that the brave one
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had lost his senses, his charioteer used his chariot to swiftly bear the destroyer of enemies away from the field of battle. O great king! On seeing that Parshata had been freed and Drona’s son afflicted, the Panchalas were delighted and became hopeful of victory. Thousands of divine musical instruments were sounded. On witnessing such terrible and extremely wonderful deeds, they roared
like lions. Having done this, Partha Dhananjaya spoke to Vasudeva. ‘O Krishna! Proceed towards the samshaptakas. That should be my next task.’ On hearing the words spoken by Pandava, Dasharha departed on the chariot that had many banners and possessed the speed of the wind or thoughts.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “At this time, Krishna spoke these words to Partha, pointing out to Kounteya, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira. ‘O Partha! Pandava, your brother, is being swiftly pursued by the immensely strong sons of Dhritarashtra. They are great archers and wish to kill him. The angry Panchalas, invincible in battle, are also following at great speed, wishing to save the great-souled Yudhishthira. O Partha! Duryodhana is the king of all the worlds. He is armoured and is following the king with an array of chariots. With his brothers, the powerful one desires to kill that tiger among men. Their touch is like that of venomous serpents and they are skilled in all manner of fighting. Wishing to kill him, these elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers are also advancing. The sons of Dhritarashtra are after Yudhishthira, like those after a supreme jewel. Behold. They have been checked by Satvata and the lord Bhima. They are like daityas desiring amrita, but held in check by Shakra and Agni. However, many of them are again swiftly advancing towards Pandava. Those maharathas are like waters made turbulent by the wind, rushing towards the ocean during the monsoon season. They are roaring like lions, or like clouds at the end of the summer. The powerful and great archers are brandishing their bows. I think that Yudhishthira, Kunti’s son, has entered the jaws of death. The fortunate one has come under Duryodhana’s subjugation and is like an oblation poured into the fire. O Pandava! The army of the sons of Dhritarashtra has been prepared properly. Even Shakra will not be able to escape, if he comes within the range
of their arrows. Duryodhana, Drona’s son and Sharadvata are brave. The force of Karna’s arrows can shatter mountains. Duryodhana is valiant and shoots a storm of arrows quickly. When he is angry, he is like Yama. Who is capable of withstanding his force in battle? The king, the scorcher of enemies, has already been forced to retreat by Karna, who is powerful, dexterous and accomplished, and skilled in fighting. Radheya is capable of oppressing the best of the Pandavas in the battle. In addition, the brave one is with the great-souled sons of Dhritarashtra. He
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is controlled in his soul. When he fought with them in the battle, other maharathas robbed Partha of his armour. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! The king is severely emaciated because of his fasts. He is established in the strength of the brahman, but he does not possess a great deal of strength of the kshatriya variety. O Partha! I do not think that Yudhishthira, the great king, will remain alive, even though Bhimasena is with him and is roaring intolerantly, like a lion. O scorcher of enemies! The sons of Dhritarashtra are roaring repeatedly. Desiring victory in the battle, they are blowing on their giant conch shells. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Pandaveya Yudhishthira will be killed. Karna will urge the immensely strong sons of Dhritarashtra towards Partha. He will shroud the king with
sthunakarna
,
indrajala
and pashupata and the maharathas will follow him.
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O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It is my view that the king must be in distress. At a time when speed is of the essence, the Panchalas and the Pandavas, supreme among all wielders of weapons, are following him. They are like powerful ones dashing to save someone who has been submerged in the nether regions. O Partha! The king’s flags cannot be seen. They may have been brought down by Karna’s arrows, while the twins, Satyaki, Shikhandi, Dhrishtadyumna, Bhima, the lord Shatanika and all the Panchalas and Chedis looked on. O
Partha! In this battle, Karna is destroying the Pandava soldiers with his arrows, like an elephant among lotuses. O descendant of the Pandu lineage! The rathas on your side are being driven away. O Partha! Look at how the maharathas are retreating. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the battle, the elephants have been struck by Karna. They are shrieking and are running away in the ten directions. O Partha! Behold. Arrays of chariots are fleeing in different directions. They have been routed in the battle by Karna, the destroyer of enemies. In the battle, behold the chariot of the son of the suta roaming around here and there. He is stationed on it. He has the best of standards and it is marked with the sign of an elephant’s housing. Radheya is advancing towards Bhimasena’s chariot. He is showering down hundreds of arrows and slaughtering your army. Behold the Panchalas being driven away by the great-souled one. He is like Shakra destroying the daityas in a great battle. This Karna has defeated the Panchalas, Pandus and Srinjayas. He is now searching around in all the directions for you. That is my view. O Partha! Behold. He looks beautiful, as he is stretching the best of bows. Having defeated the enemy, he is like Shakra, surrounded by large numbers of gods. On witnessing Karna’s valour, the Kouravas are roaring. Thousands of Parthas and Srinjayas have been frightened in the battle. In this great battle, he has wholeheartedly terrified the Pandus. O one who grants honours! Radheya is addressing all the soldiers. “O Kouravas! Attack them quickly. Advance and drive them away, so that no one among the Srinjayas can escape from this encounter with his life. Act united in this way and we will follow you.” Having said this, he is advancing behind them, showering arrows. O Partha! Behold Karna in the battle. He is under a white umbrella and is as radiant as the sun behind Mount Asta. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A white umbrella that is like the full moon and possesses a hundred spokes is held aloft his head in the battle. O lord of the earth! Karna is casting his glances around, looking for you. He will certainly make the best of efforts in this battle. O mighty-armed one! Behold him brandishing his giant bow. The immensely strong one is releasing arrows that are like venomous serpents. O one with the
ape on the banner! Radheya can be seen to be headed in this direction. He is advancing for his own destruction, like an insect towards a lamp. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing that Karna is alone, Dhritarashtra’s son has turned his array of chariots towards him, controlling them so as to protect him. If you desire fame, the kingdom and supreme happiness, make efforts to kill him, with all the evil-souled ones who are with him. O bull among the Bharata lineage! You have controlled your soul. Glance towards your own self. Radheya is firm in his hatred for the great-souled Yudhishthira. Accomplish the end that Radheya has set for himself. O noble one! Set your mind on fighting and repel that leader of rathas. O supreme among rathas! Five foremost rathas are powerfully advancing towards you,
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with hundreds of others. They are strong and fierce in their energy. There are five thousand elephants and twice that number of horses. O Kounteya! Ten thousand foot soldiers are also advancing. O brave one! Protecting each other, that army is advancing towards you. Reveal your own self to the son of a suta, the great archer. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Make the best of efforts and repulse them. This Karna is extremely angry and is attacking the Panchalas. Behold his flag in the direction of Dhrishtadyumna’s chariot. O scorcher of enemies! I think that he will uproot the Panchalas. O Partha! O bull among the Bharata lineage! But I will tell you something that will please you. Kouravya King Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, is alive. The mighty-armed Bhima has returned and is stationed at the head of the army. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He is surrounded by the Srinjaya soldiers and by Satyaki. O Kounteya! In this encounter, Bhimasena and the great-souled Panchalas are slaying the Kouravas with sharp arrows. The soldiers of Dhritarashtra’s son are retreating and running away from the field of battle. Slain by Bhima’s forceful arrows, they are being routed. With blood flowing from their wounds, they look like the earth after a crop has been harvested. O best of the Bharatas! The army of the Bharatas
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presents a miserable sight. O Kounteya!
Behold. They have been forced to retreat. Bhimasena, the lord of warriors, who is like a venomous serpent, has angrily driven away the army. O Arjuna! Yellow, red, black and white flags, with the signs of stars, the moon and the sun, and many umbrellas are strewn around. There are golden and silver standards and those that are made of other metals. They have been brought down and are scattered around, and so are elephants and horses. Deprived of their lives, rathas have fallen down from their chariots. They have been slain by many-hued arrows released by the Panchalas, who are not running away. O Dhananjaya! The army of the sons of Dhritarashtra is without men, elephants, horses and chariots, and the Panchalas are spiritedly driving it away. O scorcher of enemies! The enemy’s army was unassailable. But ready to give up their lives and seeking refuge with Bhimasena, they
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are driving it away. The Panchalas are roaring, like clouds at the end of the summer. They are driving away the enemy in the battle and slaying them with arrows. O scorcher of enemies! Behold the greatness of heaven before the Panchalas.
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They are angrily slaying the sons of Dhritarashtra, like lions against elephants. Every part of the large army of the sons of Dhritarashtra has been attacked. The force of the Panchalas is like that of swans that leave Manasa
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for the Ganga. Kripa, Karna and other brave ones are severely trying to counter the valorous Panchalas, like bulls against bulls. However, the maharathas among the sons of Dhritarashtra are deeply submerged in Bhima’s weapons. On seeing that the rathas in the great army of the sons of Dhritarashtra are distressed, the brave ones, with Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront, are slaying the enemy in thousands. Behold. The elephants have been shattered by Bhima’s iron arrows and are falling down. They are like summits that have fallen down on the ground, after being struck by the vajra of the wielder of the vajra. Mighty elephants have been struck by Bhimasena’s straight-tufted arrows. As they are running away, they
are slaying their own soldiers. Do you not know Bhima’s unbearable leonine roar? O Arjuna! Desiring victory in the battle, the brave one is roaring. Astride a supreme elephant, the Nishada
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is advancing against Pandava. He is angrily attacking him with javelins, like Yama with a staff in his hand. Bhima is roaring and breaking down those javelins with his bare hands. He has then used ten sharp iron arrows, which are like the flames of the fire, to slay him. Behold. Having slain him, the striker has again attacked other elephants that are like blue clouds and are driven by skilled drivers. Vrikodara has slain those elephants, seven at a time, with spears and javelins and has brought down their victorious standards. They have been slain and mangled with sharp arrows by Partha’s elder brother. Each of ten elephants has been slain by ten sharp arrows. The roars of the sons of Dhritarashtra can no longer be heard now. They have been forced to retreat by the angry bull among the Bharata lineage,
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who is Purandara’s equal. Three akshouhinis from the sons of Dhritarashtra united against him. However, Bhimasena, lion among men, angrily countered them.’ On seeing that Bhimasena had accomplished that extremely difficult deed, Arjuna slaughtered the remaining ones with his sharp arrows. O lord! Large numbers of samshaptakas were slaughtered in that battle. Bereft of sorrow and filled with delight, they became Shakra’s guests. With straight-tufted arrows, Partha, tiger among men, destroyed the fourfold
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army of the sons of Dhritarashtra.” ’