Mahabharata: Volume 7 (41 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “O venerable one! When Dharmaraja was thus afflicted by the king of Madra, Satyaki, Bhimasena and the Pandavas who were Madri’s sons surrounded Shalya with chariots and oppressed him in the battle. On seeing that the single-handed one was afflicted by the maharathas, great sounds of praise arose from the delighted siddhas.
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The assembled sages also said that it
was extraordinary. Shalya was like a dart in his valour
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and in the battle, Bhimsena pierced him with an arrow. He then pierced him again with seven. Satyaki wished to rescue Dharma’s son. He covered the lord of Madra with hundreds of arrows and roared like a lion. Nakula pierced him with five arrows. Sahadeva pierced him with seven and then swiftly pierced him again with another seven. While he endeavoured in the battle, the brave one was afflicted by those maharathas. He brandished his terrible bow, which was extremely forceful and capable of bearing a great load. O venerable one! Shalya pierced Satyaki with twenty-five arrows, Bhimasena with seventy-three and Nakula with seven. In the battle, he used broad-headed arrows to sever the archer Sahadeva’s bow, with an arrow affixed to it, and pierced him with seventy-three arrows. Sahadeva strung another bow. In the encounter, he struck his greatly radiant maternal uncle with five arrows that were like virulent serpents and blazed like the fire. In the battle, extremely enraged, he struck his charioteer with arrows with drooping tufts and pierced him
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again with three arrows. Bhimasena struck Shalya in his body with seventy-three arrows, Satyaki with nine and Dharmaraja with sixty. O great king! Shalya was pierced by those maharathas. Blood began to flow from his body, like red chalk from a mountain. O king! He spiritedly struck those great archers with five arrows each and it was wonderful. O venerable one! He then used another broad-headed arrow to sever the bow of Dharma’s son in the battle. At this, Dharma’s maharatha son picked up and strung another bow and shrouded Shalya, his horses, his charioteer, his standard and his chariot with arrows. He was thus enveloped in the encounter by the arrows of Dharma’s son. He pierced Yudhishthira with ten sharp arrows. Satyaki was angry that Dharma’s son was thus afflicted by arrows. He enveloped the brave lord of Madra with torrents of arrows. In Bhimasena’s presence, he then used a kshurapra arrow to slice down Satyaki’s large bow and struck him with three arrows. O great king! Satyaki, for whom truth was his valour, became wrathful. He hurled an extremely expensive
spear with a golden handle. Bhimasena shot an iron arrow that was like a flaming serpent. In the battle, Nakula hurled a javelin and Sahadeva a sparkling club. Dharmaraja used a shataghni. All of them wished to kill Shalya in the battle.

‘ “They were swiftly released from the arms of those five.
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Shalya severed the spear Satyaki had hurled with a broad-headed arrow. Bhima had shot an arrow decorated with gold. In the battle, the powerful one displayed the dexterity of his hands and severed it into two fragments. Nakula had hurled a fearful javelin with a golden handle and Sahadeva a club. He countered these with torrents of arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! While the sons of Pandu looked on, he used a couple of arrows to sever the king’s shataghni and roared like a lion. Shini’s descendant could not tolerate that the enemy should be victorious in the battle. Senseless with rage, Satyaki picked up another bow. With two arrows, he pierced the lord of Madra and used another three to pierce his charioteer. O great king! Shalya became extremely angry. He severely pierced each of them with ten arrows, like a giant elephant being struck with a goad. In the encounter, those maharathas were repulsed by the king of Madra. Those slayers of enemies were incapable of remaining before him. King Duryodhana witnessed Shalya’s valour and thought that the Pandavas, the Panchalas and the Srinjayas had been killed. O king! The mighty-armed and powerful Bhimasena made up his mind to give up his life and fought with the lord of Madra. Nakula, Sahadeva and maharatha Satyaki surrounded Shalya and showered down arrows on him. The powerful king of Madra was surrounded by those four Pandava maharathas and great archers. However, he fought with them. O king! In the great battle, Dharmaraja used a kshurapra arrow to swiftly slay the one who was guarding the chariot wheel of the king of Madra.
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The king of Madra was extremely strong and enveloped the soldiers with arrows. O king! On seeing that the soldiers were enveloped in that battle, Dharmaraja Yudhisthira
began to think. ‘The great words that were spoken by Madhava have really come true. I hope that the king will not angrily destroy my army in the battle.’ O Pandu’s elder brother! With their chariots, elephants and horses, the Pandavas approached the lord of Madra and afflicted him from every direction. They used many diverse kinds of weapons. A shower of arrows arose. O king! In the battle, he drove these away, like clouds dispelled by the wind. Shalya poured down gold-tufted arrows. We beheld that shower of arrows, like locusts descending. The king of Madra released those arrows in the field of battle. We saw them descend, like a flight of locusts. Gold-decorated arrows were shot from the king of Madra’s bow. O lord of men! They did not leave a single bit of space in the sky. Nothing could be discerned there, the Pandavas, nor those on our side. He created a great darkness because of those arrows and there was great fear. The powerful king of Madra used his dexterity to shower down arrows. The Pandava army was seen to be agitated there, like the ocean. The gods, the gandharvas and the danavas were overcome by great wonder. O venerable one! Everyone who strove against him was afflicted by those arrows. He enveloped Dharmaraja and roared repeatedly, like a lion. The Pandava maharathas were shrouded by him in that battle. In the encounter, no one was capable of standing up to the maharatha and fighting against him. But those that had Dharmaraja at their head or the rathas who had Bhimasena at the forefront, did not retreat in the battle before the brave Shalya, the ornament of a battle.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “In the battle, Drona’s son pierced Arjuna with many iron arrows and so did his followers, the brave maharathas from Trigarta. In the encounter, he pierced Drona’s son with three arrows sharpened on stone. Dhananjaya pierced the other great archers with two arrows each. The mighty-armed one showered
down arrows again. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Those on your side were impaled with arrows, like thorns. But though they were slaughtered by those sharp arrows, they did not abandon Partha in that battle. With Drona’s son at the forefront, in the battle, the maharathas surrounded Arjuna with an array of chariots and fought against him. O king! They shot arrows decorated with gold. They swiftly covered the seat of Arjuna’s chariot. The two Krishnas were bulls among all archers. They were great archers. On seeing that their limbs were covered with arrows, the ones who found delight in battle rejoiced.
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O lord! The pole, wheels, staff, harnesses and yoke of the chariot were completely covered with arrows and looked beautiful. O king! The likes of what those on your side did to Partha had not been seen earlier, nor heard of. Covered by those sharp arrows with colourful tufts, the chariot was dazzling. It was as if a celestial vehicle had come down on earth and was blazing because of a hundred torches. O great king! Arjuna used arrows with straight tufts to repel those soldiers, like a cloud pouring down rain on a mountain. In the battle, they were slaughtered by Partha’s arrows, which were marked with his name. They thought that the entire field was full of many Parthas. Partha was like a fire. The arrows were flames. The great twang of the bow was the wind that fanned it. The soldiers on your side were the kindling. It was extraordinary. Wheels and yokes fell down on the ground, together with quivers, flags, standards and chariots. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There were arrows, housings, trivenus, wheels, yokes and goads in every direction. Heads fell down, wearing earrings and headdresses. O great king! Arms and shoulders were strewn around everywhere. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Along the path of Partha’s chariot, umbrellas, whisks, crowns and reins could be seen. Because of the mire created by flesh and blood, the earth became impassable. O best of the Bharata lineage! It looked like Rudra’s sporting ground. This generated fear among cowards and increased the delight of brave ones. O scorcher of enemies! Partha destroyed two thousand chariots in that encounter, together with their bumpers. He was like
a flame without smoke. O king! Maharatha Partha was seen there, like the smokeless and illustrious Agni, consuming all mobile and immobile objects.

‘ “On witnessing Pandava’s valour in the battle, Drona’s son countered Pandava, on a chariot with many flags. Those two tigers among men were the best of archers and were borne on white horses. They swiftly clashed against each other, wishing to kill each other. O great king! O bull among the Bharata lineage! The extremely terrible shower of arrows was like rain pouring down from clouds. They rivalled each other with their straight-tufted arrows. Like two bulls with horns, they mangled each other in that encounter. O great king! The battle between them lasted for a long time. There was a great and terrible clash of weapons there. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Drona’s son pierced Arjuna with twelve gold-tufted arrows that were extremely energetic and Vasudeva with ten. In the great battle, Bibhatsu showed respect towards his preceptor’s son for a short while. Then he laughed and stretched his Gandiva bow. Maharatha Savyasachi deprived him of his horses, charioteer and chariot and gently pierced him with three arrows. Though his horses had been slain, Drona’s son remained stationed on that chariot. He smiled and hurled a club that was like a bludgeon towards Pandu’s son. It was bound in golden cloth and descended with great violence. But the brave Partha, the destroyer of enemies, shattered it into seven fragments. On seeing that the club had been shattered, Drona’s son became supremely angry. He picked up a terrible bludgeon that was like the summit of a king of mountains. Drona’s son was skilled in fighting and hurled this towards Partha. Pandava saw that the bludgeon had been angrily flung towards him. Arjuna used five supreme arrows to swiftly slice it down. In the great battle, shattered by Partha’s arrows, it fell down on the ground. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! That sound shattered the minds of the kings. Pandava then pierced Drona’s son with three supreme weapons. The extremely strong one was severely and powerfully struck by Partha. However, Drona’s son resorted to his manliness and wasn’t frightened.

‘ “O king! While all the kshatriyas looked on, Bharadvaja’s maharatha son covered Sudharma with a storm of arrows. At this,
the Panchala maharatha Suratha attacked Drona’s son on his chariot, making a sound like the roaring of clouds. He brandished his supreme bow, which was firm and was capable of bearing all loads. He shot flaming arrows that were like venomous serpents. In the battle, when maharatha Suratha angrily descended, Drona’s son became wrathful, like a snake that has been struck with a staff. His brows furrowed into three lines and he licked the corners of his mouth. He glanced at Suratha in rage and rubbed his bowstring. He shot a sharp iron arrow that was like Yama’s staff. It powerfully pierced and shattered his heart and then penetrated the ground, like Shakra’s unleashed vajra. Slain by the iron arrow, he fell down on the ground. It was as if an extremely large mountain top had been shattered by thunder. When that brave one was killed, Drona’s powerful son, supreme among rathas, swiftly climbed onto his chariot.
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O great king! Drona’s son was invincible in battle. Equipped and supported by the samshaptakas in the encounter, he fought with Arjuna. There was a great battle between Arjuna and the enemy. It extended Yama’s kingdom. The sun reached midday. The valour that they exhibited was wonderful to see. Arjuna single-handedly fought with many enemies at the same time. The great clash between Arjuna and the enemy was like that in earlier times, between Shatakratu and the daitya soldiers.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “O great king! Duryodhana and Parshata Dhrishtadyumna fought a great battle, with innumerable arrows and javelins. O great king! They shot thousands of torrents of arrows. It was like rain pouring down from clouds during the monsoon. The king pierced Parshata with five arrows that were made out of iron. He then again pierced the fierce one who had killed Drona with seven arrows. In the encounter, Dhrishtadyumna
was powerful and firm in his valour. He struck Duryodhana with seventy arrows. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On seeing that the king was afflicted, his brothers surrounded Parshata with a large army. O king! Severely surrounded by those brave atirathas from all sides, he roamed around in the battle, exhibiting the dexterity of his hands. Shikhandi, supported by the Prabhadrakas, fought with the maharatha archers, Kritavarma and Goutama. O lord of the earth! There was a great battle there, fierce in form. They were ready to give up their lives in the battle and offered their lives as stakes in the gambling match.

‘ “Shalya showered down arrows in every direction. He afflicted the Pandavas, including Satyaki and Vrikodara. O Indra among kings! Using his valour and strength, he also fought in that encounter with the twins, who were like Yama in their prowess. When the Pandavas were afflicted by Shalya’s arrows in the great battle, those maharathas could not find a protector. On seeing that Dharmaraja was oppressed, the brave Nakula, Madri’s son, powerfully attacked his maternal uncle. Nakula, the destroyer of enemy heroes, enveloped Shalya in that battle. He smiled and struck him between the breasts with ten arrows. These arrows were completely made out of iron and had been polished by artisans. They were gold-tufted and sharpened on stone. They were propelled from the implement of the bow. Shalya was struck by his sister’s great-souled son and pierced Nakula with straight-flying arrows. At this, King Yudhishthira, Bhimasena, Satyaki and Madri’s son, Sahadeva, attacked the king of Madra. They descended swiftly and the directions and the sub-directions resounded with the roar of their chariots. The earth trembled. The conqueror of enemies, the commander, received them in the battle. He pierced Yudhishthira with three arrows, Bhimasena with seven, Satyaki with one hundred and Sahadeva with three arrows. O venerable one! The lord of Madra used a kshurapra arrow to slice down the great-souled Nakula’s bow, with an arrow affixed to it. When his bow was shattered and destroyed by Shalya’s arrows, Madri’s maharatha son quickly picked up another bow and covered the king of Madra’s chariot with arrows. O venerable one! Both Yudhishthira and Sahadeva pierced the lord of Madra in the chest with ten arrows each. Bhimasena attacked the king of Madra and struck him with sixty arrows shafted with the feathers of herons. Satyaki did the same with nine arrows. The king of Madra angrily struck Satyaki with nine arrows and pierced him again with seventy arrows with drooping tufts. O venerable one! He struck down the bow in his
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hand, with an arrow affixed to it and, in the battle, dispatched his four horses to the land of the dead. Satyaki was deprived of his chariot by the immensely strong king of Madra, who struck him with one hundred arrows from every direction. O Kouravya! He then pierced Madri’s angry sons, Pandava Bhimasena and Yudhishthira with ten arrows each. We witnessed the king of Madra’s extraordinary manliness. Even though they were together, the Parthas could not counter him in the battle.

‘ “Satyaki, for whom truth was his valour, climbed onto another chariot. He saw that the Pandavas were afflicted and had come under the king of Madra’s subjugation. The powerful one attacked the lord of Madra with force. On seeing that he was descending on his chariot, Shalya, the ornament of an assembly, countered him on his chariot, like a crazy elephant against another crazy elephant. The clash that ensued was tumultuous and wonderful to behold. The brave Satyaki and the lord of Madra fought, like the ancient battle between Shambara and the kind of the immortals. On seeing that the king of Madra was stationed in the battle, Satyaki asked him to wait and pierced him with ten arrows. The king of Madra was grievously pierced by the great-souled one. He pierced Satyaki back with sharp arrows that were colourfully tufted. The Parthas, great archers, saw that the king was assailed by Satvata. Wishing to kill their maternal uncle, they quickly attacked him on their chariots. In that supreme and tumultuous encounter, blood flowed like water. The brave ones fought and roared like lions. O great king! They mangled each other. In the encounter, they shot arrows and roared like lions. The earth was covered with thousands of torrents of arrows. The firmament was also suddenly covered with arrows. In every direction, those arrows created a great darkness. The arrows
shot by the great-souled ones created a shadow, like that of clouds. O king! The arrows released there were like snakes that had cast off their skins. They were gold-tufted and made the directions blaze. Shalya, the destroyer of enemies, was supreme and wonderful. In the battle, he single-handedly fought against many brave ones. Arrows, shafted with the feathers of herons and peacocks, were released from the king of Madra’s arms. That terrible torrent of arrows descended and covered the earth. O king! Shalya’s chariot roamed around in the great battle there. We saw him, like Shakra in earlier times, when the asuras were being destroyed.” ’