Mahabharata: Volume 7 (8 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “In the battle, the great archer, Karna, killed the Pandava soldiers with his straight-tufted arrows. O king! In
that fashion, in Karna’s presence, the maharatha Pandavas angrily killed your son’s soldiers. O king! The mighty-armed Karna killed the Pandava soldiers with iron arrows that had been polished by artisans and were like the rays of the sun. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The elephants were afflicted by Karna’s iron arrows. They roared loudly and were weakened. They lost their senses and fled in the ten directions. O venerable one! While the army was thus being slaughtered by the son of the suta, Nakula swiftly attacked the son of the suta in that great battle. Bhimasena advanced against Drona’s son, who was performing extremely difficult deeds. Satyaki countered Vinda and Anuvinda from Kekaya.
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Chitrasena, lord of the earth, advanced against Shrutakarma.
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With a colourful standard and a colourful bow, Chitra advanced against Prativindhya. Duryodhana attacked King Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son. Dhananjaya angrily attacked the large numbers of samshaptakas. When the brave ones were being killed, Dhrishtadyumna rushed against Kripa. Shikhandi attacked the undecaying Kritavarma. Shrutakirti
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attacked Shalya. O great king! Madri’s son, the powerful Sahadeva, attacked your son, Duhshasana.

‘ “In the encounter with Satyaki, the Kekayas showered down radiant arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Satyaki also enveloped the two from Kekaya. In the great battle, those two brothers severely struck the brave one in the chest and it was like two elephants striking another elephant with their tusks. With their armour pierced by arrows, the brothers were resplendent in the battle. O king! But they pierced Satyaki, who was truthful in his deeds, with arrows. O great king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! However, Satyaki countered them and laughed. He shrouded them in every direction with a shower of arrows. Having been repulsed by the shower of
arrows released by Shini’s descendant, they quickly enveloped the chariot of Shini’s descendant with arrows. In that great battle, Shouri severed their colourful bows.
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In that encounter, he repulsed them with sharp arrows that were difficult to withstand. They then grasped other bows and giant arrows in their fists and roaming around with skill and dexterity, covered Satyaki. They shot giant arrows that were tufted with the feathers of herons and peacocks and were decorated. They were embellished with gold and illuminated all the directions. O king! Because of the arrows released, there was darkness in the great battle there. Those maharathas severed each other’s bows. O great king! Satvata, indomitable in battle, became enraged. In that encounter, he picked up and strung another bow. With an extremely sharp
kshurapra
arrow, he severed Anuvinda’s head. O king! That large head, with earrings, fell down on the ground, like Shambara’s head when he was killed in the great battle.
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On seeing that he swiftly fell down on the ground, all the Kekayas grieved. On seeing that his brave brother had been killed, the maharatha
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strung another bow and countered Shini’s descendant. He pierced Satyaki with gold-tufted spears that had been sharpened on stone.
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The maharatha from Kekaya roared loudly and powerfully and asking Satyaki to wait, struck him in the arms and in the chest with arrows that were like the flames of fires. The wise and spirited Satvata was wounded in all his limbs by these arrows. O king! He was resplendent in that battle, like a
kimshuka
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with leaves. Having been pierced by the great-souled Kekaya in the battle, Satyaki laughed and pierced Kekaya with twenty-five arrows. In their excellent arms, they grasped shields that were marked with the signs of one hundred moons. Wielding the best of swords, they roamed around in that great arena. It was like
the immensely strong Jambha and Shakra in the battle between the gods and the asuras.
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In the great battle, they roamed around in circles and swiftly attacked each other, wishing to kill each other in the encounter. Satvata severed Kekaya’s shield into two fragments and in that way, the king also shattered Satyaki’s shield. Having severed the shield that was marked with the signs of hundreds of stars, Kekaya whirled around in circles, advancing and retreating. Wielding the best of swords, Shini’s descendant also roamed around in that great arena and striking sideways, severed Kekaya’s head. O king! Still wearing his armour, in that great battle, the great archer from Kekaya was severed into two parts and fell down, like a mountain shattered by thunder. Having killed him in the battle, Shini’s brave descendant, supreme among rathas and scorcher of enemies, quickly climbed onto Yudhamanyu’s chariot. He then again ascended a different chariot that had been prepared properly. Using his arrows, Satyaki began to slaughter the large army of the Kekayas. The large army of the Kekayas was slaughtered in that battle. It abandoned the enemy in the encounter and fled in the ten directions.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “O great king! In the encounter, Shrutakarma angrily struck Chitrasena, lord of the earth, with fifty arrows that had been sharpened on stone. The king of Abhisara
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struck Shrutakarma with nine straight-tufted arrows and pierced his charioteer with five. In the forefront of the army, Shrutakarma became enraged. He struck Chitrasena in his inner organs with extremely sharp iron arrows. Using the opportunity,
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the immensely
illustrious Shrutakirti shrouded the lord of the earth with ninety arrows. Having recovered his senses, maharatha Chitrasena severed his
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bow with a broad-headed arrow and pierced him with seven arrows. He grasped another bow that was decorated with gold and could strike hard. Piercing Chitrasena with arrows, he made him look colourful. The youthful king was adorned with colourful garlands and was made colorful by the arrows. He looked like an ornamented youth in an assembly. In that encounter, angrily asking Shrutakarma to wait, he pierced him between the breasts with iron arrows. In the battle, Shrutakarma was pierced by those iron arrows and began to shed copious quantities of blood, like a mountain exuding red minerals. His limbs were covered in blood and he was like a picture drawn in blood. O king! In that battle, he was as resplendent as a blossoming kimshuka. O king! Having been thus struck by the enemy, Shrutakarma angrily countered the foe and severed his bow into two. O best of the Bharata lineage! Having severed his bow, the immensely illustrious Shrutakarma pierced him with three hundred iron arrows. Swiftly, he severely struck him with another sharp and broad-headed arrow and severed the great-souled one’s helmeted head. Chitravarma’s
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extremely large head fell down on the ground, as if the moon was wilfully dislodged from heaven and fell down on the surface of the ground. O venerable one! On seeing that the king of Abhisara had been killed, Chitrasena’s soldiers attacked with force. However, Shrutakarma, the great archer, angrily used his arrows to drive away those soldiers, like the wrathful lord of the dead
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at the time of the destruction of all beings. Having driven them away, he roamed around there.

‘ “Prativindhya pierced Chitra with five swift arrows and having pierced his charioteer with three, brought down his standard with a single arrow. Chitra struck him in the chest and the arms with nine broad-headed arrows that were gold-tufted, sharpened on stone and shafted with the feathers of herons and peacocks. O descendant of
the Bharata lineage! Prativindhya used his arrows to sever his bow and then struck that ratha with five sharp arrows. O great king! He hurled a spear towards your son.
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It possessed a golden handle and was difficult to resist. It was terrible and was like the flame of a fire. As it descended, Prativindhya severed it with his sharp arrows. It was like the vajra frightening all beings at the end of a yuga and on seeing that this spear had been destroyed, Chitra grasped a large club. It was decorated with nets of gold and he hurled it towards Prativindhya. In that great battle, it slew his horses and his charioteer. It struck his chariot with great force and crushed it down on the ground. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! At this time, he ascended another chariot and hurled a spear that was decorated with golden bells towards Chitra. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As it descended, the great-souled Chitra seized it and flung it back towards Prativindhya. In the battle, the immensely radiant spear struck the brave Prativindhya. It pierced his right arm and fell down on the surface of the earth. Having fallen down, because of its radiance, like lightning, it lit up the spot where it had fallen down. O king! Prativindhya grasped a javelin that was decorated with gold. Wishing to kill Chitra, he angrily hurled it towards him. It pierced the armour on his body and his heart. It then swiftly penetrated the ground, like a snake entering its hole. The king was struck by that javelin and was brought down, extending his large and thick arms that were like clubs. On seeing that Chitra, the ornament of a battle, was killed, all those on your side powerfully attacked Prativindhya from all directions. They released many kinds of arrows and shataghnis with bells. They quickly enveloped him, like the sun by a mass of clouds. But in that encounter, the mighty-armed one struck them with a net
of arrows and drove away those soldiers, like the wielder of the vajra against the asuras. O king! In the battle, those on your side were slaughtered by the Pandavas. They were violently dispersed, like the clouds by the wind. The army was slaughtered and scattered in all the directions. Drona’s son alone quickly attacked the immensely strong Bhimasena. A terrible and violent clash ensued between them. It was like that between Vritra and Vasava in the battle between the gods and the asuras.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “O king! Drona’s son possessed supreme speed. He displayed his dexterity with weapons and struck Bhimasena with an arrow. He then again struck him with another ninety sharp arrows in his inner organs. He was light in the use of his hands and had seen and was knowledgeable about where the weak spots were. O king! Having been struck by the sharp arrows shot by Drona’s son, Bhimasena was resplendent in that battle, like the sun with its rays. Pandava shot one thousand well-aimed arrows and enveloping Drona’s son, emitted a roar like a lion. O king! In the encounter, Drona’s son countered Pandava with one hundred arrows and smiling, struck him in the forehead with an iron arrow. O king! Bearing that arrow on his forehead, Pandava looked like a proud and horned rhinoceros in the forest. While Drona’s son was making his efforts in the battle, the valiant Bhima also seemed to smile and struck him in the forehead with three iron arrows. With those arrows stuck to his forehead, the brahmana was resplendent. He looked like a supreme mountain with three peaks, drenched during the rains. Drona’s son struck Pandava with one hundred arrows, but could not make him tremble, like the wind against a mountain. Drona’s son used hundreds of other sharp arrows in the battle. However, he could not make the cheerful Pandava tremble, like the wind against a mountain.
The maharathas shrouded each other with many other showers of arrows. They were proud in the battle and roaming around on their chariots, the brave ones were resplendent. They blazed like a couple of suns that had arisen for destroying beings. Their supreme arrows were like rays and they scorched each other with these. In that great battle, they acted and counteracted each other. Without any fear, they made efforts to act and counteract. The maharathas roamed around in that battle, like tigers. The invincible arrows were like the teeth and the terrible bows were like the mouths. With nets of arrows on all sides, they became invisible. It was as if the sun or the moon in the sky was enveloped by a net of clouds. But in a short instant, those two scorchers of enemies became visible again, like the moon and the sun in the sky, freed from the net of clouds.

‘ “Drona’s son placed Vrikodara on his right and showered down hundreds of sharp arrows, like rain pouring down on a mountain. However, Bhima was not ready to tolerate signs of his enemy being victorious. O king! Remaining on the right, Pandava began to execute circular motions, advancing and retreating. In that great battle, there was a tumultuous encounter between them. In that spot, they traversed along various circular paths. They drew their bows back to the full extent and struck each other with arrows. The maharathas made the best efforts to kill each other. In that battle, they used their arrows to try and deprive each other of their chariots. Drona’s maharatha son released many great weapons and in that encounter, Pandava destroyed them with his own weapons. O great king! There was an extremely fierce battle with those weapons. It was as if there was a tremendous clash between the planets, for the sake of destroying beings. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those arrows were swiftly released and clashed against each other. They illuminated all the directions and the soldiers on every side. Because of the large numbers of arrows, the sky looked terrible. O king! It was as if meteors were descending to destroy beings. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As the torrents of arrows clashed against each other, sparks of fire were generated and those blazing flames
consumed both the armies. O great king! The
siddha
s
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descended there and said, ‘This encounter is superior to all other encounters. All other battles do not amount to one-sixteenth of this.
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Such an encounter has not happened earlier, nor will it happen again. These two lords are knowledgeable and terrible in their valour. Bhima is terrible in his valour and the other one is skilled in the use of weapons. They represent the essence of valour and great is their skill. They are stationed in the battle like two Destroyers. They are like two Rudras or like two suns. In this battle, those two tigers among men have terrible forms, like two Yamas.’ At that time, we repeatedly heard these words spoken by the siddhas. Among the assembled denizens of heaven, there were roars like lions, on witnessing the extraordinary and unthinkable deeds performed by them in that battle. O king! Having injured each other in that encounter, those two brave ones glanced towards each other, their eyes dilated with rage. Their eyes were red with anger. Their lips trembled in rage. They gnashed their teeth in wrath. They bit their lips in ire. The maharathas enveloped each other with showers of arrows. In that encounter, the arrows were like rain pouring from clouds. The weapons were like lightning. The maharathas pierced each other’s standards and charioteers. They pierced each other’s horses and struck each other. O great king! In that great encounter, they picked up two arrows and swiftly released them towards each other, wishing to kill each other. O great king! At the heads of the two armies, those two arrows blazed and struck each other, with an irresistible force that was like that of the vajra. They severely wounded each other through the force of those arrows. Those two, who were extremely valiant, sank down on the floors of their chariots. O king! While all the kshatriyas looked on, knowing that Drona’s son had become unconscious, his charioteer bore him away from the field of battle. O king! In similar fashion, Pandava, the scorcher of enemies, repeatedly lost his senses and his charioteer bore him away on the chariot.” ’