Mahabharata: Volume 8 (9 page)

‘“There were others who were repeatedly struck and lost their senses. Those kshatriyas were afflicted by fear and tried to run away
from the camp. Terrified and seeking to preserve their lives, they emerged from the camp. In the vicinity of the gate, they were killed by Kritavarma and Kripa. They were devoid of weapons, implements and armour. Their hair was dishevelled and they joined their hands in salutation. They trembled on the ground and were terrified. They begged to be set free. O great king! But those who emerged outside the camp were not set free by the evil-minded Kripa and Hardikya. They also wanted to do that which would please Drona’s son. Therefore, in three places, they set fire to the camp. O great king! When the camp was thus lit, Ashvatthama, the one who delighted his father, roamed around with the sword, exhibiting the dexterity of his hands. Some brave ones attacked, others ran away. The best of brahmanas used his sword to rob all those men of their lives. The valiant one severed some warriors in the middle with his sword. Drona’s son angrily brought them down, as if they were stalks of sesamum. Men, horses and the best of elephants shrieked in grievous tones. O bull among the Bharata lineage! They fell down and were strewn all over the ground. Thousands of men were slain and fell down. There were many headless torsos which were seen to rise and then fall down again. Arms with weapons and armlets, and heads, were severed. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There were thighs that were like the trunks of elephants, and arms and feet. The backs of some were mangled, and the heads of others. The flanks of others were mangled. Drona’s son attacked them all, while some retreated. He severed the bodies of some men at the middle and sliced off the ears of others. He struck others on the shoulders and pressed down the heads of some into their bodies. While he roamed around, slaughtering many men, the terrible night was covered in darkness and seemed to become even more fearful. Some still had some life left. Other men were slain in thousands. There were innumerable elephants and horses on the ground and it looked terrible. It was full of
yaksha
s
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and rakshasas. It was terrible because of the chariots, the horses and the elephants. As Drona’s son angrily severed them, they fell down on the ground.
Some screamed for their mothers, others for their fathers, and still others for their brothers.

‘“Some exclaimed, ‘The angry sons of Dhritarashtra could not accomplish this in the battle. While we were sleeping, the evil-acting rakshasas have done this.
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As long as he is protected by Janardana, Kounteya is incapable of being vanquished by gods, asuras,
gandharva
s,
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yakshas and rakshasas. He is devoted to brahmanas. He is truthful in speech. He is controlled. He is compassionate towards all beings. Partha Dhananjaya does not kill one who is sleeping, one who is distracted, one who has cast aside his weapons, one who has joined his hands in salutation, one who is running away, or one whose hair is dishevelled. These rakshasas, evil in their deeds, are perpetrating these terrible acts on us.’ Lamenting in this way, many men lay down. The lamentations of men and the shrieks of others died down in a short while. That great and tumultuous sound was pacified. O lord of the earth! The earth was sprinkled with blood and because of that, the large and fierce dust swiftly disappeared. Thousands of men were bereft of enterprise and writhed around in agony. As they fell down, those men were angrily killed, like Pashupati
¹¹¹
amidst animals. There were some who clung to each other as they lay down. There were others who ran away. Some tried to hide, while others tried to fight. However, Drona’s son brought all of them down. They were burnt by the flames and slaughtered by him. O Indra among kings! Before half of the night was over, that large army of the Pandavas was conveyed by Drona’s son to Yama’s abode. That night increased the delight of creatures that roam around in the night, though it caused a terrible carnage among men, elephants and horses. Many different kinds of rakshasas and
pishacha
s were seen there. They fed on the flesh of men and drank the blood. They were fierce, tawny and terrible. They had teeth like stone and were covered with blood. Their hair was matted and their thighs were long. They had five feet and large
stomachs. There were those with five fingers, harsh and malformed, with terrible roars. Some had knees that were like jars. Others were short in stature, blue in the throat and fierce. They were extremely cruel and hideous. They were abominable and came with their sons and wives. Rakshasas of many different kinds of forms were seen there. They cheerfully drank the blood. Others danced around in large numbers. They exclaimed, ‘This is great. This is pure. This is tasty.’ There were also carnivorous creatures that subsisted on flesh. They fed on the fat, marrow, bones, blood, oily substances and other parts of the body that they regarded as excellent meat. Other demons
¹¹²
drank the fat that flowed and danced around. There were terrible and fierce carnivorous creatures that fed on flesh, with many kinds of mouths. They came there, in tens of thousands, millions and tens of millions. There were gigantic rakshasas terrible in form, the performers of cruel deeds. They were delighted and satisfied at this destruction. O lord of men! Many such demons assembled.

‘“When it was morning, Drona’s son desired to leave the camp. His body was covered in human blood and the sword was still in his grasp. O lord! It was as if the sword had become one with his hand. Having destroyed the men, he was resplendent in that carnage of men. He was like a fire that consumes all beings, when the destruction of a yuga is near. O lord! Drona’s son accomplished the task that he swore to undertake, but walked along an undesirable path. He followed an extremely difficult path and forgot the fever on account of his father. The camp was asleep, when he had entered in the night and killed. In a similar silence, the bull among men emerged. With the other two,
¹¹³
the valiant one emerged from the camp. O lord! He joyfully told them what he had accomplished and delighted them. They also told him about the pleasant deeds that they had undertaken and about how they had destroyed thousands of Panchalas and Srinjayas. They roared in delight and slapped their palms. In this way, that night caused a great destruction of men among the Somakas. While they were asleep and unconscious, this
terrible and fearful destruction took place. There is no doubt that the course of destiny cannot be crossed. Those who caused a great carnage of men amongst us were thus slain.”

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “Why did Drona’s maharatha son not accomplish such a great deed earlier? He did not achieve such a feat, though he was firm in ensuring the victory of my son. Why did he perform this task after my son had been killed? After all, Drona’s son is a great archer. You should tell me this.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O descendant of the Kuru lineage! This was certainly because of terror and fright. Drona’s son could accomplish this deed because the Parthas, the intelligent Keshava and Satyaki were not present.
¹¹⁴
In their presence, even the lord of the Maruts
¹¹⁵
would have been unable to kill them. O king! O lord! And this kind of conduct was possible because the men were asleep. Having caused that extremely great carnage of men among the Pandavas, those maharathas
¹¹⁶
met each other and exclaimed, ‘This was fortunate. It was good fortune.’ Those two congratulated Drona’s son and embraced him. In great delight, he
¹¹⁷
spoke these supreme words. ‘All the Panchalas have been slain and all of Droupadi’s sons. The Somakas and all the remaining Matsyas have been slain by me. Having accomplished this deed, let us immediately go to the spot where the king
¹¹⁸
is. If he is still alive, we will give him this pleasant news.’”’

‘Sanjaya said, “Having killed all the Panchalas and all the sons of Droupadi, they together went to the spot where Duryodhana
had been struck down. Having gone there, they saw that there was still some life left in the king. Having descended from their chariots, they surrounded your son. O Indra among kings! His thighs had been shattered. He was unconscious and was alive with great difficulty. They saw him lying down on the ground, vomiting blood through his mouth. He was surrounded by a large number of carnivorous beasts and their forms were terrible. There were a large number of jackals nearby, wishing to devour him.
¹¹⁹
He was restraining those carnivorous beasts, which wished to feed on him, with a great deal of difficulty. He was writhing on the ground and was suffering from severe pain. The great-souled one was lying down on the ground, covered in his own blood. In great grief, the three remaining heroes, Ashvatthama, Kripa and Satvata Kritavarma, surrounded him. Those three maharathas were also covered in blood and sighed. Surrounded by them, the king looked like a sacrificial altar surrounded by three fires. They saw the king lying down there, in a state that he did not deserve. Those three were overcome by great sorrow and wept. They wiped the blood from his face with their hands. On seeing the king lying down in the encounter, they wept in compassion.

‘“Kripa said, ‘Since he is covered in blood, there is nothing that is too difficult for destiny. Duryodhana was the lord of eleven armies.
¹²⁰
He has been struck and is lying down. Behold. He loved the club and that club has fallen down on the ground, near him. Its complexion is like that of gold and it is adorned with gold. From one battle to another, this club never abandoned the brave one. Even now, when the illustrious one is about to go to heaven, it has not abandoned him. Behold. Decorated with molten gold, it is lying down near the brave one, like a wife lying down near her beloved, in accordance with dharma. This scorcher of enemies used to be ahead of all those whose heads had been consecrated.
¹²¹
Behold the progress of time.
He has been brought down and is now devoured by dust. Earlier, he slew many enemies and made them lie down on the ground. That king of the Kurus has now been brought down by the enemy and is lying down on the ground. Hundreds of kings used to bow down before him in fear. He is now lying down on a bed meant for brave ones, surrounded by predatory beasts. For the sake of wealth, this lord used to be worshipped by the kings earlier. Shame. He has been struck and is lying down. Behold the progress of time.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “O supreme among the Bharata lineage! On seeing the best of kings lying down, Ashvatthama wept piteously. ‘O tiger among kings! You were spoken of as the foremost among all archers. You were Samkarshana’s
¹²²
disciple and in a battle, you were the equal of the lord of riches.
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O unblemished one! How did Bhimasena find a weakness in you? O king! You were always powerful and skilled and he was evil in his soul. O great king! There is no doubt that time is the most powerful on this earth. We see that you have been brought down by Bhimasena in the encounter. How did that happen? You have known about all forms of dharma. Vrikodara is inferior and wicked. There is no doubt that the wicked one slew you through deceit. Time is impossible to cross. He summoned you to a duel in accordance with dharma. However, Bhimasena used adharma to shatter your thighs with a club. Having brought you down through adharma, he kicked your head with his foot. Shame on Yudhishthira, since he ignored the act of that wicked one. There is no doubt that all warriors will censure Vrikodara’s act in the encounter, as long as living beings continue to exist. He brought you down through deceit. O king! The valiant Rama, descendant of the Yadu lineage, always used to say that there was no one who was equal to Duryodhana in fighting with the club. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Varshneya
¹²⁴
used to take pride in you. The lord used to say, “In fighting with the club, Kouravya is my worthy
disciple.” You have obtained the end that supreme rishis applaud as the objective of a kshatriya. You have been slain and are headed towards that objective. O Duryodhana! O bull among men! I do not grieve on your account. I grieve because Gandhari and your father have lost their son. They will sorrow and roam around the entire earth as beggars. Shame on Varshneya Krishna and the evil-minded Arjuna. They pride themselves on their knowledge of dharma and ignored it when you were brought down. What will all the Pandavas tell the kings? How was Duryodhana slain in this shameless way? O Gandhari’s son! You are blessed that you have been brought down in an encounter. O bull among men! In accordance with dharma, you were advancing towards the enemy. Gandhari’s sons have been slain. Her kin and relatives have been killed. What will be her plight and that of the invincible one who possesses the sight of wisdom?
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Shame on Kritavarma, maharatha Kripa and me. Placing the king ahead of us, we should have also gone to heaven. You have been generous in granting all the objects of desire. You have been a protector engaged in the welfare of the subjects. Shame on us, worst among men, since we have not followed you. O tiger among men! It is because of your valour that Kripa’s house, and mine and that of my father, have always been full of jewels and servants. It is through your favours that we, with our friends and our relatives, have performed the best of sacrifices and given away copious quantities of gifts. With you at their head, all the kings have departed now. These riches are like stones now. Where will those like us go? O king! The three of us are not headed towards the supreme objective. We are not following you. We are deprived of heaven. We are deprived of riches and we are remembering your good deeds. Since we are not going with you, what will we do now? O best among the Kurus! There is no doubt that we will roam the earth in our sorrow. O king! Without you, how can there be peace? How can there be happiness? O great king! You will leave this place and meet the maharathas.
¹²⁶
You will honour them, according to excellence and according to seniority. You will honour
the preceptor,
¹²⁷
the one with the best standard among all archers. O lord of men! In the course of the conversation, tell him these words of mine, that I have killed Dhrishtadyumna today. Embrace King Bahlika, the great maharatha, and Saindhava, Somadatta and Bhurishrava, and also the best of kings, who have gone to heaven before you. Tell them these words. Embrace them and ask about their welfare.’ These were the words that he spoke to the king, who was unconscious and whose thighs were shattered. Ashvatthama then glanced at him and again spoke these words. ‘O Duryodhana! If you are still alive, listen to this welcome news. There are seven Pandavas left and three on the side of the sons of Dhritarashtra. There are the five brothers and Vasudeva and Satyaki. Other than me, there are Kritavarma and Sharadvata Kripa. All the sons of Droupadi have been killed and also Dhrishtadyumna’s sons. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the Panchalas have been killed and the remaining Matsyas. Behold the revenge that has followed their deed. The sons of the Pandavas have been killed. While they were sleeping in their camp, the men and the mounts have been killed. O lord of the earth! I penetrated the camp in the night and killed Dhrishtadyumna, the one with the wicked deeds, as one would slay an animal.’ Hearing those pleasant words, Duryodhana found composure in his mind.

‘“Having regained his senses, he spoke these words in reply. ‘I have not been able to achieve this, or Gangeya, or Karna, or your father. Engaged in my welfare, you have done this today, together with Kripa and Bhoja. You have slain the inferior commander,
¹²⁸
together with Shikhandi. Because of this, I honour you, as an equal of Maghavan.
¹²⁹
O fortunate one! May you be prosperous. We will meet again in heaven.’ Having spoken these words, the great-minded king of the Kurus became silent. The brave one abandoned sorrow on account of his well-wishers and gave up his life. They embraced the king and were embraced by him. They repeatedly glanced towards him and then ascended their own chariots. Having heard the piteous
lamentations of your son, when it was morning, overcome by grief, I left for the city.
¹³⁰
O unblemished one! When your son went to heaven, I was overcome with sorrow. The divine sight that the rishi had given me was instantly destroyed.”’
¹³¹

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having heard about the death of his son and his kin, the king
¹³²
let out long and warm sighs and became immersed in deep thoughts.’