Mahabharata: Volume 7 (19 page)

‘D
hritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! When the arrayed armies clashed against each other, how did Partha advance against the samshaptakas and Karna against the Pandavas? You are skilled in narrating. Please tell me everything about the battle. I am never satisfied with hearing about the valour of the brave ones in battle.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “Because of the evil policies of your son, Arjuna created a vyuha as a counter vyuha, having seen that the large army of the enemy had been stationed. That large army
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was full of horse riders, elephants, foot soldiers and chariots. With Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront, its formation was magnificient. Parshata’s horses had the complexion of pigeons and he was as resplendent as the moon and the sun. With his bow, he was like Death personified. Droupadi’s sons were stationed next to Parshata, wishing to fight. With terrible bodies, they followed him, like large numbers of stars after the moon.

‘ “In the battle, on seeing that the samshaptakas were arranged in a formation, Arjuna angrily attacked them, stretching the bow named Gandiva. Wishing to kill him, the samshaptakas also attacked Partha. They were firm in their resolution of obtaining victory and preferred
death to retreat. Those brave ones advanced against Arjuna and they possessed large numbers of horses, crazy elephants and chariots. The clash between them and Kiriti was tumultuous. We have heard about his encounter with the nivatakavachas
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and it was like that. Partha sliced down the heads of thousands of the enemy and brought down chariots, horses, standards, elephants, foot soldiers, the leaders of rathas, arrows, bows, swords, chakras and battleaxes, in addition to arms with upraised weapons and other weapons that had not yet been raised. He was submerged in that large whirlpool of soldiers, like an eddy that swirls in the nether regions. The samshaptakas were delighted that his chariot was thus submerged and roared. But Bibhatsu slaughtered the ones who were in front of him, those that were further away, those that were to the rear, those that were to the right and those that were to the left. He was like an angry Rudra amidst animals.

‘ “O venerable one! The battle that commenced between the Panchalas, the Chedis and the Srinjayas and those who were on your side was extremely terrible. Kripa, Kritavarma and Shakuni Soubala were with soldiers who were cheerful, but extremely enraged. They were strikers who could bring down arrays of chariots. Those bravest of the brave were irresistible in battle and fought with the Kosalas, the Kashis, the Matsyas, the Karushas, the Kekayas and the Shurasenas. That fierce battle destroyed bodies and sins. Those brave shudras, vaishyas and kshatriyas obtained dharma, heaven and fame. O bull among the Bharata lineage! With his brothers, Duryodhana protected the foremost among the Kurus and the maharathas from Madra. In that battle, the Pandavas, the Panchalas and Satyaki fought with Karna, who was protected by the brave ones among the Kurus. Karna used his sharp arrows to slaughter that large army and crushed the best of chariots. He then afflicted Yudhishthira. He
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severed the arrows, weapons and bodies of thousands of the enemy, thus ensuring heaven and fame for them and greatly delighting those on his side.”

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! How did Karna penetrate the army of the Parthas, create that destruction of men and afflict the king? Tell me everything about this. Who were the foremost among the Parthas who fought against Karna and resisted him? Whom did Adhiratha’s son have to crush before afflicting Yudhishthira?”

‘Sanjaya replied, “On seeing that the Parthas, with Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront, were stationed, Karna, the destroyer of enemies, spiritedly attacked the Panchalas. O great king! Like swans heading towards the giant ocean, desiring victory, the Panchalas also quickly rushed against him. There was the blare of thousands of conch shells, piercing the heart. From either side, there was the fierce sound of drums. There were the sounds of many musical instruments and the noise emitted by elephants, horses and chariots. The brave ones roared like lions and it became terrible. It was as if the earth, with its mountains, trees and oceans, the sky, with clouds tossed around by the wind, and the firmament, with its moon, planets and nakshatras, seemed to be whirled around because of that sound. All the beings thought that the sound was distressing. Those that possessed limited spirit died and fell down. Karna was extremely enraged and swiftly released his weapons. He slaughtered the Pandava soldiers, like Maghavan against the asuras. He quickly penetrated the Pandava chariots and shot his arrows, killing seventy-seven of the foremost among the Prabhadrakas. The best of rathas next used twenty-five sharp arrows that were well tufted to kill twenty-five Panchala rathas. He used gold-tufted iron arrows that were capable of penetrating bodies to slaughter hundreds and thousands of Chedis. He performed superhuman deeds in that encounter. O great king! The Panchalas advanced on their chariots and surrounded him from all sides. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Affixing five arrows that were extremely difficult to withstand, Vaikartana Vrisha Karna killed five Panchalas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that encounter, he killed the Panchalas Bhanudeva, Chitrasena, Senavindu, Tapana and Shurasena. In that great battle, while the brave Panchalas were being slaughtered by the arrows, great lamentations arose among the Panchalas. Those lamentations covered all the directions and Karna swiftly killed them with his arrows. O venerable one! The protectors
of Karna’s chariot wheels were his invincible sons, Sushena and Satyasena, who were ready to give up their lives in the fight. Karna’s eldest son, maharatha Vrishasena, himself protected him from the rear and guarded Karna’s back. Wishing to kill Radheya, the strikers, Dhrishtadyumna, Satyaki, Droupadi’s sons, Vrikodara, Janamejaya, Shikhandi, the brave ones among the Prabhadrakas, the Chedis, the Panchalas and the armoured Matsyas attacked him. They showered down many kinds of arrows and weapons. They showered down and oppressed him, like clouds pouring down on a mountain during the rainy season. O king! Wishing to save their father, the strikers who were Karna’s sons and other brave ones on your side, repulsed those valiant ones.

‘ “Sushena severed Bhimasena’s bow with a broad-headed arrow. He then pierced Bhima in the chest with seven iron arrows and roared. Having picked up another bow that was firmer, Vrikodara, who was terrible in his valour, strung it and severed Sushena’s bow. He angrily pierced him with nine arrows and seemed to be dancing around. He swiftly pierced Karna with seventy-three sharp arrows. While all his well-wishers looked on, he struck Karna’s son, Satyasena, with ten arrows and brought him down, together with his horses, charioteer, standard and weapons. His beautiful face was like the full moon. The head was struck down with a kshurapra arrow and was like a lotus severed from its stalk. Having killed Karna’s son, Bhima again afflicted those on your side. He severed the bows of Kripa and Hardikya and oppressed them. He pierced Duhshasana with three iron arrows and Shakuni with six. The lord deprived Uluka and Patatri of their chariots.
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He next picked up an arrow and said, ‘O Sushena! You have been killed.’ However, Karna severed this and struck him
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with three arrows. At this, Bhima picked up another arrow that was well shafted and extremely energetic. He released this at Sushena, but Vrisha severed that too. Wishing to save his son and cruelly desiring to kill the cruel one,
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Karna again struck Bhimasena
with seventy-three arrows. Sushena picked up another supreme bow that was capable of bearing a greater load. He struck Nakula, in the arms and in the chest, with five arrows. Nakula pierced him back with twenty firm arrows that were capable of bearing a great load and roared powerfully, causing fright to Karna. O great king! At this, maharatha Sushena pierced him with ten swift arrows and used a kshurapra arrow to quickly sever his bow. Nakula became senseless with anger and picked up another bow. In that encounter, he repulsed Sushena with many arrows. O king! That slayer of enemy heroes enveloped all the directions with his arrows. Having killed Sushena’s charioteer, he pierced him with three arrows. Using three broad-headed arrows, he shattered his firm bow into three fragments. Sushena became senseless with rage and picked up another bow. He pierced Nakula with sixty arrows and Sahadeva with seven. That extremely wonderful and fierce battle was like that between the gods and the asuras. Wishing to kill each other, they quickly struck each other with arrows. Satyaki killed Vrishasena’s charioteer with three arrows. With a broad-headed arrow, he severed his bow and struck his horses with seven. He shattered his standard with an arrow and struck him in the chest with three. Thus struck, he
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became senseless on his chariot, but raised himself in a short while. Wishing to slay Shini’s descendant, he rushed against him with a sword and a shield. Satyaki also swiftly rushed against Vrishasena and used ten arrows, with heads like the ears of a boar, to strike his sword and shield. Duhshasana saw that he
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was without a chariot and devoid of weapons. He quickly picked him up on his own chariot and then made him ascend another chariot. Thus, maharatha Vrishasena stationed himself on another chariot. The invincible one fought for Karna’s sake and again protected his rear. Shini’s descendant struck Duhshasana with ninety-nine swift arrows. Having deprived him of his charioteer, horses and chariot, he struck him in the forehead with three arrows. At this, he
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ascended another chariot that had been
duly prepared earlier, and stationing himself within Karna’s army, began to fight with the Pandus. Dhrishtadyumna pierced Karna with ten arrows. Droupadi’s sons pierced him with seventy-three and Yuyudhana with seven. Bhimasena pierced him with sixty-four arrows and Sahadeva with five. Nakula pierced him with three hundred arrows, Shatanika with seven, the brave Shikhandi with ten and Dharmaraja with one hundred. O Indra among kings! These, and many other, brave ones desired victory.

‘ “In the great battle, they struck the son of the suta, the great archer. The son of the suta pierced each of them back with ten arrows. The brave one, the destroyer of enemies, roamed around on his beautiful chariot and struck them back. O great king! We witnessed the valour of the weapons and the dexterity of the great-souled Karna. It was extraordinary. One did not witness a gap between the maharatha’s picking up an arrow, affixing it and releasing it. The sky, the firmament, the earth and the directions were quickly enveloped by his arrows. It was as if the sky was covered with beautiful red clouds. With the bow in his hand, the powerful Radheya seemed to be dancing around. Everyone who struck him was pierced back with three times the number of arrows. Yet again, he pierced each of them, with their horses, charioteers, standards and umbrellas, with ten arrows each and roared. They had to yield and let him pass. The great archer Radheya, the afflicter of enemies, drove them away with his showers of arrows and without any hindrance, penetrated the king’s
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division. He slaughtered three hundred Chedi rathas who refused to retreat. Radheya then used sharp arrows to strike Yudhishthira. O king! The Pandavas, Shikandi and Satyaki wished to save the king from Radheya and surrounded him. And all the soldiers on your side surrounded Karna, the great archer who was irresistible in battle, in every direction. O lord of the earth! The roar of many kinds of musical instruments arose. The brave and unretreating ones roared like lions. Without any fear, the Kurus and the Pandavas clashed again. Yudhishthira was at the forefront of the Parthas and the son of the suta was at our head.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “Karna penetrated the soldiers and attacked Dharmaraja. He was surrounded by thousands of chariots, elephants, horses and infantry. The enemy hurled thousands of diverse weapons at Vrisha. But without any fear, he used hundreds of fierce arrows to strike these down. He cut down their heads, arms and thighs. In every direction, they were killed and fell down on the ground. The others were shattered and fled. The Dravidas, the Andhakas and the Nishadas were again rallied by Satyaki. In that battle, wishing to kill him, they attacked Karna with their infantry. Struck by Karna’s arrows, they lost their arms and helmets. They fell down simultaneously on the ground, like a forest of
shala
trees that had been struck down. In this way, hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands of warriors lost their lives. Their bodies fell down on the ground and they filled the directions with their fame. In that battle, Vaikartana Karna was like Yama. The Pandus and Panchalas tried to counter him, like a disease with mantras and herbs. He repulsed them and again attacked Yudhishthira, like an irresistible disease that cannot be countered by mantras and herbs. However, though he wished to advance against the king, he was held back by the Pandus, the Panchalas and the Kekayas. It was like death not being able to conquer those who know about the brahman.

‘ “Yudhishthira, the slayer of enemy heroes, was some distance away from Karna, who had been checked. His eyes red with rage, he said, ‘O Karna! O Karna! Your eyesight is in vain. O son of a suta! Listen to my words. You have always sought to rival the illustrious Phalguna in battle. You have always devoted yourself to the views of Dhritarashtra’s son and have opposed us. Today, exhibit the strength, the valour and the enmity towards the Pandus. Based on your great manliness, display all of those today. In this great battle today, I will destroy the love you bear towards fighting.’ O great king! Having thus addressed Karna, Pandu’s son smiled and used ten sharp and gold-tufted arrows to pierce him. O descendant of
the Bharata lineage! The son of the suta, scorcher of enemies and great archer, pierced him back with nine vatsadanta arrows
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and laughed. In the battle, the brave and great-souled one then used two razor-sharp and straight-tufted arrows to slay the two Panchalas who were protecting his chariot wheels.
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Those two brave ones had been resplendent along Dharmaraja’s flanks. Along his chariot, they had been like Punarvasu by the side of the moon.
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However, Yudhishthira again pierced Karna with thirty arrows and struck both Sushena and Satyasena with three arrows each.
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He pierced Shalya with ninety arrows and the son of the suta with seventy-three arrows. He struck each of the ones who were protecting his horses with three arrows each. At this, Adhiratha’s son laughed and brandished his bow. He pierced the king with a broad-headed arrow, pierced him again with another sixty arrows and laughed. Then, the brave ones among the Pandus rushed towards Yudhishthira. Wishing to save him from the son of the suta, they struck Karna with arrows. Among these were Satyaki, Chekitana, Yuyutsu, Pandya, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, Droupadi’s sons, the Prabhadrakas, the twins, Bhimasena, Shishupala’s son, the Karushas, the remaining Matsyas, the Kekayas and those from Kashi and Kosala. These spirited and brave ones countered Vasushena. Janamejaya from Panchala pierced Karna with sharp arrows—
varahakarna
s,
naracha
s,
nalika
s, vatsadantas,
vipatha
s, kshurapras and
atakamukha
s.
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Wielding many fierce weapons, chariots, elephants, horses and riders surrounded and attacked Karna from every direction, wishing to kill him.

‘ “He was attacked from every direction by the best among the Pandavas. At this, he invoked brahmastra and enveloped the directions with his arrows. The fire that was Karna had valour and anger and his arrows flamed greatly. Consuming the Pandavas, who were like a forest, he resplendently roamed around in that battle. The great-souled and wonderful archer repulsed all those great weapons. He laughed and used his arrows to sever the bow of that Indra among men.
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In that battle, in the twinkling of an eye, he affixed ninety sharp arrows with drooping tufts and penetrated the king’s armour. That armour was decorated with gold. As it fell down, it looked dazzling, like clouds tinged with lightning and tossed around by the wind, when penetrated by the sun. Having fallen off the limbs of that Indra among men, the armour looked beautiful, like celestial clouds in the night sky, ornamented with gems.
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Devoid of armour and wounded by arrows, Partha was covered with blood. He angrily hurled a lance that was completely made out of iron towards Adhiratha’s son. While it blazed through the sky, he
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cut it down with seven arrows. It was severed by the great archer’s arrows and fell down on the ground. At this, Yudhishthira struck Karna in the arms, the forehead and the chest with four javelins and roared delightedly. With blood flowing from his body, Karna was enraged and sighed like a snake. He struck down Pandava’s standard with a broad-headed arrow and pierced him with three more. He struck down his quivers and shattered his chariot into tiny fragments. With his parshni charioteers slain, Partha retreated. He was incapable of remaining in front of the evil-minded Karna. Radheya pursued him and touched him on the shoulder with his hand. O king! He laughed at him and spoke disparaging words to Pandava. ‘You have been born in a famous lineage and are established in the dharma of kshatriyas. How is it that you are seeking to protect your life in this great battle and are abandoning this encounter with the enemy? I don’t think you know the dharma of kshatriyas well. That is my
view. You possess the strength of the brahman and are devoted to studying and the task of performing sacrifices. O Kounteya! Do not fight again and do not advance against brave ones. Do not speak unpleasant words towards them. Do not advance towards a great battle.’ Having said this, the immensely strong one released Partha. He began to slaughter the Pandava soldiers, like the wielder of the vajra against the asuras. O king! That lord of men fled in shame. On seeing that the king was departing, the Chedis, the Pandavas, the Panchalas, maharatha Satyaki, Droupadi’s brave sons and the Pandavas who were the sons of Madri followed the undecaying one. On seeing that Yudhishthira’s army was unwilling to fight, Karna pursued them from the rear, together with the brave Kurus. There was the sound of conch shells and drums and the twang of bows. The sons of Dhritarashtra roared like lions.

‘ “O Kouravya! Yudhishthira swiftly climbed onto Shrutakirti’s chariot.
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Dharmaraja Yudhishthira saw that his
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strength was like that of Death and that he was slaying thousands of warriors. At this, he
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became angry. Instructed by the king, all the maharatha Pandavas, with Bhimasena at the forefront, attacked your sons. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The warriors raised a tumultuous sound there. Here and there, there were elephants, horses, chariots, foot soldiers and weapons. ‘Arise. Strike. Advance towards death.’ As they killed each other in that field of battle, these were the words the warriors spoke to each other. Because of the shower of arrows, it was as if the sky was covered by the shadow of clouds. The best of men clashed against each other and killed each other. In that battle, penants, standards and umbrellas were brought down. Horses, charioteers and warriors were destroyed. Those lords were slain. They lost their limbs and their bodies and fell down shattered on the ground. Supreme elephants looked like the lofty summits of mountains. Their riders were slain and they fell down, like mountains shattered by the thunder. Armour, ornaments and bodies
were mangled, shattered and dispersed. In thousands, horses fell down, with their brave riders. The limbs of warriors were scattered. Elephants, horses and rathas were slain. Thousands of arrays of foot soldiers were crushed by enemy heroes. Everywhere, the earth was strewn with the heads of fierce warriors. Their eyes were copper coloured and dilated. Their faces were like the lotus and the moon. As on earth, a sound could be heard in the sky. There were large numbers of apsaras on celestial vehicles and they sounded musical instruments. They welcomed the thousands of brave ones who were headed in their direction, after having been killed by the valiant enemy. The masses of apsaras made them ascend the celestial vehicles and bore them away. On beholding this great and extraordinary marvel in person, the brave ones were delighted in their minds. They desired to obtain heaven and angrily struck each other. In that battle, rathas fought a wonderful battle with rathas. Infantry fought with infantry, elephants with elephants and horses with horses. Thus did the battle continue, causing carnage among elephants, horses and men. The dust raised by the soldiers covered everything. Those on the same side slew each other. And those on the enemy’s side slew each other. In the battle, they pulled each other by the hair. They fought with teeth and with nails. They fought with fists in an encounter that destroyed bodies and sins. Thus did the battle continue, destructive of elephants, horses and men. A river of blood was created from the bodies of men, horses and elephants. It carried away many fallen bodies of men, horses and elephants. There were the bodies of men, horses and elephants and there were men, horse riders and elephant riders. That extremely terrible river had currents of blood and its mud was red. It bore along the bodies of men, horses and elephants and increased the fear of those who were cowards. Desiring victory, some went over to the other side.
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There were others who were submerged in it and sank and swam. All their limbs were covered with blood. Their armour, weapons and garments became red. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Some bathed in it. Others drank the water and lost their senses. There were chariots, horses, men,
elephants, weapons, ornaments, garments and armour of those who were slain, or were being slain. The earth, the sky, the firmament and the directions were generally seen to be red. Smell, touch and taste became red in form. Above this, there were the sounds raised by those who were engaged. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In general, the soldiers were overcome by great distress.

‘ “The soldiers, with Bhimasena at the forefront, and brave rathas with Satyaki at the forefront, again attacked your soldiers, who had already been routed. The great-souled ones descended with such great force that it was irresistible. O king! The large army of your sons retreated. The chariots, horses and men were scattered. Their armour and mail were in disarray. Their weapons and bows were dislodged. Your soldiers were agitated and driven away in different directions. They were like a herd of elephants, afflicted by lions in a great forest.” ’