Mahabharata: Volume 7 (24 page)

‘D
hritarashtra asked, “When Bhimasena and Pandava Yudhishthira returned and my army was slaughtered by the Pandus and the Srinjayas, when my army that was like an ocean was
repeatedly distressed, what was done by the Kurus? O Sanjaya! Tell me that in detail.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! On seeing the mighty-armed Bhima, the eyes of the powerful son of a suta became red with rage. He attacked Bhimasena. O king! On seeing that your army had retreated before Bhimasena, the powerful one made great efforts to rally it. Having rallied your son’s army, the mighty-armed Karna advanced against the Pandavas, who were indomitable in battle. Radheya counter-attacked the maharatha Pandavas. He brandished his bow and showered down arrows on Bhimasena, Shini’s grandson, Shikhandi, Janamejaya, the powerful Dhrishtadyumna and all the Prabhadrakas. The Panchalas, tigers among men, angrily attacked your army from all sides in that battle, desiring victory. O king! In that fashion, the maharathas on your side wished to kill them and impetuously attacked the Pandava army. O tiger among men! The place was beautiful with chariots, elephants, horses, foot soldiers and standards and the armies were wonderful to see. O great king! Shikhandi advanced against Karna and Dhrishtadyumna against your son, Duhshasana, who was surrounded by a large army. Nakula advanced against Vrishasena and Yudhishthira against Chitrasena.
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O king! In the encounter, Sahadeva attacked Uluka, Satyaki attacked Shakuni and Bhimasena the Kouravas. In the battle, Drona’s maharatha son made endeavours against Arjuna. In the battle, Goutama attacked the great archer, Yudhamanyu, and Kritavarma advanced against the powerful Uttamouja. O venerable one! Single-handedly, the mighty-armed Bhimasena countered all your sons, the Kurus, together with their soldiers.

‘ “O great king! Shikhandi, the slayer of Bhishma, roamed around fearlessly and countered Karna with his arrows. Countered, Karna’s lips quivered in rage. He struck Shikhandi between his eyebrows with three arrows. With those arrows stuck there, Shikhandi looked exceedingly beautiful. He was like a silver mountain with three peaks. In the battle, having been thus grievously struck by the son of a suta in the encounter, he pierced Karna with ninety sharp
arrows. Karna slew his horses and charioteer with three arrows. The maharatha then brought down his standard with a kshurapra arrow. With his horses slain, the maharatha, the scorcher of enemies,
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jumped down from his chariot and angrily flung a javelin towards Karna. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the battle, Karna cut that down with his arrows and then mangled Shikhandi with nine sharp arrows. Shikhandi, supreme among men and supreme among victorious ones, avoided the arrows released from Karna’s bow and retreated quickly.

‘ “O great king! Karna then scattered the Pandu soldiers, like a mass of cotton by the speed of a mighty wind. O great king! Dhrishtadyumna was afflicted by your son and struck Duhshasana between the breasts with three arrows. O venerable one! Duhshasana pierced his left arm with a sharp, gold-tufted and broad-headed arrow with drooping tufts. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus pierced, Dhrishtadyumna became fierce in his wrath and angrily dispatched an arrow towards Duhshasana. O lord of the earth! The arrow released by Dhrishtadyuma descended with great force, but your son sliced it down with three arrows. He then used another seventeen broad-headed and gold-decorated arrows to strike Dhrishtadyumna in the arms and in the chest. O venerable one! Becoming angry, Parshata severed his bow with an extremely sharp kshurapra arrow and people roared in applause. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Your son picked up another bow and showered a storm of arrows from every direction on Dhrishtadyumna. On witnessing the valour of your great-souled son, the warrior, in the battle, the large numbers of siddhas and apsaras smiled.

‘ “O scorcher of enemies! Thus the battle raged between those on your side and that of the enemy. It was fierce, as terrible in form as the destruction of all beings at the end of a yuga. Vrishasena pierced Nakula with five iron arrows and stationing himself near his father,
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pierced him again with three arrows. Nakula became angry and laughed at Vrishasena. He then pierced him firmly in the chest
with an extremely sharp iron arrow. Having been severely struck by the powerful enemy, the destroyer of foes struck his adversary with twenty arrows and was pierced back with five. Those two bulls among men shot thousands of arrows at each other and, supported by their respective soldiers, enveloped each other. O lord of the earth! On seeing that the soldiers of the sons of Dhritarashtra were fleeing, the son of a suta followed them and powerfully checked them. O venerable one! When Karna had withdrawn, Nakula advanced against the Kouravas. In the battle, Karna’s son also abandoned Nakula and swiftly went to the spot where Radheya was.

‘ “In the battle, the angry Uluka was checked by Sahadeva. The powerful Sahadeva slew his four horses and conveyed his charioteer towards Yama’s abode. O lord of the earth! At this, Uluka, loved by his father, descended from his vehicle and swiftly joined the army of the Trigartas.

‘ “Satyaki pierced Shakuni with twenty sharp arrows and severing Soubala’s standard with a broad-headed arrow, laughed. O king! The powerful Soubala became enraged in that battle. Having shattered Satyaki’s armour, he again brought down his golden standard and pierced him back with sharp arrows. O great king! He
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brought down his charioteer with three arrows and swiftly used other arrows to convey his mounts to Yama’s eternal abode. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Maharatha Shakuni suddenly alighted from his chariot and swiftly ascended that of Uluka. He was quicky borne away from Satyaki, who was skilled in fighting. O king! In that battle, Satyaki attacked your soldiers with great force and shattered the formation. O lord of the earth! Your soldiers were enveloped by arrows shot by Shini’s descendant and were quickly scattered in the ten directions. They lost their lives and fell down.

‘ “Your son
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countered Bhimasena in the battle. But in an instant, Bhima deprived that lord of men of his horses, charioteer, chariot and standard. This satisfied the charanas. At this, he withdrew from Bhimasena’s presence. Wishing to kill the single-
handed Bhimasena, all the Kuru soldiers let out a mighty roar and attacked him.

‘ “Yudhamanyu attacked Kripa and quickly severed his bow. Kripa, supreme among the wielders of weapons, picked up another bow. He brought down Yudhamanyu’s standard, charioteer, umbrella and bow on the ground. Maharatha Yudhamanyu withdrew on another chariot. Hardikya was terrible in his valour and Uttamouja suddenly shrouded him with arrows, like clouds raining down on a mountain. O scorcher of enemies! O lord of the earth! The encounter between them was extremely great and terrible. I have not seen anything like that earlier. O king! In that battle, Kritavarma pierced Uttamouja in the chest and he sank down on the floor of his chariot. His charioteer bore the best of rathas away on his chariot. O king! The Pandu soldiers were then quickly routed.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “O king! Surrounded by a large array of chariots, Drona’s son swiftly descended on the spot where the king
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was. On seeing him violently descend, the brave Partha,
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with Shouri as his aide, violently checked him, like the shoreline against the abode of makaras. O great king! At this, Drona’s powerful son became enraged and enveloped Arjuna and Vasudeva with arrows. The maharathas saw that the two Krishnas were afflicted. The Kurus saw this and were overcome by great wonder. Arjuna seemed to smile and invoked a divine weapon. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the battle, the brahmana countered it. Wishing to kill, whichever weapon Pandava used in the battle was baffled by Drona’s son, the great archer, in the encounter. O king! A terrible clash with weapons ensued. We saw Drona’s son in that encounter,
like Death with a gaping mouth. Having enveloped the directions and the sub-directions with his arrows, he struck Vasudeva in the right arm with three arrows. Arjuna slew all the horses of the great-souled one and in the encounter, made the earth flow with a river of blood. Arrows released from Partha’s bow killed rathas and brought them down. Freed from their yokes, horses were seen to run around here and there. On witnessing the deeds performed by Partha, Drona’s son, the ornament of a battle, countered Krishna
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in that encounter and covered him from every direction with sharp arrows. O great king! In the battle, Drona’s son used another arrow to strike Arjuna in the chest. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having been severely struck in the battle by Drona’s son, he picked up a terrible club and hurled it towards Drona’s son. That club was decorated with gold and descended. However, Drona’s son suddenly shattered it and people applauded. O king! Shattered into many fragments by the arrows of Bharadvaja’s son, it fell down on the ground, like a mountain that has been shattered by the wind god. In the encounter, Arjuna pierced Drona’s son with ten arrows and used a broad-headed arrow to bring down his charioteer from his seat on the chariot. Drona’s son, swift in his valour, controlled the mounts himself and swiftly enveloped the two Krishnas with arrows. We beheld that wonderful sight. He controlled and drove the horses and fought with Phalguna. O king! In the battle, all the warriors applauded this feat. When Drona’s son advanced before Phalguna in the encounter, Jaya
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used a kshurapra arrow to slice down the harnesses that yoked the horses to the chariot. Driven by the force of the arrows, the horses fled. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A loud uproar arose amidst your troops. Having obtained victory, the Pandavas drove away your soldiers. Desiring victory, they released sharp arrows from every direction. O great king! The large army of the sons of Dhritarasthra was repeatedly routed by the brave ones, who were urged on by the prospect of victory.

‘ “O great king! Your sons, colourful in fighting, Shakuni Soubala and the great-souled Karna looked on. O lord of men! But they were unable to rally the large army of your sons. Afflicted in every way, they no longer remained in the battle. O great king! The warriors fled here and there. On seeing this, the large army of your sons was terrified and, extremely anxious, ran away. The son of a suta repeatedly asked them to remain. However, slain by the great-souled ones, the soldiers did not stay there. O great king! Desiring victory, the Pandavas roared repeatedly, having seen that the army of the sons of Dhritarashtra was running away in various directions. At this, Duryodhana spoke these affectionate words to Karna. ‘O Karna! Behold. The soldiers have been severely oppressed by the Pandavas. Though you are here, they are frightened and are running away in every direction. O mighty-armed one! O destroyer of enemies! Knowing this, do what must be done. O bull among men! O brave one! Driven away by the Pandavas in the battle, thousands of warriors are calling out to you alone.’ Hearing these important words spoken by Duryodhana, Radheya, the descendant of the suta lineage, spoke these words to the lord of Madra. ‘O lord of men! Behold the valour of my arms and my weapons. In the battle today, I will kill all the Panchalas, together with the Pandus. O tiger among men! O lord of men! Drive the horses well.’ Having spoken these words, the powerful and brave son of a suta, picked up Vijaya, his ancient and excellent bow. O great king! Having strung it, he repeatedly rubbed the string. He asked the warriors to return.

‘ “The immensely strong one with an immeasurable soul took a pledge of truth and invoked the
bhargava
weapon.
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O king! In the great battle, thousands, millions, billions and crores of extremely sharp arrows issued from it. They were extremely terrible and blazed, shafted with the feathers of herons and peacocks. The Pandava soldiers were mangled and nothing could be seen. O lord of the earth! Great sounds of lamentation arose among the Panchalas. In the encounter, they were afflicted by the power of the bhargava weapon. O king! Elephants and men were brought down in thousands. O
tiger among men! Chariots and horses were strewn around in every direction. O king! The slain were strewn around here and there and the earth trembled. The entire large army of the Pandavas was agitated. Karna alone was the foremost among warriors. He was like a fire without smoke. O tiger among men! That scorcher of enemies consumed the enemy and was resplendent. Having been slain by Karna, the Panchalas and the Chedis became unconscious. They were like elephants in a forest conflagration. O tiger among men! Those best among men lamented loudly. In the field of battle, loud woes of the terrified ones could be heard. O king! Terrified, they fled in different directions. There was the great sound of lamentation there, like that made by beings at the time of a flood. O venerable one! They were seen to be slaughtered there by the son of a suta. All the beings, including those belonging to an inferior species,
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were frightened. The Srinjayas were slaughtered in the battle by the son of a suta and repeatedly cried out to Arjuna and Vasudeva. They were unconscious, like those in the city of the king of the dead, calling out to the king of the dead.
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‘ “At this, Kunti’s son, Dhananjaya, spoke to Vasudeva. ‘Behold the extremely terrible bhargava weapon. O Krishna! O mighty-armed one! Behold the valour of the bhargava weapon. There is no means of countering that weapon in a battle. O Krishna! Behold the angry son of a suta in the great battle. The brave one is like Yama and has performed a terrible deed. He is repeatedly casting extremely terrible glances towards me. I do not see any means of running away from Karna in this battle. If a man remains alive in a battle, there may be victory, or there may be defeat. O Hrishikesha! For the sake of victory, how can one be victorious if one is dead?’ O venerable one! Janardana wished to leave to see Yudhishthira and thought that Karna would be overcome with exhaustion in the battle.
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Krishna told Arjuna, ‘The king
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has been severely wounded. O best among
the Kuru lineage! Let us reassure him first and you will kill Karna after that.’ Dhananjaya also wished to see the king who had been afflicted with arrows. On Keshava’s instructions, he abandoned the battle and quickly departed on his chariot. Kounteya left, because he wished to see Dharmaraja. Though he looked at all the soldiers, he could not see his elder brother anywhere. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having fought with Drona’s son and having defeated the descendant of Bhrigu lineage,
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whom even the wielder of the vajra found difficult to withstand in battle, he departed. He defeated Drona’s son, the wielder of a fierce bow. He thus accomplished an extremely difficult deed.

‘ “Dhananjaya, irresistible to enemies, then glanced towards his own soldiers. The bravest of the brave, who were battling at the forefronts of their divisions, were delighted to see Savyasachi. They were famous because of their earlier deeds and he instructed the rathas to be stationed with their divisions. However, the garlanded Kiriti did not see the eldest of the warriors, his brother Ajamidha.
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He quickly approached Bhima and asked, ‘How is the king? Where is the king?’ Bhima replied, ‘King Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, has retreated. His limbs have been mangled by Karna’s arrows. I doubt that he is alive.’ Arjuna said, ‘Therefore, you should quickly go and find out about the king, supreme among the Kurus. Having been severely pierced by Karna’s arrows, there is no doubt that the king has gone to his camp. When it was night,
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though he was severely and grievously struck by Drona, the spirited one remained, desiring victory, and waited until Drona had been killed. In the battle today, the generous eldest among the Pandavas, has faced a disaster because
of Karna. O Bhima! Quickly go and find out about him. I will remain here and restrain the large numbers of the enemy.’ Bhima replied, ‘O magnaminous one! O bull among the Bharata lineage! You go and find out how the king is. O Arjuna! If I go there, these brave ones
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will say that I am frightened.’ At this, Arjuna told Bhimasena, ‘The samshaptakas are arranged in a counter-formation against me. Without killing them, it is not possible for me to abandon these large numbers of the enemy.’ Bhimasena told Arjuna, ‘O brave one amongst the Kuru lineage! In this encounter, I will rely on my valour and fight against all the samshaptakas. O Dhananjaya! Go.’ In the midst of the enemy, he
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heard these extremely difficult words of assurance given by Bhimasena, his brother. Wishing to leave and see the best of the Kuru lineage,
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he then spoke these words to the best of the Vrishni lineage. ‘O Hrishikesha! Drive the horses and let us leave this ocean of chariots. O Keshava! I wish to see King Ajatashatru.’ Before urging the horses, the foremost among the Dasharha lineage spoke these words to Bhima. ‘O brave one! For you, the task to be accomplished now is not at all wonderful. O Bhima! I am leaving. Slay these masses of the enemy.’ O king! O Indra among kings! Hrishikesha then went to the spot where King Yudhishthira was, urging the steeds that were Garuda’s equal to a greater and greater speed, having stationed Bhimsena, the scorcher of enemies, in the counter-formation and having given Vrikodara instructions about the fight. Those two, the best of men, approached the king, who was lying down alone. They descended from the chariot and bowed in obeisance at Dharmaraja’s feet.
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On seeing that the bull among men was well, those two bulls among men, the two Krishnas, were filled with delight, like the two Ashvins on seeing Vasava. The king honoured them, like the fire god, the Ashvins, or the preceptor greeting Shakra and Vishnu when the great asura Jambha
was killed.
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Thinking that Karna had been killed, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira was delighted and addressed those two scorchers of enemies in a voice that was choking with joy.” ’