Read Mahabharata: Volume 7 Online
Authors: Bibek Debroy
‘S
anjaya said, “When night was over, King Duryodhana asked all the maharathas on your side to arm themselves. On hearing the
king’s command, the army armoured itself. Some quickly yoked the chariots. Others rushed here and there. The elephants were prepared. The foot soldiers were armoured. Thousands of others spread out coverlets on the horses. O lord of the earth! Musical instruments were sounded and a large roar arose. This was meant to enthuse the warriors and the soldiers. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the soldiers were seen to be properly arrayed in the army. They made up their minds to die, rather than retreat. The maharathas made Shalya, the king of Madra, their commander. They divided the army into divisions and stationed themselves. The time having arrived, all the soldiers, with Kripa, Kritavarma, Drona’s son, Shalya and Soubala, approached your son, together with the kings who were still alive. They resolved, ‘One who fights alone with the Pandavas, or one who abandons a co-warrior who is fighting single-handedly with the Pandaveyas, will commit a sin equal to the five great sins and all the minor sins.
53
We will protect each other and fight in a united way.’ The time having arrived, all the maharathas adopted such a resolution. With the king of Madra at the forefront, they quickly advanced against the enemy. O king! In that fashion, in the great battle, the Pandavas also arranged their soldiers in a vyuha. Wishing to fight, all of them advanced against the Kouravas from every side. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! That army
54
made a sound like that of the agitated ocean. With the chariots and the elephants, it assumed a form like that of turbulent waves on an ocean.”
‘Dhritarashtra asked, “I have heard about the downfall of Drona, Bhishma and Radheya. Tell me now about the downfall of Shalya and my son. O Sanjaya! How was Shalya slain by Dharmaraja in the battle? And how was my mighty-armed son, Duryodhana, brought down by Bhima?”
‘Sanjaya replied, “There was a destruction of the bodies of men, horses, elephants and chariots. O king! Be patient and listen. I will describe the battle that ensued to you. O king! At that time, hope became powerful among your sons. O venerable one! This was despite Bhishma, Drona and the son of a suta having been brought down. They thought that Shalya would kill all the Parthas in the battle. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Resorting to this hope in their hearts, they were comforted. In the battle, they sought refuge with the maharatha king of Madra. Your son thought that he had found himself a protector. O king! When Karna was slain, the Parthas roared like lions. At that time, a great fear had overtaken the sons of Dhritarashtra. However, they now sought refuge with the powerful king of Madra. O great king! Having constructed a vyuha that was auspicious in every way,
55
the powerful king of Madra attacked the Parthas in the battle. He brandished his colourful bow, which was extremely forceful and capable of withstanding a great burden. The maharatha was on an excellent chariot, yoked to horses from the Sindhu region. O great king! The furrows created by the ratha’s chariot were beautiful to behold. The brave one, afflicter of enemies, was surrounded by brave rathas. O great king! The valiant one dispelled the fears of your sons. Armoured and stationed at the head of the vyuha, the king of Madra advanced. He was accompanied by the brave Madrakas and Karna’s invincible sons. Kritavarma, surrounded by the Trigartas, was on the left flank. With the Shakas and the Yavanas, Goutama
56
was on the right flank. Surrounded by the Kambojas, Ashvatthama was at the rear. Protected by the bulls among the Kurus, Duryodhana was in the middle. Soubala was surrounded by a large army of horses. The gambler’s maharatha son advanced with all the soldiers.
57
The Pandavas, great archers and
scorchers of enemies, also arranged their soldiers into a vyuha. O great king! They divided themselves into three
58
and attacked your soldiers. In the battle, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi and maharatha Satyaki quickly rushed against Shalya’s army. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Wishing to kill, King Yudhishthira surrounded himself by his own troops and attacked Shalya. The great archer Arjuna, the slayer of enemy hordes, powerfully rushed against Hardikya and large numbers of samshaptakas. O Indra among kings! Wishing to kill the enemy in the battle, Bhimasena and the maharatha Somakas attacked Goutama. In the battle, maharatha Shakuni and Uluka were stationed with their forces, and Madri’s two sons attacked them, with their soldiers. In that way, tens of thousands of your warriors angrily attacked the Pandavas in the battle, with many different kinds of weapons in their hands.”
‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! The great archers and maharathas, Bhishma, Drona and Karna, were killed. In the battle, among the Kurus and the Pandavas, there were only a few left. The powerful Parthas again became enraged in the battle. What were the remaining forces on my side, and on the side of the enemy?”
‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! The remaining forces on our side, and on that of the enemy, were stationed for battle again. Listen to who were left in the encounter. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Your side had eleven thousand rathas, ten thousand and seven hundred elephants and a complete complement of two hundred thousand horses. O bull among the Bharata lineage! There were also three crores of men. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The forces of the Pandavas consisted of six thousand rathas, six thousand elephants, ten thousand horses and one crore of foot soldiers.
59
This is what was left to them in the battle. O bull among the Bharata lineage! These
were the ones who attacked each other. O Indra among kings! We followed the instructions of the king of Madra and divided ourselves. Desiring victory, we advanced against the Pandavas. In that way, the brave Pandavas also wished for victory in the battle. With the illustrious Panchalas, those tigers among men attacked. O lord! When it was dawn, thus did those tigers among men rush against each other, wishing to kill each other and rushing forward in strong waves. A fierce battle commenced and it was terrible in form. Those on your side, and the enemy, wished to kill each other.” ’
‘S
anjaya said, “O Indra among kings! The terrible battle between the Kurus and the Srinjayas commenced. It was like that between the gods and the asuras and increased one’s fear. Men, chariots, crowds of elephants, thousands of riders and horses powerfully clashed against each other. Elephants that were terrible in form rushed forward, and a great noise was heard, like clouds roaring in the sky during the rains. Some rathas were struck by the elephants and fell down from their chariots. In the battle, those brave ones were routed and driven away by those crazy ones.
60
O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Large numbers of well-trained horses were stationed there, to guard the feet of the rathas. Because of the arrows, they were dispatched to the world of the hereafter. O king! Trained horse riders surrounded the maharathas and, roaming around in the battle, slew them with spears, javelins and swords. Some men used bows to repulse the maharathas. Many attacked one and dispatched him to Yama’s eternal abode. Maharathas surrounded elephants and the best of chariots. They severed the heads of the warriors and drove them away, with a great roar. The rathas were enraged and shot many arrows. O great king! In every direction, they surrounded and slew the elephants. In
the battle, elephants attacked elephants and rathas attacked rathas. Using spears, javelins and iron arrows, they killed each other. In the field of battle, foot soldiers, chariots, elephants and horses were seen to be driven away, creating a great tumult. Horses adorned with whisks were routed and drank up the earth
61
and were like swans on the slopes of the Himalayas. O lord of the earth! The earth was marked with the hooves of the horses and was as beautiful as a woman with the marks of nails on her body.
62
There were sounds from the hooves of the horses and the wheels of chariots. There were the sounds of foot soldiers and the trumpeting of elephants. Musical instruments were sounded and conch shells blared. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The earth resounded, as if it had been struck by a storm. There was the twang of bows. Swords blazed and the armour was radiant. Nothing could be seen. Many arms were severed and were like the trunks of kings of elephants. They writhed fearfully with great force, or were immobile. O great king! Heads fell down on the surface of the earth and a sound was heard, like that when ripe palm fruit falls down. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Because of the heads that fell down, the earth was red with blood and looked beautiful, as if adorned with golden lotuses in the right season. O great king! With lives lost, the eyes were dilated. With all those wounds, it looked beautiful, as if covered with lotuses. O Indra among kings! Severed hands fell down on the ground, smeared with sandalwood paste and adorned with extremely expensive armlets. They were as dazzling as Shakra’s standard. In the great battle, the thighs of the kings were severed. They adorned the field of battle, like the trunks of elephants. Hundreds of headless torsos were strewn around, and umbrellas and fans. That forest of soldiers was as beautiful as a blooming forest. O great king! The warriors roamed around fearlessly. With blood flowing from their limbs, they were seen to be like flowering kimshukas. Elephants were seen there, afflicted by arrows and spears. They fell down in the battle, like dispersed clouds. O great king! The
great-souled ones slaughtered divisions of elephants. They drove them away in all the directions, like clouds dispelled by the wind. Those elephants were like clouds. In every direction, they shrieked and fell down. They were like mountains shattered by thunder, at the time of the destruction of a yuga. Horses fell down on the ground, together with their riders. With their harnesses, those heaps were seen to be like mountains. A river was created on the field of battle and it flowed towards the world hereafter. The water was made out of blood and the chariots were the eddies. The standards were like trees and the bones were the rocks. The arms were the crocodiles. The bows were the current. The elephants were the boulders. The horses were the stones. Fat and marrow constituted the mire. The umbrellas were the swans. The clubs were rafts. Armour and headdresses were scattered around. The flags were like beautiful trees. There were a large number of wheels, trivenus and poles. This delighted brave ones and generated terror among cowards. That terrible river, full of Kurus and Srinjayas, flowed along. That extremely horrible river flowed along to the world of the ancestors. Those brave ones possessed arms like clubs and used their mounts as boats to cross it. O lord of the earth! That cruel battle raged on. It was fierce and led to the destruction of the four kinds of forces,
63
like that in earlier times between the gods and the asuras. O scorcher of enemies! Relatives called out to each other. Other terrified ones returned, after being summoned by their relatives. That battle was cruel and fierce.
‘ “Arjuna and Bhimasena confounded the enemy. O lord of men! They slaughtered your large army. Your soldiers were confounded by Bhimasena and Dhananjaya. They lost their senses, like a woman under the influence of alcohol. They
64
blew on their conch shells and roared like lions. On hearing that loud noise, with Dharmaraja at the forefront, Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandi attacked the king of Madra. O lord of the earth! It was terrible in form and we witnessed something that was extraordinary. Those brave ones, who were fighting in different segments, united and attacked Shalya. Madri’s
sons were proud, skilled in the use of weapons and invincible in battle. Wishing to slay your soldiers, they attacked spiritedly. O bull among the Bharata lineage! At this, your forces retreated. The Pandavas, desiring victory, used arrows to mangle them in many ways. While your sons looked on, the army was slaughtered. O great king! Afflicted by the ones who wielded firm bows, they were routed in different directions. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A great sound of lamentation arose among your warriors. There were some other great-souled kshatriyas who still desired victory in the battle,
65
and they asked them to wait. However, your soldiers were shattered and routed by the Pandavas. In the battle, they abandoned their beloved sons, brothers, grandfathers, maternal uncles, sisters’ sons, kin and relatives. Urging the horses and elephants to speed up, the warriors fled in different directions. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Those on your side were only interested in saving themselves.” ’
‘S
anjaya said, “On seeing that the army was shattered, the powerful king of Madra urged his charioteer, ‘Quickly drive these extremely swift horses towards the spot where King Yudhishthira, Pandu’s son, is stationed. He is resplendent, with a white umbrella held aloft his head. O charioteer! Take me there swiftly and behold my might. The Parthas are incapable of remaining stationed before me in the battle today.’ Having been thus addressed, the charioteer of the king of Madra departed for the spot where Dharmaraja King Yudhishthira, unwavering in his aim, was. In the battle, Shalya violently descended on the large army of the Pandavas, like the shoreline holding back the rolling waves of the ocean. O venerable one! The Pandava troops clashed against Shalya and stationed themselves in that battle, like a mountain against a flood of
water. On seeing that the king of Madra was stationed in the battle, the Kurus returned, preferring death over retreat. O king! They returned and positioned themselves in different arrays. An extremely terrible battle commenced and blood flowed like water.
‘ “Nakula, invincible in battle, clashed against Chitrasena.
66
Wielding colourful bows, those two clashed against each other. They were like two clouds that had arisen to the south and the north, and showered down. In the battle, they rained down arrows on each other. I could not differentiate between Pandava and his adversary. Both of them were strong and skilled in the use of weapons. They were knowledgeable about the conduct of rathas. They endeavoured to kill each other and tried to seek out each other’s weaknesses. O great king! Using a yellow, sharp and broad-headed arrow, Chitrasena severed Nakula’s bow in his hand. Having severed his bow, he then used three gold-tufted arrows that had been sharpened on stone to fearlessly strike him on the forehead. He used sharp arrows to dispatch his horses to the land of the dead and then brought down his standard and charioteer with three arrows each. O king! The three arrows released from his enemy’s arm were affixed to his forehead and Nakula looked as beautiful as a mountain with three peaks. His bow was severed and he was without a chariot. The brave one grasped a sword and a shield and jumped down from his chariot, like a lion from the summit of a mountain. As he advanced on foot, arrows were showered down on him. However, Nakula was fierce in his spirit and dexterous in his valour. He received them on his shield. He was colourful in fighting and conquered his exhaustion. While all the soldiers looked on, the mighty-armed one approached Chitrasena’s chariot and climbed up. Pandava severed Chitrasena’s head, with its earrings and crown, excellent nose and large eyes, from his head. Resplendent as the sun, he fell down from his chariot. On seeing that Chitrasena had been killed, all the maharathas there roared loudly like lions and uttered words of praise.
‘ “On seeing that their brother had been killed, Karna’s maharatha sons, Sushena and Satyasena, released sharp arrows.
67
They swiftly
attacked Pandava, supreme among rathas. O king! They wished to kill him, like two tigers against an elephant in the large forest. Both of them attacked the maharatha with sharp arrows. They flooded him with arrows, like clouds showering down rain. Though he was pierced with arrows all over, Pandava was cheerful. The valiant one grasped another bow and ascended his chariot. The brave one was stationed in the battle, like an enraged Yama. O king! O lord of the earth! Those two brothers used straight-tufted arrows to shatter his chariot. However, in the battle, Nakula laughed. He used four sharp and pointed arrows to slay Satyasena’s four horses. O Indra among kings! Pandava affixed a gold-tufted iron arrow that had been sharpened on stone to sever Satyasena’s bow. Satyasena grasped another bow and ascended another chariot. He and Sushena attacked Pandava. O great king! In the forefront of the battle, without any fear, Madri’s powerful son pierced each of them with two arrows. Maharatha Sushena became enraged. He laughed in the battle and used a kshurapra arrow to sever Pandava’s large bow. Nakula became senseless with rage and picked up another bow. He pierced Sushena with five arrows and severed his standard with another one. O venerable one! In the encounter, he spiritedly severed Satyasena’s bow and arm-guard. At this, the people roared. He grasped another bow that was forceful and capable of bearing a great load. From every direction, he enveloped Pandu’s descendant with arrows. Nakula, the slayer of enemy heroes, repulsed those arrows and pierced both Satyasena and Sushena with two arrows each. O Indra among kings! Each of them separately pierced him back with arrows. They next pierced his charioteer with sharp arrows. The powerful Satyasena displayed the dexterity of his hands. Using separate arrows, he severed Nakula’s chariot and bow. However, the atiratha
68
remained stationed on his chariot. He picked up a spear
69
that possessed a golden handle and was sharp at the tip. It was washed in oil and was extremely bright. It was as radiant as the flickering tongue of an immensely poisonous serpent maiden. In the battle, having grasped it, he hurled
it towards Satyasena. O king! In the encounter, it pierced his heart and shattered it into one hundred fragments. Deprived of his life and bereft of his senses, he fell down from the chariot onto the ground. On seeing that his brother had been slain, Sushena became senseless with rage. He swiftly showered down arrows on Pandu’s descendant, who was fighting on foot. On seeing that Nakula was without a chariot, Droupadi’s immensely strong son, Sutasoma, wished to save his father
70
in the battle and attacked. Nakula climbed onto Sutasoma’s chariot. The foremost among the Bharata lineage looked as beautiful as a lion on a mountain. He picked up another bow and started to fight with Sushena. They showered down arrows on each other and looked dazzling. Those two supreme maharathas made great efforts to slay each other. Sushena angrily struck Pandava with three arrows and pierced Sutasoma in the arms and the chest with twenty arrows. O great king! Nakula, the destroyer of enemy heroes, became angry at this. The valiant one covered all the directions with his arrows. In the battle, he grasped an extremely energetic arrow that was in the shape of a half-moon and was pointed at the tip. With great force, he shot it towards Karna’s son. O supreme among kings! While all the soldiers looked on, it severed his head from his body and it was extraordinary. O king! He was slain by the great-souled Nakula and fell down, like a large tree on a bank that is destroyed by the force of a river. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On seeing that Karna’s son had been killed and on beholding Nakula’s valour, your soldiers were frightened and fled.
‘ “O great king! The powerful king of Madra saw that the soldiers were running away in the battle. The brave one, the commander who was a scorcher of enemies, sought to restrain the terrified troops. O great king! He roared loudly like a lion and fiercely twanged his bow. O king! The one with the firm bow protected those on your side in the battle. The ones who were running around in different directions returned. From every direction, they surrounded the king of Madra, the great archer. O king! The large army was stationed there, wishing to fight on every side. Satyaki, Bhimasena and the Pandavas who
were Madri’s sons placed the modest Yudhishthira, the scorcher of enemies, at their head. Those brave ones surrounded him in the battle and roared like lions. There was the fierce sound of arrows whizzing. They let out many kinds of roars. In that way, all those on your side angrily surrounded the lord of Madra, desiring to fight again. A battle commenced and it increased the terror of cowards. Those on your side, and that of the enemy, preferred death to retreat and were without fear. O lord of the earth! It was like that between the gods and the asuras in earlier times. It extended Yama’s kingdom.
‘ “O king! Having killed the samshaptakas in the battle, the descendant of the Pandu lineage, with the ape on his banner, attacked the Kourava soldiers. The remaining Pandavas, with Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront, attacked those soldiers and shot sharp arrows. They
71
were overwhelmed and confused by the Pandavas and could not distinguish the directions and the sub-directions. The Pandavas covered them with sharp arrows. In every direction, the foremost ones among the Kourava army were slaughtered and they were routed by the maharatha sons of Pandu. O king! In that way, in the battle, hundreds and thousands of Pandava soldiers were killed by your sons, who shot arrows from every direction. Those two armies slaughtered each other and were tormented. They were anxious and agitated, like rivers during the monsoon. O Indra among kings! In the great battle, those on your side were overcome by a sharp and great fear and so were the Pandavas.” ’