Mahabharata: Volume 7 (45 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “That fierce battle continued, terrible in form. The army of your sons was shattered by the Pandavas. The maharathas made great efforts to restrain them and your sons fought against the Pandava soldiers. Wishing to ensure your son’s pleasure, the warriors on your side suddenly returned. When they returned, the battle again assumed a fearful form. Those on your side and the enemy fought against each other in the battle, like the gods and the asuras. The soldiers on your side, and that of the enemy, were unwilling to retreat. They fought against each other through guessing and by means of signs.
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As they fought against each other, there was a great destruction.

‘ “King Yudhishthira was overcome by great rage. In the battle, he wished to vanquish the sons of Dhritarashtra and the kings. He pierced Sharadvata with three arrows that were gold-tufted and had been sharpened on stone. He slew Kritavarma’s four horses with injurious arrows. Ashvatthama bore the illustrious Hardikya away. Sharadvata pierced Yudhishthira back with eight arrows. In the battle, King Duryodhana dispatched seven hundred chariots towards the spot where King Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, was. Those chariots possessed the speed of thought or the wind and rathas rode them. In the encounter, they rushed against Kounteya’s chariot. O great king! They surrounded Yudhishthira from all sides. With their arrows, they made him disappear, like clouds against the sun. Rathas, with Shikhandi at the forefront, were unwilling to tolerate this and became angry. They attacked with the best of swift chariots, decorated with nets of bells. They advanced to protect Yudhishthira, Kunti’s sons. A terrible battle ensued between the Pandavas and the Kurus. Blood flowed like water and it extended Yama’s kingdom. Having slain the seven hundred rathas that belonged to the Kuru assassins, the Pandavas and the Panchalas again countered them. A great battle was fought between your son and the Pandavas. Nothing
like this had been seen earlier, nor heard of. That merciless battle continued in every direction. Warriors, on your side and that of the others, were slain. The warriors roared and blew on their conch shells. The archers roared like lions and shouted. O venerable one! As that battle extended, the inner organs were mangled. In search of victory, the warriors dashed in every direction. Every species on earth seemed to be destroyed and this generated sorrow. As the battle extended, the best of women were deprived of their partings in the encounter.
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That merciless and extremely fearful battle continued. There was a sound, like that of the earth, with all its mountains and forests, during an earthquake. O king! Torches with handles fell down in every direction. From the solar disc, meteors descended from the firmament onto the ground. Harsh winds blew from every side and showered down stones underneath. The elephants shed tears and trembled severely. Disregarding these ominous portents, the extremely fearful battle raged on. Consulting each other, the kshatriyas weren’t distressed and fought again on that beautiful and sacred region of Kurukshetra, desiring to go to heaven.

‘ “Shakuni, the son of the king of Gandhara, said, ‘Station yourselves in the forefront of the battle. I will slay the Pandavas from the rear.’ At this, the spirited warriors from Madra cheerfully advanced, uttering many sounds of delight and so did the enemy. Those invincible ones, unwavering in their aim, attacked us again. They brandished their bows and arrows and showered down arrows. The soldiers of the king of Madra were slain by the army there. On seeing this, Duryodhana’s soldiers again retreated. The powerful king of Gandhara again spoke these words. ‘O wicked ones! O ones who are ignoring dharma! Return and fight. Why are you running away?’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! The king of Gandhara possessed an army of ten thousand horses, with warriors with sparkling lances. He used this army and his valour and there was a destruction of men. He attacked the Pandava soldiers from the rear and killed
them with his sharp arrows. O great king! In every direction, the extremely large army of the Pandus was destroyed and driven away, like clouds by the wind. From a close distance, Yudhishthira saw that his own army was being routed. The immensely strong Sahadeva was in front of him and he urged him. ‘Subala’s armoured son is afflicting our rear. O Pandava! Behold. The evil-minded one is slaying our soldiers. Advance with the sons of Droupadi and kill Shakuni Soubala. O unblemished one! Protect yourself with an army of Panchala chariots. Let all the elephants and horses go with you, and three thousand foot soldiers. Kill Shakuni Soubala.’ At this, seven hundred elephants, with bows in the hands of the riders, five thousand horses, the valiant Sahadeva, three thousand foot soldiers and the sons of Droupadi combined and attacked Shakuni, invincible in a battle, in the encounter. O king! However, the powerful Soubala, desiring victory, overcame the Pandavas and slaughtered the soldiers from the rear. The spirited Pandava horse riders were angry. They penetrated Soubala’s army and overcame his rathas. Those brave riders stationed themselves amidst elephants and enveloped Soubala’s large army with showers of arrows. The brave men used clubs and javelins. O king! Because of your evil counsel, a great battle raged. As the rathas watched, the twang of bowstrings was no longer heard, because one could not distinguish those on one’s own side from that of the enemy. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Javelins were hurled from the arms of the brave ones among the Kurus and the Pandavas and one could see them descend like stellar bodies. O lord of the earth! Sparkling swords were seen to descend there and covered the sky, rendering it exceedingly beautiful. O king! O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Beautiful javelins descended in every direction and were like locusts in the sky. The limbs of horses were covered with blood and because they were wounded, fell down in hundreds and thousands. They fell against each other and crowded together. Wounded, they were seen to vomit blood from their mouths. There was a terrible darkness and the soldiers were covered in dust. With wet eyes, those scorchers of enemies retreated from the spot. O king! Horses and men were covered with dust. Some fell down on
the ground. Others vomited copious quantities of blood. The hair of some men got entangled with the hair of others and they could not move. The immensely strong ones dragged each other from the backs of their horses and, clashing like wrestlers, slew each other. Many lost their lives and were dragged away by the horses. There were many others who fell down on the ground, desiring victory. Those men, proud of their prowess, were seen here and there. Blood flowed from their wounds. Their arms were severed. Their hair was shorn. The earth was seen to be strewn with hundreds and thousands of them. Those who tried to use their horses could not travel a great distance away. Horse riders were slain and the earth was covered with horses. Armour was smeared with blood. And there were those who were armed with many terrible kinds of weapons, seeking to kill each other. They clashed against each other in the battle and many soldiers were killed. O lord of the earth! Soubala fought in that battle for a short while. He then retreated with the six thousand horses that still remained.

‘ “The horse riders on the Pandu side were also covered with blood. They engaged well in that battle, ready to give up their lives. They also retreated with the six thousand horses that still remained. They said, ‘One can no longer use chariots or mighty elephants to fight here. Let chariots advance against chariots and elephants against elephants. Shakuni has now retreated and has stationed himself inside his formation. King Soubala will not advance in the battle again.’ Droupadi’s sons and those crazy elephants then went to the spot where maharatha Panchala Dhrishtadyumna was. O Kouravya! When that mighty cloud of dust arose, Sahadeva alone went to the spot where King Yudhishthira was. When they had departed, Shakuni Soubala again became enraged and attacked Dhrishtadyumna’s army from the side. There was a dreadful battle again and they were ready to give up their lives. Those on your side, and that of the enemy, attacked each other, wishing to kill each other. O king! In that clash of brave warriors, they first glanced at each other, and then attacked, in hundreds and thousands. In that destruction of men, heads were severed with swords and fell down with a great noise, like palm fruit. Devoid of armour, bodies were
mangled and fell down on the ground. O lord of the earth! Arms and thighs were severed with weapons. There were loud noises and the body hair stood up. With sharp weapons, brothers, sons and friends were killed. The warriors descended, like birds in search of meat. Extremely enraged, they attacked each other. ‘I will be the first. I am the first.’ Saying this, thousands were killed. Because of that clash, horse riders lost their lives and were dislodged from their seats. Horses fell down in hundreds and thousands. O lord of the earth! There was the neighing of swift horses. There were the roars of armoured men. A tumultuous sound was created by javelins and swords. O king! Because of your evil policy, they pierced each other’s inner organs. The wrathful ones were overcome by exhaustion. The mounts were exhausted and thirsty. Wounded by sharp weapons, those on your side retreated. Many became crazy because of the scent of blood and lost their senses. They killed whomever they could approach, regardless of whether it was friend or foe. Many kshatriyas, desiring victory, lost their lives. O king! They were covered with showers of arrows and fell down on the ground. Wolves, vultures and jackals emitted fierce sounds of delight. While your son looked on, your army met with a terrible destruction. O lord of the earth! The earth was covered with the bodies of men and horses. It was colourful with flow of blood and increased the fear of cowards. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those on your side, as well as that of the Pandavas, were repeatedly struck by swords, javelins and spears and stopped attacking. As long as they had lives, they struck to the best of their capacity. The warriors then fell down, vomiting blood from their wounds. Headless torsos could be seen, grasping the hair
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and raising sharp swords smeared with blood. O lord of men! Many such headless torsos rose up. Because of that scent of blood, the warriors were overcome by weakness.

‘ “When the sound became less, Soubala attacked the large army of the Pandavas with the few remaining horses. The Pandavas desired victory and spiritedly attacked back. The foot soldiers, elephant riders
and horse riders raised their weapons. They protected themselves in every direction, by arranging themselves into an array. They struck him with many kinds of weapons, wishing to bring an end to the hostilities. On seeing this attack, those on your side rushed against the Pandavas, with horses, infantry, elephants and chariots. There were some foot soldiers who no longer possessed weapons. In the battle, those brave ones attacked and brought down each other with feet and fists. Rathas fell down from their chariots and elephant riders from their elephants. They were like siddhas falling down from celestial vehicles, after their store of good deeds has been exhausted. In the great battle, thus did the warriors kill each other, fathers, brothers, friends, sons and others. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Thus did that fearful battle continue. It was extremely terrible and spears, swords and arrows were used.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “When the sound became less and the Pandavas had slain some of that army, Soubala advanced with seven hundred well-trained horses that still remained. He swiftly approached the army
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and said, ‘O warriors! Make haste. Fight cheerfully.’ The scorcher of enemies repeatedly said this. He asked the kshatriyas there, ‘Where is the maharatha king?’
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O bull among the Bharata lineage! Hearing Shakuni’s words, they replied, ‘The maharatha Kouravya is stationed in the midst of the battle. He is at the spot where the great umbrella is, as radiant as the full moon. That is where the armoured rathas are, with their arm-guards. A tumultuous sound can be heard there, like the roar of clouds. O king! Go there swiftly and you will be able to see Kouravya.’ O lord of men! Having been thus addressed by those brave ones, Shakuni Soubala went to the
spot where your son was. He was surrounded on all sides by valiant ones who were unwilling to retreat from the battle. Duryodhana was stationed there, in the midst of an array of chariots. O lord of the earth! Having seen him, Shakuni cheerfully spoke these words to Duryodhana, gladdening all the rathas on your side. He spoke to the king, as if he thought that his objective had already been achieved. ‘O king! Slay this array of rathas.
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All their horses have already been defeated by me. Yudhishthira is incapable of being defeated in the battle, unless one is prepared to give up one’s own life. Slay this array of rathas, protected by Pandava. We will then kill these elephants, foot soldiers and horses.’ On hearing these words, those on your side were cheered. Wishing for victory, they swiftly attacked the Pandava soldiers. They fixed their quivers and grasped their bows. They brandished their bows and roared like lions. O lord of the earth! The noise of twang of bowstrings and the slapping of palms was again heard. They shot extremely terrible arrows.

‘ “On seeing that they were joyfully and swiftly advancing, with upraised bows, Dhananjaya, Kunti’s son, spoke these words to Devaki’s son. ‘Goad these horses without any fear and penetrate this ocean of soldiers. Using sharp arrows, I will bring an end to these enemies. O Janardana! This is the eighteenth day of the battle and we have engaged against each other in this great clash. The standard-bearers, the great-souled ones, were almost infinite. Behold. They have been destroyed in the battle, by destiny. O Madhava! The army of Dhritarashtra’s son was like an ocean. O Achyuta! Having clashed against us, it has now become like a trifle.
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O Madhava! It would have been well had there been peace after Bhishma was killed. But Dhritarashtra’s stupid and extremely foolish son did not act accordingly. O Madhava! Bhishma spoke beneficial words that were like medicine. However, Suyodhana was beyond reason and did not listen to it. After Bhishma was dislodged and brought down
on the surface of the ground, I do not know the reason why the battle had to continue. I think that, in every way, Dhritarashtra’s son is stupid and extremely foolish. They continued to fight even after Shantanu’s son was brought down. After that, Drona, supreme among those who know about the brahman, was killed, and so were Radheya and Vikarna. But even then, there was no peace. When only a few of the soldiers were left and the son of a suta, tiger among men, was brought down with his sons, even then, there was no peace. When the brave Shrutayusha was killed, and Pourava Jalasandha, and King Shrutayudha, even then, there was no peace. O Janardana! Bhurishrava, Shalya, Shalva and the brave ones from Avanti
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were killed. Even then, there was no peace. Jayadratha, the rakshasa Alayudha, Bahlika and Somadatta were slain. Even then, there was no peace. The brave Bhagadatta, Sudakshina from Kamboja and Duhshasana were killed. Even then, there was no peace. O Krishna! There were many brave kings, lords of their separate dominions. Even when those powerful ones were killed in the battle, there was no peace. Even when he
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saw that an entire akshouhini was brought down by Bhimasena, either because of his delusion or because of his avarice, there still was no peace. Other than Kourava Suyodhana, who else would have been born in a noble lineage and generated this large and pointless enmity? Knowing that we were superior in qualities, strength and valour, which sensible person would attempt to fight, other than a foolish one unable to differentiate good from evil? He could not make up his mind that he should listen to your beneficial words and make peace with the Pandavas. Instead, he listened to the advice of another. Shantanu’s son, Bhishma, Drona and Vidura spoke in favour of peace, but were disregarded. What medicine will he resort to today? O Janardana! Because of his stupidity, he rejected his aged father and mother’s beneficial words, when they spoke about what was good for him. How can he accept good advice? O Janardana! It is evident that he was born to bring an end to his lineage. O lord of the earth! That
is the direction his policy has followed. O Achyuta! It is my view that he will still not give us the kingdom. O father!
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On several occasions, the great-souled Vidura has told me that Dhritarashtra’s son, as long as he is alive, will never give us a share. O venerable one! He also said, “As long as Dhritarashtra’s son is alive, that wicked one will continue to act in evil ways towards you. You will not be able to defeat him, without engaging with him in battle.” O Madhava! Vidura, who sees the truth, always spoke to me in this way. I now see that the evil-souled one’s deeds have been exactly in accordance with the words of the great-souled Vidura. He also heard the beneficial and appropriate words spoken by Jamadagni’s son.
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But the evil-minded one disregarded them and set himself along a path of certain destruction. As soon as Suyodhana was born, many siddhas had said that this evil-souled one would bring about the destruction of kshatriyas. O Janardana! Those words have now been realized. Because of Duryodhana’s deeds, the kings are headed towards fearful destruction. O Madhava! I will kill all the warriors in the battle today. When the kshatriyas have been speedily killed and their camps emptied, for the sake of his own destruction, Duryodhana will desire to fight with us. O Madhava! I think that will bring an end to the enmity. O Varshneya! Using my intelligence, on due reflection, I think this will be the end, borne out by Vidura’s words and the evil-souled one’s efforts. O brave one! Take me to the Bharata army, so that I can use my sharp arrows to slay the evil-souled Duryodhana’s soldiers in the battle. O Madhava! Today, I will accomplish what Dharmaraja wants. While Dhritarashtra’s son looks on, I will destroy this weakened army.’ Thus addressed by Savyasachi, Krishna, with the reins in his hand, fearlessly penetrated the large army of the enemy in the battle.

‘ “The spot was terrible with the best of bows and arrows, and the javelins were like thorns.
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Clubs and maces were the paths
and chariots and elephants were the large trees. The immensely illustrious ones immersed themselves in horses and foot soldiers. Govinda roamed around there, on a chariot with several flags. O king! Those white horses bore Arjuna in the battle. Controlled by Dasharha, they were seen in every direction. Savyasachi, the scorcher of enemies, advanced on his chariot. He showered down hundreds of sharp arrows, like torrents of rain pouring down on a mountain. In the battle, Savyasachi shot and enveloped everything with arrows with drooping tufts, which made a loud noise. Torrents of arrows penetrated armour and fell down on the ground. Shot from Gandiva, those arrows were like Indra’s vajra to the touch. O lord of the earth! Men, elephants and horses were struck. The arrows whizzed like insects and brought them down in the battle. Everything was covered by arrows shot from Gandiva. In the encounter, the directions and the sub-directions could not be distinguished. Everything was covered by arrows marked with Partha’s name. They were gold-tufted, washed in oil and polished by artisans. They were consumed by Partha, like elephants by a fire. The Kouravas were afflicted and slaughtered by those sharp arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Wielding the bow and arrows, Partha blazed. In the battle, he consumed the warriors, like a flaming fire among dead wood. He was like a fire with black trails kindled on the outskirts of a forest by the residents of the forest, roaring loudly and consuming dead wood. Many trees and heaps of dry creepers seemed to be burnt by the blazing and powerful one. The innumerable iron arrows of the powerful one were like extremely energetic flames. The spirited one burnt all the soldiers of your son, swiftly and intolerantly. His gold-tufted arrows were shot well and could not be countered by armour. They robbed lives. He did not have to shoot a second arrow at a man, a horse, or a supreme elephant. The arrows were of many different kinds of forms and penetrated the arrays of the maharathas. He single-handedly killed the soldiers of your son, like the wielder of the vajra against the daityas.” ’