Mahabharata: Volume 7 (7 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O great king! When Drona, the great archer was killed on that day,
and the resolution of Drona’s maharatha son countered,
¹¹⁰
the Kourava forces were driven away there. Together with his brothers, Partha
¹¹¹
arranged the soldiers on their side into a
vyuha
.
¹¹²
O bull among the Bharata lineage! On discerning that he was stationed in that fashion and on seeing that his own forces were running away, your son
¹¹³
used his manliness to restrain them. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having stationed his own troops, he used the strength of his arms to fight with the Pandaveyas for a long time. The enemy had attained its objective and was cheerful, after having struggled for a very long time. However, since it was evening, the armies withdrew. The soldiers were withdrawn and entered their own respective camps. Having done this, the Kurus consulted with each other. They were on expensive beds, with supreme cushions and supreme beds. They were on supreme seats and comfortably lying down, were like the immortals. King Duryodhana spoke to them in conciliatory and supremely restrained tones. He addressed those great archers in words that were appropriate to the occasion. ‘O best among intelligent ones! All of you, quickly tell me what your counsel is. O kings! What should be done now? What is the supreme task?’ Having been thus addressed by that Indra among men, those lions among men, who were seated on their thrones, used different kinds of signs to indicate that they wished to fight. They were ready to offer their lives as oblations into the sacrifice of war. The king’s face was also as radiant as the rising sun. On seeing this, the preceptor’s son, who was intelligent and eloquent in words, spoke these words. ‘Passion, engagement, skill and policy—these are the means to accomplish objectives. That is what the learned ones have said. However, everything depends on destiny. We had foremost among men, maharathas, on our side. They were the equals of the
gods. They had good policy and were devoted, skilled and faithful. But they have been killed. However, despite this, we should not lose hope about our victory. If we use good policies, destiny will become favourable in accomplishing all our objectives. Among all these foremost men, we should make Karna the overall commander. He is endowed with all the qualities. We will then crush our enemy.’ On hearing these pleasant words, Duryodhana was delighted. He thought that these auspicious and beneficial words were full of affection towards him.

‘ “O great king! Reassuring his mind because of the strength of his arms,
¹¹⁴
King Duryodhana spoke these words to Radheya. ‘O Karna! I know your valour and that you are my supreme well-wisher. O mighty-armed one! But nevertheless, I will address some beneficial words towards you. O brave one! Having heard them, do what pleases you. You have always been the wisest. You are my supreme refuge. Bhishma and Drona, both atirathas, were my commanders and they have been killed. You are superior to them. Become my commander. Those great archers were aged and were partial towards Dhananjaya. O Radheya! I revered those brave ones because of your words. O son!
¹¹⁵
In the great battle, for ten days, you saw that Bhishma, the grandfather, protected the sons of Pandu. Having laid his weapons aside in the great battle, Bhishma, the grandfather, was killed by Phalguna, who placed Shikhandi at the forefront. That immensely fortunate one was brought down and is lying down on a bed of arrows. O tiger among men! It was because of your words that Drona was placed in our forefront.
¹¹⁶
But because they were his students, he also protected the Parthas in the battle. Then, the aged one was swiftly killed by Dhrishtadyumna. Thinking about it, I do not see any other warrior who is your equal, because of your infinite valour, even if I include those two foremost ones who have been killed. There is no doubt that you will be able to ensure victory. You know everything about what has happened, earlier, in
the middle, and later. You should be our leader in this battle. You should be the leader in this enterprise. Consecrate your own self in all these soldiers, like Skanda, the undecaying lord, is the general of the gods. Like that, become the protector of the soldiers of the sons of Dhritarashtra. Slay all the large numbers of the enemy, like the great Indra against the
danava
s. Knowing that you are stationed in the battle, the maharatha Pandavas, together with the Panchalas, will run away, like the danavas on seeing Vishnu. O tiger among men! Therefore, become the leader of this large army. When you station yourself and make endeavours, the Pandavas, with their advisers, the Panchalas and the Srinjayas, will be bereft of their senses. You will be like a rising sun that scorches with its energy and dispels the terrible darkness. Like that, you will drive away our enemy.’ Karna replied, ‘O son of Gandhari! In your presence, I have spoken these words before. O king! I will defeat the Pandavas, with their sons and with Janardana. There is no doubt that I will be your commander. O great king! Be assured. Know that I will defeat the Pandavas.’ Having been thus addressed, the immensely energetic King Duryodhana arose, together with the kings, like the gods with Shatakratu.
¹¹⁷

‘ “He instated Karna as the commander, like the immortals did to Skanda. Desirous of victory, King Duryodhana and the other kings swiftly sprinkled water, according to the prescribed rites.
¹¹⁸
Golden and earthen pots were filled and mantras pronounced over them. The tusks of elephants and the horns of large bulls were filled with water. There were others
¹¹⁹
that were decorated with gems and jewels and with fragrant perfumes and herbs. He seated himself on a seat made out of the fig tree,
¹²⁰
covered with a piece of silk. He was consecrated, in accordance with the rites in the sacred texts. ‘In the great battle, may you defeat Partha and Govinda, together with their followers.’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! These were the benedictions pronounced by bards and brahmanas. ‘Be like the rising
sun, the destroyer of darkness through its fierce rays. May they, together with Keshava, not be able to look at your arrows. May those ungrateful ones look on them as the blazing rays of the sun. May the Parthas and the Panchalas not be able to stand before you. In a battle, you possess the knowledge of weapons and will be like the great Indra against the danavas.’ Thus was the infinitely radiant Radheya consecrated. In his resplendent form, he looked like another sun. Radheya was instated as the commander by your son and goaded by destiny, he thought that his task had been accomplished. O king! Having become the commander, Karna, the destroyer of enemies, instructed that the soldiers should be yoked and should wait for the sun to rise. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Surrounded by your sons, Karna looked dazzling there. He was like Skanda surrounded by the gods, in the
tarakamaya
battle.” ’
¹²¹

‘D
hritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! Vaikartana Karna obtained the generalship and was addressed by the king himself,
¹²²
in those gentle and fraternal words. He instructed the soldiers to be yoked and for the sun to rise. O immensely wise one! What did he do next? Tell me that.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O bull among the Bharata lineage! Having ascertained Karna’s views, your son instructed that the soldiers should be yoked and that musical instruments should be sounded. O venerable one! When that long night was over, a great sound of ‘Array, yoke,’ suddenly arose. In the army, elephants and chariots were prepared. O lord of the earth! Infantry and cavalry were readied. The spirited warriors shouted at each other. There was a large and tumultuous noise that seemed to touch heaven. Karna, the great archer
and supreme among rathas, was seen stationed on his chariot. His flags were white and his steeds possessed the complexion of the rising sun. His bow had a golden back and his standard bore the mark of an elephant’s housing. The army had quivers full of arrows and armlets. They wielded
shataghni
s,
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bells, lances, spears, clubs and bows. In his chariot and flags, the son of the suta was seen, sparkling like a clear sun. O father!
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He blew on his conch shell, which was decorated in nets of gold. He stretched his giant bow, which was embellished with gold. O venerable one! On seeing Karna, the great archer and supreme among rathas, stationed on his chariot, like a rising sun that drives away thousands of clumps of darkness, the Kouravas, tigers among men, no longer thought about Bhishma and Drona’s death. O venerable one! Urging the warriors with sounds from his conch shell, Karna made the Kourava army march out. Wishing to defeat the Pandava, Karna, the great archer and scorcher of enemies, arranged a vyuha in the form of a
makara
.
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O king! Karna stationed himself at the makara’s mouth. The brave Shakuni and maharatha Uluka were at the eyes. Drona’s son was at the head. In the midst of his brothers and surrounded by a large army, King Duryodhana was at the neck. O Indra among kings! Kritavarma stationed himself along the left leg, with the narayana and
gopala
forces who were indomitable in battle.
¹²⁶
O king! Goutama, for whom truth was valour, was at the right leg, surrounded by great archers from the Trigarta and southern regions. Shalya was stationed at the rear left leg, with a large army that had been raised from the Madra region. O great king! Sushena, unwavering in his resolution, was on the right, surrounded by a thousand chariots and a hundred tuskers.
¹²⁷
The brave brothers and
kings, Chitrasena and Chitra, were at the tail, surrounded by a large army. O Indra among kings! Thus did the supreme among the best of men emerge.

‘ “On seeing this, Dharmaraja glanced towards Dhananjaya and said, ‘O Partha! In the battle, behold the large army of the sons of Dhritarashtra. They have been arrayed by Karna and are protected by brave maharathas. The remnants of the large army of the sons of Dhritarashtra are bereft of brave ones. O mighty-armed one! It is my view that the remnants are feeble and like grass. There is only one great archer who is stationed there and that is the son of the suta. That supreme among rathas cannot be vanquished by the gods, the
asuras
, the
gandharvas
, the
kinnaras
, the giant serpents and all the mobile and immobile creatures in the three worlds. O mighty-armed one! O Phalguna! If you kill him today, you will be victorious. The stake that has been in my heart for twelve years will be uprooted. O mighty-armed one! Knowing this, construct the vyuha that you desire.’ On hearing his brother’s words, the Pandava with the white horses arranged the soldiers in a counter-vyuha that was in the shape of a half-moon. O king! Bhimasena stationed himself on the left flank and the immensely strong and great archer, Dhrishtadyumna, was on the right. Pandava himself was at the centre of the vyuha, with Krishna as his charioteer. With Dharmaraja, Nakula and Sahadeva were at the rear. Protected by Kiriti, Yudhamanyu and Uttamouja from Panchala protected Arjuna’s wheels and did not desert him in the battle. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The remaining brave kings armoured and stationed themselves in the vyuha, according to each one’s position, enterprise and spirit. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus did the Pandavas arrange themselves into a great vyuha.

‘ “The great archers on your side made up their minds to fight. On seeing the army in the battle, arranged into a vyuha by the son of the suta, your son and all the others on our side thought that the Pandavas had already been killed. O lord of men! In similar fashion, on seeing the Pandava soldiers arranged into a vyuha, Yudhishthira thought that the sons of Dhritarashtra and Karna had already been killed. Conch shells, kettledrums, drums, cymbals and other
musical instruments were loudly sounded and the noise spread in every direction. O king! There was a loud noise in both the armies. Desiring victory, the brave ones roared like lions. There were sounds of the neighing of horses and the trumpeting of elephants. O lord of men! There were fierce sounds from the wheels of chariots. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On seeing the great archer, Karna, stationed at the front of the vyuha, no one
¹²⁸
thought of Drona’s loss. On both sides, the soldiers were full of great spirits and the men and elephants were cheerful. O king! Wishing to kill each other quickly, they remained stationed in the battle. O Indra among kings! Karna and Pandava were resplendent in the midst of their soldiers and were extremely angry on seeing each other stationed thus. As they advanced towards each other, the two armies seemed to be dancing around. Wishing to fight, they emerged from the flanks and smaller segments. O great king! A battle commenced between men, elephants, horses and chariots and they firmly wished to kill each other.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “Those two armies clashed against each other, with cheerful horses, men and elephants. That great encounter was like that between the armies of gods and asuras. In that great battle, elephants, chariots, horses and infantry struck at each other, mangling bodies and destroying lives. The heads of men who were like lions were strewn around on the ground and the faces of those lions among men who were killed were like full moon, the sun, or lotuses in splendour. The heads of the warriors were severed with broad-headed and razor-sharp arrows in the shape of the half-moon, swords, lances and battleaxes. They possessed thick and long arms and these were severed by others with thick and long arms. Those thick arms were severed and fell down, with weapons and armlets still on the hands.
With those red fingers and palms, the earth looked resplendent. It was as if five-headed serpents had been fiercely killed by Garuda. Horses, chariots, elephants and brave warriors were destroyed by the enemy and fell down. It was as if residents of heaven had been dislodged from their celestial vehicles,
¹²⁹
after their sacred merits had been exhausted. In that battle, hundreds of brave and braver ones were uprooted through thick and heavy clubs, maces and bludgeons. Rathas were killed by rathas and mad elephants by other mad elephants. As they clashed in that supreme encounter, horses were brought down by horses. Rathas were destroyed by supreme rathas, elephants by horse riders and foot soldiers. Horse riders and foot soldiers were killed and lay down on that field of battle. Chariots, horses, foot soldiers and elephants were destroyed by chariots, elephants, horses and foot soldiers. Chariots, foot soldiers, elephants and horses were destroyed by men, horses, chariots and elephants. Chariots, horses and men fought against men, horses and chariots and caused a great carnage, fighting with hands, feet, weapons and chariots.

‘ “While those brave soldiers were being slaughtered and killed, the Parthas, with Vrikodara at the forefront, advanced against us. They were with Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, Droupadi’s sons, the Prabhadrakas, Satyaki, Chekitana and the Dravida soldiers. They were surrounded by a large army from the Pandyas, the Cholas and the Keralas. They were broad in the chest and long in the arms. They were tall and handsome. They were ornamented and possessed red teeth. They were like crazy elephants in their valour. They were adorned in garments of many colours and were smeared with fragrant scents. They had girded swords and nooses in their hands. They were capable of countering elephants. O king! Prepared to die, they were stationed against each other in that army. There were quivers and bows in their hands and their hair was long. They were pleasant in speech. The foot soldiers from Andhra were terrible in form and valiant and were led by Satyaki. There were other brave ones from Chedi, Panchala, Kekaya, Karusha, Kosala, Kashi and Magadha and they dashed forward. There were many
kinds of chariots, elephants, supreme horses and infantry amidst them and they could be seen to be dancing and laughing. Surrounded by supreme ones from the enemy, Vrikodara was in the midst of that large army. He was seated astride an elephant. That supreme among elephants was fierce and having been properly prepared, looked dazzling. It was like a palace atop Mount Udaya, illuminated at the peak by the rising sun.
¹³⁰
His
¹³¹
supreme armour was made out of iron and he was adorned with the best of gems. He sparkled like the autumn sky, studded with stars. There was a fierce spear in his hand and it was beautifully adorned at the tip. Like the midday sun in autumn, he began to burn up the enemy.

‘ “Seeing that elephant from a distance, Kshemadhurti arrived, seated on another elephant.
¹³²
He was cheerful and attacked and challenged someone who was more cheerful than he was. There was a clash between those two elephants, both of which were fierce in form. They clashed as they wished, like two mountains with trees at the top. Astride the clashing elephants, those two brave ones struck each other with their spears. The powerful ones were as dazzling as the rays of the sun and striking each other, roared. They then retreated and circled on their elephants. Both of them picked up bows and struck each other. They slapped their arms and in every direction, there was the sound of arrows. As they roared like lions, they delighted all the men. Those immensely strong lords were on elephants that raised up their trunks. As they fought, the flags whirled around in the wind. Having severed each other’s bows, they roared. They showered down lances and spears, like clouds pouring down rain during the monsoon. Kshemadhurti used great force to strike Bhima between the breasts with a spear and striking him again with another six, roared. Because of those spears, Bhimasena was resplendent in
the field of battle. In that encounter, his body blazed with anger, like seven suns seven times.
¹³³
Bhima carefully hurled a spear towards his enemy. It was made out of iron and possessed the complexion of the sun. It flew straight. The lord of Kuluta affixed ten arrows to his bow and shattered the spear. He then pierced Pandava with sixty more. Pandava picked up a bow that roared like a giant cloud and afflicting his enemy’s elephants with his arrows, roared. Having been afflicted by the arrows of Bhimasena in the battle, the elephant did not remain there any longer, though one tried to restrain it. It was like a cloud dispelled by the wind. Bhimasena’s elephant, the king of elephants, pursued it, like a cloud driven by a strong wind follows a cloud blown away by the wind. Having endeavoured to restrain his elephant, Kshemadhurti attacked Bhimasena and his elephant and pierced them with arrows. The bull among men used a razor-sharp arrow that was released well to sever his enemy’s bow and oppressed his enemy’s elephant. As if striking Bhima with a rod, Kshemadhurti used iron arrows to pierce the elephant everywhere in its inner organs. Before the elephant could fall down, Bhimasena descended and stationed himself on the ground. He struck down the enemy’s elephant with a club. When that elephant was brought down, Kshemadhurti advanced with an upraised weapon. But Vrikodara killed him with his club. He was killed, with the sword in his hand, and having been brought down, lay down next to the elephant. He was like a lion killed by the vajra, alongside a mountain shattered by the vajra. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On seeing that the illustrious king of Kuluta had been killed, your soldiers were distressed and fled.” ’