Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (50 page)

‘“There was an extremely terrible battle between those on your side and those on their side. It involved men, horses, chariots and elephants and extended Yama’s kingdom. Charioteers clashed with charioteers and sent them to Yama’s abode. Others attacked, men, elephant-riders and horse-riders. They used straight-tufted arrows to dispatch each other to the hereafter. O lord of the earth! Many terrible weapons were used there. Chariots lost their horses, rathas and charioteers and in that battle, were dragged away in different directions. O king! In that battle, they crushed many men and horses. They seemed to be like the wind, or like the cities of the gandharvas. Energetic and armoured rathas were bereft of their chariots. They were adorned with earrings and headdresses and all of them were ornamented with golden armlets. They were the equals of the sons of the gods in beauty and bravery and Shakra’s equal in fighting. They surpassed Vaishravana
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in prosperity and Brihaspati in wisdom. O lord of the world! The brave ones who were there were the lords of all the worlds. They were seen to be driven away, like ordinary men. O best of men! The tuskers were bereft of the best of riders. They ran around and fell down, shrieking loudly and crushing their own ranks. O venerable one! Their armour, whisks, umbrellas and standards were strewn around, as were the housings, bells and lances. Devastated, they were seen to run away in the ten directions. They were like mountains or clouds and roared like rain clouds. O lord of the earth! Some elephant-riders were deprived of their elephants, both on your side and on theirs. They were seen to run away in that encounter. There were horses that had come from many countries and were decorated with gold. They were as fast as the wind and were there in hundreds and thousands. With the horses slain, horse-riders
grasped swords in every direction. They were seen to run away, or chase others away, in that encounter. In that great battle, elephants clashed with elephants that were running away and swiftly crushed infantry and steeds. O king! In that battle, elephants crushed chariots and chariots clashed against infantry and horses. O king! In that battle, horses crushed men in the course of the encounter. O king! In this fashion, they crushed each other in diverse ways. That terrible battle raged and it gave rise to great fear. A fearful river began to flow, with blood as its waves. It was choked with masses of bones and the hair
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was like moss and weeds. Chariots were the lakes and arrows were the currents, with horses as the unassailable fish. It was covered with heads as pebbles. It was infested with elephants as crocodiles. Armour and headdresses constituted the foam. Bows were islands and swords were turtles. Flags and pennants were trees along the banks. Men were the banks that the river destroyed. It was infested with large numbers of predatory creatures and it extended Yama’s kingdom. O king! In that great battle, many brave kshatriyas gave up their fear. They sought to cross the river on boats made out of horses, elephants and chariots. In that battle, this river conveyed all the cowards who had become overcome by lassitude, just as Vaitarani conveys all those who are dead to the capital of the king of the dead. The kshatriyas present witnessed the great carnage. They exclaimed, ‘It is because of Duryodhana’s crimes that the Kouravas are headed towards destruction. The sons of Pandu possess many qualities. Why did Dhritrashtra’s son, the lord of men, hate them? He is evil in his soul. He has been overcome by avarice.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Many words of this kind were heard there. They were full of praise for the Pandavas and were extremely terrible about your sons. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On hearing these words spoken by all the warriors, your son, Duryodhana, who had caused offence to all the worlds, spoke these words to Bhishma, Drona, Kripa and Shalya. ‘Fight with pride. What is the reason for delay?’ O king! The extremely terrible battle between the Kurus and the Pandavas raged again, a consequence of the gambling
with the dice. O Vichitravirya’s son! You paid no attention when the great-souled ones tried to restrain you then. Behold the fruits of that. O king! O lord of the earth! The sons of Pandu, their soldiers, their followers and the Kouravas do not desire to protect their lives in this battle. That is the reason there is this terrible destruction of people. O tiger among men! O king! It has been caused by destiny and your evil policy.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O tiger among men! There were kings who were following Susharma’s lead and Arjuna used sharp arrows to dispatch them to the abode of the king of the dead. In that battle, Susharma pierced Partha with arrows. He again pierced Vasudeva with seventy and Partha with nine. The maharatha who was Shakra’s son repulsed them with his own shower of arrows. In that battle, he dispatched Susharma’s warriors to Yama’s abode. They were slain by Partha, like the fire at the destruction of a yuga. O king! Those maharathas were overcome with fear and fled from the field of battle. O venerable one! Some abandoned their horses. Others gave up their chariots. And still others discarded their elephants and fled in the ten directions. Others fled from the field of battle, with their horses, elephants and chariots. O lord of the earth! They ran away with great speed. In that great battle, foot soldiers threw away their weapons. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As they ran away, they ignored everything else. They were repeatedly restrained by Susharma of the Trigartas and by other chiefs among the kings. But they did not stay in that battle.

‘“On seeing that his army was being routed, your son, Duryodhana, placed Bhishma at the forefront of the battle, ahead of all the soldiers. Using the best of his great endeavour, he attacked Dhananjaya, for the sake of protecting the life of the lord of Trigarta. He alone remained stationed in the battle, together with
all his brothers, and showered many different kinds of arrows. The remaining men ran away. O king! The Pandavas were armoured. For Phalguna’s sake, they used their best endeavours to go to the spot where Bhishma was. They knew that the wielder of Gandiva was invincible. But cries of lamentation had arisen in all directions from the spot where Bhishma was. In that encounter, the brave one with the palm tree on his standard used straight-tufted arrows to shroud the army of the Pandavas. All the Kurus and the Pandavas seemed to be one single mass. O great king! They fought and the sun reached midday. Satyaki pierced Kritavarma with five iron arrows. The brave one remained stationed in the battle, releasing thousands of arrows. King Drupada pierced Drona with sharp arrows. He again pierced him with seventy arrows and his charioteer with seven. Bhimasena pierced his great-grandfather, King Bahlika, and emitted a loud roar, like a tiger in a forest.
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Arjuna’s son pierced Chitrasena with many fast arrows. Chitrasena was severely pierced in the chest with three arrows. These two great ones among men encountered each other in the battle and were radiant. O king! They were like the extremely terrible Budha and Shanaishchara in the sky.
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Subhadra’s son, the destroyer of enemy heroes, roared powerfully, after having slain his horses with four arrows and his charioteer with nine. O lord of the earth! With his horses slain, the maharatha swiftly descended from his chariot and climbed onto Durmukha’s chariot. Drona pierced Drupada with straight-tufted arrows and the valorous one also swiftly pierced his charioteer. At the head of his soldiers, King Drupada was thus oppressed. Remembering his earlier hostility, he retreated on swift horses. In an instant, Bhimasena deprived King Bahlika of his horses, charioteer and chariot, while all the soldiers looked on. O
great king! Bahlika, supreme among men, was overcome by panic and confronted a great danger. He swiftly climbed onto maharatha Lakshmana’s chariot. Satyaki repulsed maharatha Kritavarma. O king! He attacked the grandfather with many arrows. He pierced Bharata
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with sixty sharp arrows that were tufted with hair and seemed to be dancing around on his chariot, brandishing his large bow. The grandfather hurled a giant and iron javelin towards him. It was decorated with gold and was extremely swift. It was as beautiful as a maiden of the serpents. On seeing it suddenly descend, extremely energetic and like death, the immensely famous Varshneya destroyed it with his dexterity. That extremely terrible javelin could not touch Varshneya. It fell down on the face of the ground, like a giant meteor that has lost its brilliance. O king! At this, Varshneya forcefully grasped and hurled a javelin towards the grandfather’s chariot. It was terrible to behold. In that great battle, it was hurled through the force of Varshneya’s arms. It advanced with great force, like a fatal night advancing towards a man. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing it suddenly descend, Gangeya used two extremely sharp kshurapra arrows to slice it into two, so that it fell down on the ground. Having severed the javelin, he angrily struck Satyaki on the chest with nine arrows and the destroyer of enemies smiled as he did this. O Pandu’s elder brother! The Pandavas surrounded Bhishma in that battle, with their chariots, elephants and horses, so that Madhava
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might be rescued. A tumultuous battle commenced and it made the body hair stand up. In that encounter, both the Pandavas and the Kurus desired victory.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! Duryodhana saw that Bhishma was angry in the battle. O great king! He also saw that he was
surrounded by the Pandavas, like clouds in the sky surrounding the sun after summer is over. He addressed Duhshasana. ‘This brave and great archer, Bhishma, is the destroyer of enemies. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He has been covered on all sides by the brave Pandavas. O brave one! It is your duty to protect the extremely great-souled one. In this battle, protect Bhishma, our grandfather, so that he can kill the Panchalas and the Pandavas in this encounter. I think that it is our duty to protect Bhishma. Bhishma, the great archer, is our protector and is also our grandfather. With all your soldiers, surround the grandfather. If you protect him, you will perform a difficult task in this battle.’ In the encounter, having been thus addressed, your son, Duhshasana, stationed himself around Bhishma, surrounding him with a large army. Subala’s son had many hundreds and thousands of horses. The riders had polished spears and wielded swords and spikes. They were proud and extremely swift. This was a force with standards. These supreme among men were trained and skilled in battle. They surrounded Nakula, Sahadeva and Pandava Dharmaraja from every direction and repulsed those best of men. King Duryodhana sent ten thousand brave horse-riders to restrain the Pandavas. They penetrated with great force, like Garudas advancing to do battle. O king! The earth was struck with the hooves and trembled because of the sound. A great noise from the hooves of the horses could be heard then. It was like a large forest of bamboos being burnt on a mountain. As they advanced there, a great cloud of dust arose. It rose up into the path of the sun and shrouded the sun. The army of the Pandavas was agitated because of the force of these horses, as if a flock of swans had descended onto a large lake with great force. Nothing could be heard because of the sounds of neighing.

‘“O great king! In that battle, King Yudhishthira and the Pandavas who were Madri’s sons spiritedly checked the force of those horse-riders, like the shoreline checks the forceful waves of the great ocean on the night of the full moon, when the waters are full because of the rains. O king! The rathas used straight-tufted arrows to sever the heads of the horse-riders from their bodies. O great king! They were slain and brought down by those who wielded firm bows. It was like elephants killed by mighty elephants and hurled into
mountainous caverns. They
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roamed around in the ten directions and used extremely sharp javelins and straight-tufted arrows to slice off the heads. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The horse-riders were struck by swords. Their heads fell down, like fruit from large trees. O king! Horses and their riders were seen to be slain there. They fell down and were falling down, in hundreds and thousands. Having been thus slaughtered, the horses were overcome by fear and fled. It was like deer trying to protect their lives at the arrival of a lion. O great king! In that great battle, the Pandavas vanquished the enemy. Having driven the enemy away in the battle, they blew on their conch shells and sounded their drums.

‘“In the midst of the soldiers, Duryodhana was seen to be distressed. O best of the Bharata lineage! He spoke these words to the king of Madra. ‘This eldest son of Pandu has vanquished my maternal uncle. O mighty-armed one! While you have looked on, the powerful one has driven my soldiers away. O mighty-armed one! Repulse him, the way the shoreline beats back the abode of makaras. On account of your strength and valour, you are known to be irresistible.’ Having heard the words of your son, the powerful Shalya advanced with a large number of chariots to the spot where King Yudhishthira was stationed. Shalya suddenly descended with an extremely large force, with the thrust of the great ocean. Pandava countered him in that battle. In that encounter, maharatha Dharmaraja used ten arrows to swiftly strike the king of Madra between the breasts. Nakula and Sahadeva struck him with three arrows that were aimed straight. The king of Madra pierced each of them with three arrows. He again pierced Yudhishthira with sixty sharp arrows. Overcome with anger, he struck the two sons of Madri with two arrows. The mighty-armed Bhima then beheld the king in that battle. He approached the king of Madra, as if advancing into the jaws of death. The vanquisher of enemies advanced to the spot where Yudhishthira was stationed in the battle. An extremely terrible and fearful battle raged. The sun was blazing in the other direction then.”’
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‘Sanjaya said, “Your father was enraged. In that battle, he used supreme and sharp arrows to pierce the Parthas and their soldiers in every direction. He pierced Bhima with twelve arrows and Satyaki with nine, Nakula with three arrows and Sahadeva with seven. He struck Yudhishthira with twelve arrows in his chest and arms. The immensely strong one then pierced Dhrishtadyumna and roared. Nakula pierced him with twelve arrows and Madhava
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with three. Dhrishtadyumna pierced the grandfather back with seventy arrows, Bhimasena with five and Yudhishthira with twelve. Having pierced Satyaki, Drona pierced Bhimasena. He pierced each of them with five sharp arrows that resembled Yama’s staff. But each of them pierced the bull among brahmanas back with three arrows that were straight in their aim and were like giant snakes. The Souviras, the Kitavas, those from the east, those from the west, those from the north, the Malavas, the Abhishahas, the Shurasenas, the Shibis and the Vasatayas did not avoid Bhishma in that battle, though they were slaughtered by his sharp arrows. Other great-souled ones on the side of the Pandaveyas were slaughtered. The Pandavas were attacked by those who wielded many weapons in their hands. O king! But the Pandavas still surrounded the grandfather. The invincible one was surrounded on all sides by a large number of chariots. Consuming the enemy, he blazed up like a fire engendered in a deserted forest. His chariot was the source of the fire. The bow, swords, javelins and clubs were the kindling. His arrows were the sparks. Bhishma was himself the fire that consumed the bulls among the kshatriyas. His arrows had golden tufts and the feathers of vultures. They were extremely energetic. He enveloped the enemy force with barbed, hollow and iron arrows. He used sharp arrows to bring down elephants and chariots. That large number of chariots looked like a forest of palm trees with the heads lopped off. O king! In that battle, the mighty-armed one, supreme among all wielders of
weapons, deprived chariots, elephants and horses of their riders. The twang of his bow-string and the slapping of his palms were like the clap of thunder. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the beings were agitated and trembled. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Your father’s arrows were incapable of being countered. Released from Bhishma’s bow, those arrows did not only strike the armour on the bodies. O king! Brave ones were slain on their chariots. O great king! With the swift horses still yoked, we saw them
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being dragged around all over the field of battle. There were fourteen thousand maharathas from the Chedis, the Kashis and the Karushas. They were famous, born in noble lineages and were ready to give up their lives. Their standards were decorated with gold and all of them refused to retreat from the field of battle. They clashed against Bhishma in that battle, as if against Death with a gaping mouth. All of them were submerged in the world of the hereafter, together with their horses, chariots and elephants. O king! We saw hundreds and thousands of chariots. Some had their floors and axles chattered. Others had completely broken wheels. The bumpers of the chariots were fragmented and the charioteers were brought down. O lord of the earth! O venerable one! Arrows, excellent armour, spikes, clubs, maces, swords, arrows with iron heads, the floors of chariots, quivers and wheels were broken and were strewn around. There were arms that still held bows and swords. There were heads with earrings. There were palm-guards and finger-guards and standards that had been brought down. There were bows shattered into many fragments. All these were scattered on the ground. O king! There were elephants with the riders slain and horses devoid of riders. They lay there, in hundreds and thousands. The brave ones
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made every effort to restrain the maharathas who were running away. But they did not succeed, because of the oppression created by Bhishma’s arrows. With valour like that of the great Indra, he slaughtered that large army. O great king! It was destroyed in such a way that no two people ran away together. Chariots, elephants and horses were pierced and
standards and seats brought down. There was lamentation in the army of the sons of Pandu and they lost their senses. Father killed the son and the son killed the father. Driven by the force of destiny, a friend attacked a beloved friend. Many soldiers in the army of the sons of Pandu tore apart their armour. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With disheveled hair, they were seen to run away. They were like a herd of cattle, crazy with fear and running around. Chariot-riders, elephants and soldiers in the army of the sons of Pandu were seen to be shrieking in piteous tones.