Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (20 page)

‘“Having approached, they looked around for Jayadratha, driven by the desire to kill. They looked like two tigers who wished to descend on
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deer. O great king! Such was the complexion on their faces that all your warriors thought that Jayadratha had already been slain. The mighty-armed Krishna and Pandava were together and their eyes were coppery red. They were delighted on seeing the king of Sindhu and roared repeatedly. The resplendence of Shouri with the reins and Partha with the bow was like that of the sun or the fire. They were delighted at having been freed from Drona’s array and at having seen that Saindhava was nearby, like two hawks at the sight of meat. On seeing that Saindhava was present nearby, they were like two hawks at the sight of meat. They descended, swiftly, angrily and suddenly.

‘“Having seen that Hrishikesha and Dhananjaya had crossed,
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your valiant son, King Duryodhana, wished to protect the king of Sindhu. O lord! He had the armour that Drona had fastened on him. He was skilled in handling horses and rushed on a single chariot. Your son overtook the great archers, Krishna and Partha.
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O lord of men! Having gone on ahead, he turned and faced Pundarikaksha. At this, all the soldiers delightedly sounded musical instruments, since your son had overtaken Dhananjaya. There were roars like lions, mixed with sounds of conch shells and drums, on seeing that Duryodhana was stationed there, in front of the two Krishnas. O lord! There were also those, like fires, who had been assigned to protect the king
of Sindhu. In that battle, they were also delighted to see your son. O king! On seeing that Duryodhana and his followers had crossed them, Krishna spoke these words, which were appropriate for the occasion, to Arjuna.”’

‘“Vasudeva said, ‘O Dhananjaya! Behold. Suyodhana has overtaken us. I think that this is marvellous and there is no ratha like him. The great archer can shoot up to a great distance. He is skilled in the use of weapons and is invincible in battle. He is firm in wielding weapons and is colourful in fighting. Dhritrarashtra’s son is extremely strong. He has been reared in great happiness, but is honoured by the maharathas. O Partha! He has always been accomplished, but he has always hated the Pandavas. O unblemished one! Therefore, I think that the time has come for you to fight with him. Like the stake in a gambling match, on him rests victory, or its reverse. O Partha! Release the venom of your anger here, which you have bottled up for a long time. This maharatha is the main source of the injury to the Pandavas. He is now within striking distance. See that you are successful. This king desires the kingdom. That is why he has come to fight with you. It is through good fortune that he has now arrived within the reach of your arrows. O Dhananjaya! Act so that he is deprived of his life. He is intoxicated and deluded because of his prosperity. He has never suffered from unhappiness. O bull among men! Nor does he know your valour in battle. O Partha! There is no one in the three worlds, gods, asuras or men, who can withstand you and vanquish you in battle, not to speak of Suyodhana alone. O Partha! It is through good fortune that he has come near your chariot. O mighty-armed one! Kill him, like Purandara against Vritra. O unblemished one! This powerful one has always sought to cause you injury. Through deceit, he cheated Dharmaraja in the gambling match. O one who grants honours! He has performed many
extremely cruel deeds towards him. Fight with this evil-minded one. You have never set your mind on evil. You have always been noble. This inferior man has been addicted to kama. O Partha! Set your mind on fighting nobly and without reflecting on it, kill him. O Pandava! He deceitfully robbed the kingdom and sent you on an exile to the forest. He caused oppression to Krishna.
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Remember those in your heart and act valorously. It is through good fortune that he is circling around, within the range of your arrows. It is through good fortune that he is in front of you and is trying to act against you. He knows that it is through good fortune that he has to fight against you in the battle. O Partha! It is through good fortune that you will be successful in everything that is desired by you. O Partha! Therefore, in this battle, kill Dhritarashtra’s son, the wretch of the lineage, just as in earlier times, in the battle between the gods and the asuras, Indra killed Jambha. If you kill him, the soldiers
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will be without a protector and you can penetrate them. Sever the root of these evil-souled ones and let the
avabhritha
of this enmity be completed.’”
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‘Sanjaya said, “Having been thus addressed, Partha replied, ‘I will do everything accordingly. Ignore everything else and go to the spot where Suyodhana is. He has enjoyed the kingdom for a very long time, without any thorns. Exhibiting my valour in fighting, I will slice off his head in the battle. O Madhava! Though she did not deserve it, he caused oppression to Krishna. She was dragged by the hair. Will I now be successful in avenging this?’ The two Krishnas talked to each other in this way. Borne on the best of white horses, they urged them in the battle, looking for the wicked one. O bull among the Bharata lineage! O venerable one! Having approached them, your son was not the least bit frightened, though there was reason for great fear. At this, all the kshatriyas on your side honoured him, because he advanced against Arjuna and Hrishikesha, desiring to repulse them. O lord of the
earth! On seeing the king in that battle, a great sound arose from all the soldiers on your side. As that great and terrible sound arose, your son countered and checked them. Obstructed by your son, Kounteya became extremely angry and so did that scorcher of enemies.
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On seeing that Duryodhana and Dhananjaya were angry with each other, all the kings, terrible in form, surrounded them from all sides. O venerable one! On seeing that Partha and Vasudeva were enraged, your son laughed and wishing to fight, challenged them. Dasharha was delighted at this and so was Pandava Dhananjaya. They let out loud roars and blew on their excellent conch shells.
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On seeing that the two of them were so cheerful, all the Kouravas gave up any hope of your son remaining alive. All the Kurus, and some among the enemy, began to sorrow. They thought that your son had already been offered as an oblation into the fire. The warriors saw that Krishna and Pandava were delighted. Afflicted with fear, they exclaimed, ‘The king has been slain. The king has been slain.’ On hearing the roars of the men, Duryodhana said, ‘Dispel your fears. I will send the two Krishnas to the land of the dead.’ Having spoken thus to all the soldiers, the king expected to be victorious. He angrily addressed Partha and spoke these words. ‘O Partha! If you have actually been born from Pandu, quickly show me your weapons, divine and human. Show me your strength and your valour, and also that of Keshava. Act swiftly against me and show me your manliness. They have spoken about deeds you have done, but we have not seen them. They have been regarded as deeds of valour. Show them to me.’”’

‘Sanjaya said, “Having said this, the king pierced Arjuna with three arrows that penetrated the inner organs. With another
four extremely forceful arrows, he pierced his four horses. He pierced Vasudeva between the breasts with ten arrows and with another broad-headed arrow, severed the whip, so that it fell down on the ground. Partha quickly struck him, without being distracted, with fourteen arrows that had been sharpened on stone and were colourfully tufted. But those were neutralized by the armour. On seeing that those were unsuccessful, he
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again struck him with fourteen sharp arrows. But these were also neutralized by the armour. On seeing that twenty-eight of his arrows had become unsuccessful, Krishna, the destroyer of enemy heroes, spoke these words to Arjuna. ‘I have never seen anything like this before. It is as if boulders have begun to move. O Partha! Arrows shot by you are bcoming unsuccessful. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Has Gandiva lost its life? Is the grasp of your fist and the strength of your arms not what it used to be earlier? Is this not the time for your final encounter with your enemy? Tell me. I am asking you. O Partha! In the battle, I am amazed at seeing that all your arrows are unsuccessful and are falling down in front of Duryodhana’s chariot. They are as terrible as the vajra or thunder. They penetrate the bodies of enemies. But those arrows are becoming unsuccessful. O Partha! What mockery is this now!’

‘“Arjuna replied, ‘O Krishna! It is my view that Dhritarashtra’s son has sought refuge with Drona and he has fastened this weapon, so that the weapons are unsuccessful. O Krishna! This armour possesses the essence of the three worlds. Drona alone knows this. And I have learnt it from that excellent one. My arrows are incapable of penetrating this armour. O Govinda! Maghavan himself cannot shatter it with his vajra. O Krishna! Knowing this, why are you trying to confuse me? O Keshava! You know everything that goes on in the three worlds. You know everything about what will happen in the future. O Madhusudana! No one else knows it as well as you do. O Krishna! This Duryodhana has been prepared by Drona and is stationed fearlessly in this battle, having donned the armour. O Madhava! But he does not know something about the appropriate
course of action. He has only donned the armour like a woman. O Janardana! Witness the valour of my arms and my bow. I will defeat Kouravya, although he is protected by the armour. The lord of the gods gave this radiant armour to Angiras. The lord of the gods again gave me the armour, with the understanding that goes with it.
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Even if this armour is divine and even if it has been created by Brahma himself, the evil-minded one will be pierced by my arrows today and will not be protected by it.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “Having said this, Arjuna invoked some arrows with mantras and fixed them. He affixed those arrows on the bow and stretched it. But Drona’s son cut them down with a weapon that was capable of destroying all weapons. The one with the white horses was astounded at the sight of the one who knew about the brahman
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making those arrows unsuccessful from a distance. He told Keshava, ‘O Janardana! I am incapable of releasing this weapon a second time. If I do that, the weapon will kill those on our own side. But behold my power today.’ O king! Meanwhile, in that battle, Duryodhana pierced each of the two Krishnas with nine arrows that had drooping tufts and were like virulent serpents. In that encounter, he again showered down arrows on Krishna and Pandava. At this great shower of arrows, those on your side were delighted. They roared like lions and sounded their musical instruments. At this, Partha became enraged in that battle and licked the corners of his mouth. He did not see any part of the body that was not protected by the armour. He released some well-directed and sharp arrows that were like death. These killed his
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horses and the two charioteers who guarded his flanks.
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The valiant Savyasachi severed his colourful bow, the leather guards on his hands and shattered his chariot into fragments. With sharp arrows, he deprived Duryodhana of his chariot. Arjuna then pierced both his palms. On seeing that
the supreme archer was in such great difficulty and was afflicted by Dhananjaya’s arrows, many rushed there to save him.

‘“There were many thousands of chariots and elephants and horses that had been readied. There were angry warriors on foot and they surrounded Dhananjaya. Arjuna, Govinda, or the chariot could no longer be seen. That mass of men surrounded them and brought down a giant shower of weapons. But Arjuna slew those troops with the valour of his weapons. Hundreds of rathas and elephants fell down, deprived of their limbs. They were killed, or were being killed, and could not reach that supreme chariot.
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That chariot was stationed one krosha away in every direction.
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‘“Quickly, the hero of the Vrishni lineage then spoke these words to Arjuna. ‘Stretch Gandiva with force and I will blow on my conch shell.’ Arjuna drew Gandiva with force and began to slaughter the enemy again. He brought down a mighty shower of arrows and there was a slapping sound from his palms. Keshava powerfully blew a loud note on Panchajanya, his eyelashes covered with dust and his face sweating profusely. At the roar of the conch shell and the sound of the bow, the men, whether they were spirited or dispirited, fell down on the ground. Arjuna’s chariot was freed from the melee, like a cloud driven by the wind. Those who were protecting Jayadratha, and their followers, became disturbed. The ones who were protecting Saindhava suddenly saw Partha. They roared loudly, in many ways, and made the earth tremble. The sound of their arrows mixed with other fierce sounds and the blare of conch shells. Those great-souled ones roared like lions. On hearing the terrible noise raised by those on your side, Vasudeva and Dhananjaya blew on their conch shells. O lord of the earth! That great sound filled the earth, with its mountains, oceans, islands and the nether regions. O best of the Bharata lineage! That sound filled all the ten directions and echoed there, from the Kuru and Pandava forces. The rathas on your side saw Krishna and Dhananjaya and
were frightened. But the maharathas quickly regained their spirits. Having seen the immensely fortunate Krishnas, those on your side armoured themselves and angrily attacked. It was wonderful.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “Those on your side beheld the supreme ones from the Vrishni-Andhaka and Kuru lineages. Each one desired to be the first to kill them and Vijaya also rushed against the enemy. The giant chariots were colourful, decorated in gold and tiger skins. They thundered and blazed in all the directions, like flaming fires. O lord of the earth! The handles of the bows were inlaid with gold and were difficult to look at. The chariots rumbled deeply and the horses that drew them were angry. Bhurishrava, Shala, Karna, Vrishasena, Jayadratha, Kripa, the ruler of Madra and Drona’s son, supreme among rathas—these eight maharathas seemed to devour the sky. They were armoured and angry. They blazed in the ten directions in chariots that roared like masses of clouds and were decorated with tiger skins and golden moons. From all directions, they enveloped Partha with sharp arrows. Colourful horses from good lineages bore those maharathas. They possessed great speed and illuminated the ten directions. These extremely swift and supreme horses came from many lineages and many countries. They were from mountainous and riverine regions and from Sindhu. O king! The best of warriors from among the Kurus wished to protect your son and swiftly dashed towards Dhananjaya’s chariot from every direction. Those best of men grasped giant conch shells and blew on them. O king! They filled the sky, the earth and the oceans. Vasudeva and Dhananjaya, supreme among beings, also blew on their supreme conch shells, best among all the conch shells on earth. Kounteya’s was Devadatta and Keshava’s was Panchajanya. Sounded by Dhananjaya, there was a loud blast from Devadatta. It spread through the earth, the sky and the directions. Blown by Vasudeva, Panchajanya was also like
that. It surpassed all sounds and filled heaven and earth.
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There was thus a terrible and loud noise. It generated fear among cowards and increased the delight of those who were brave. O Indra among kings! Drums, tambourines, cymbals and other drums were sounded in large numbers. Those maharathas had been assembled for the sake of Duryodhana’s welfare. Those supreme archers became angry and intolerant at this sound. There were kings from many countries, protected by their own soldiers. Those brave maharathas wished to answer Keshava and Arjuna’s sound and intolerantly blew on their giant conch shells. Your soldiers were urged by the sound of those conch shells. O lord! The rathas, elephants and horses became anxious and seemed to be ill. Agitated by the sound of the conch shells blown by the brave ones, they became extremely anxious and were like the sky, agitated by a hurricane. O king! All the directions echoed with that great sound. It terrified the soldiers, as if the end of the yuga had arrived.