Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (59 page)

‘“On seeing that Drona, tiger among men, had destroyed it with his arrows, he grasped a sparkling sword that was as radiant as the sun and was decorated with the signs of one hundred moons. The virtuous ones thought that there was no doubt that the time had come for the great-souled Panchala to kill the foremost among preceptors. Maharatha Dhrishtadyumna attacked with the sword that was as radiant as the sun and was decorated with the signs of one hundred
moons. He stood on the seat of his chariot and on the other chariot.
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He wished to perform an extremely difficult task and shattered the breast of Bharadvaja’s son in the battle. He stationed himself on the pole of the chariot and on the yoke. He killed half of those red horses and was applauded by the soldiers. Since he was stationed under those red horses, Drona could not find an opportunity to strike him and it was extraordinary. He roamed around swiftly, like a hawk desiring meat. That is how he sought to strike Drona in that encounter. Angry, the valiant Drona used iron javelins to slay, one by one, all the horses with the complexions of pigeons that were yoked to the chariot.
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Having been slain, Dhrishtadyumna’s horses fell down on the ground. O lord of the earth! The red horses were freed from that mingling of chariots. On seeing that the horses had been killed by the foremost of brahmanas, maharatha Parshata, Yajnasena’s son and foremost among warriors, could not tolerate this. He was without a chariot. The supreme among wielders of the sword grasped a sword. O king! He descended on Drona, like Vinata’s son
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swooping down on a serpent. O king! Wishing to kill Bharadvaja’s son, his appearance was beautiful. It was like Vishnu’s supreme form when he killed Hiranyakashipu.
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He traversed diverse paths and exhibited twenty-one techniques.
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He whirled and leapt up. He struck and sprung forward. He lunged forward and retreated. With the sword and the shield, he circled and turned the other way. In excitement, Parshata descended and exhibited these.

‘“The brahmana shot one thousand arrows and struck down Dhrishtadyumna’s sword and the shield decorated with one hundred moons. Those arrows were called vaitastikas
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and were used for fighting at close quarters. Drona used such arrows. Other than him, only
Sharadvata, Partha, Drona’s son, Vaikartana, Pradyumna, Yuyudhana and Abhimanyu possessed such arrows. The preceptor wished to kill his student,
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who was like his own son, and carefully affixed a firm and supreme arrow. However, while your son and the great-souled Karna looked on, the descendant of the Shini lineage sliced it down with ten sharp arrows and rescued Dhrishtadyumna, who was about to be devoured by the preceptor’s mouth. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Satyaki, for whom truth was his valour, roamed around in the paths of the chariots and was within the reach of Drona, Karna and Kripa. On seeing this, the great-souled Vishvaksena
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and Dhananjaya honoured Varshneya
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and applauded him, since the undecaying one had repulsed the divine weapons of all the warriors. Vishvaksena and Dhananjaya descended on the soldiers. Dhananjaya told Krishna, ‘O Keshava! Behold. Satyaki, for whom truth is his valour, and who is the extender of the Madhu lineage, is sporting around before the preceptor. This gives me great delight and also to Madri’s two sons, Bhima and King Yudhishthira. Satyaki is roaming around in this battle, with skills acquired through learning. The extender of the deeds of the Vrishni lineage seems to be toying with those maharathas. The siddhas and the soldiers are astounded. On seeing that Satvata is invincible in battle, they are honouring him and applauding him. All the warriors on both sides are honouring his deeds.’”’

‘Sanjaya said, “As those kings clashed, that field of battle became cruel. It was as if an enraged Rudra was killing animals. O
descendant of the Bharata lineage! Arms, heads, bows, shattered bows and whisks were strewn around in the battle. There were shattered wheels and chariots. Giant standards were brought down. Brave riders were killed and scattered around on the ground. O supreme among the Kuru lineage! Warriors were mangled by descending arrows. In that great battle, they were seen to make many different kinds of attempts to move. The terrible battle that raged was like that between the gods and the asuras. Dharmaraja Yudhishthira spoke to the kshatriyas there. ‘O maharathas! Control yourselves and attack the one who was born in a pot. The brave Parshata has engaged with Bharadvaja’s son. To the best of his strength, he is trying to kill Bharadvaja’s son. From what we can see of his form in the great battle today, in this encounter, the angry Parshata will bring down Drona. Unite and protect him from the one who was born in a pot.’ Thus commanded by Yudhishthira, the maharatha Srinjayas wished to kill Bharadvaja’s son and attacked in unison. On seeing that all of them were descending, the maharatha who was Bharadvaja’s son powerfully attacked them, knowing that he was mortal. As he advanced, unwavering in his aim, the earth trembled. Turbulent winds began to blow, inspiring fear in the soldiers. Giant meteors seemed to issue from the sun and fell down. They were blazing in their heat and seemed to indicate great fear. O venerable one! The weapons of Bharadvaja’s son blazed. Chariots rattled loudly. Horses shed tears. The maharatha who was Bharadvaja’s son seemed to have been robbed of his energy. The rishis, knowledgeable about the brahman, had spoken to him about ascending to heaven. He decided to give up his life by fighting a fair battle. Drupada’s soldiers surrounded him from all four directions. But Drona roamed around in that battle, consuming the kshatriyas. The scorcher of enemies killed twenty thousand kshatriyas. With his sharp, pointed and fierce arrows, he killed another one hundred thousand. He was stationed in that battle, like a fire without smoke. To destroy the kshatriyas, he based himself on his brahmana qualities.

‘“Bhima saw that Panchala was without a chariot. He was without his weapons and powerless. The great-souled one was distressed. Therefore, the scorcher of enemies swiftly advanced and
took Panchala up on his own chariot. Glancing towards Drona, he said, ‘With your exception, there is no other man who can venture to fight with the preceptor. Kill him quickly. The burden of his death has been placed on you.’ Thus addressed, the mighty-armed one swiftly picked up a new, firm and supreme weapon
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that was capable of bearing all loads. In that encounter, he angrily shot arrows towards the irresistible Drona. Wishing to counter the preceptor, he enveloped him with a shower of arrows. Those angry and foremost ones, ornaments of a battle, countered each other. They released brahmastras and many other divine weapons. O great king! Parshata covered Drona with great weapons in that battle and destroyed all the weapons of Bharadvaja’s son. The undecaying one began to kill the Vasatis, Shibis, Bahlikas and Kouravas, who were protecting Drona in the battle. O king! At that time, Dhrishtadyumna covered all the directions with his nets of arrows. He was as resplendent as the sun in the sky, with all its rays. Drona severed his bow and pierced him with arrows sharpened on stone. Pierced severely in his inner organs, he felt supreme pain.

‘“O Indra among kings! In great anger, Bhima grasped Drona’s chariot and slowly spoke these words to him. ‘There are those who are brahmanas only in name.
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They are not satisfied with their own indicated duties. They are skilled. But had they not fought, this destruction of kshatriyas would not have occurred. It is known that non-violence towards all beings is supreme dharma. Brahmanas are the source of this. You are supreme among all those who know about the brahman. However, you have killed large numbers of
shvapaka
s,
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mlecchas and many others. O brahmana! You are ignorant and stupid. You have done this for your son and your wife and because you desire riches. For the sake of a single person, you have killed many. Though you know about dharma, you have done
this for your son. They have been engaged in their own indicated duties. But you have acted against your own indicated duties. Why are you not ashamed? He
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has been brought down and is lying down, behind your back, and you do not know. Dharmaraja told you about this and you should not doubt his words.’ Having been thus addressed by Bhimasena, Drona cast aside his bow. Wishing to cast aside all his weapons, the one with dharma in his soul loudly said, ‘O Karna! O Karna! O great archer! O Kripa! O Duryodhana! Make careful efforts in this battle. I am saying this repeatedly. May you be safe from the Pandavas. I am going to cast aside my weapons.’ O great king! Having said this, he loudly began to call out to Drona’s son. In that battle, he abandoned his weapons and sank down on the floor of his chariot. He gave assurance to all beings and resorted to yoga.

‘“On detecting that opportunity, Dhrishtadyumna arose. He leapt down from his chariot, grasped a sword and violently attacked Drona. A great lamentation arose among all beings, humans and inferior species, when they saw that Drona had come under Dhrishtadyumna’s control. They loudly lamented and also uttered words of shame. Having abandoned his weapons, Drona was established in supreme tranquility. Having spoken those words, the immensely ascetic one resorted to yoga and was a mass of brightness. The preceptor ascended to heaven, which is so difficult for even virtuous ones to attain. As he ascended, it seemed to us that there were two suns in the sky. The entire sky seemed to be full of one mass of brightness and it seemed to be night when Bharadvaja’s son disappeared. In an instant, that mass of energy vanished. Confused sounds of delight were heard from the residents of heaven. Drona ascended to Brahma’s world and Dhrishtadyumna was confused.
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There were only five of us, born in the wombs of humans, who saw the great-souled one, united with yoga, attain that supreme objective. They were I, Partha Dhananjaya, the brahmana Kripa Sharadvata, Varshneya Vasudeva and Dharmaraja Pandava. O great king! None
of the others could see Bharadvaja’s intelligent son. They did not know that the great one had departed, united with yoga. All the other men did not know that he had attained the supreme objective. None of them saw that he had left, in the company of the bulls among the rishis. The preceptor, the scorcher of enemies, resorted to yoga and went to Brahma’s world.

‘“His limbs were mangled with hundreds of arrows and he had cast aside his weapons. All the beings were supremely pained and censured Parshata. Though they spoke to him in this way, he grasped the body, which was bereft of life, by the hair and dragged it. With the sword, he severed the head from the body. Since Bharadvaja’s son had been brought down, he was filled with great delight. In that battle, he roared like a lion and whirled his sword. His
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grey hair hung down, up to his ears. He was dark. He was eighty-five years in age. But he had roamed around on the field of battle like one who was sixteen years old. The mighty-armed Dhananjaya, Kunti’s son, said, ‘O Drupada’s son! Let the preceptor remain alive. Do not kill him. He should not be killed.’
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The soldiers had also said that he should not be killed. Arjuna, overcome with compassion, had said this repeatedly. Arjuna was overcome with compassion and so were all the kings. But disregarding them, Dhrishtadyumna killed Drona, bull among men, on the floor of his chariot. Covered with blood, that scorcher of enemies then jumped down from the chariot. His limbs were red, he was as difficult to look at as the sun, and the soldiers and others saw that he had been killed in the battle.
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O king! Before those on your side, Dhrishtadyumna, the great archer, flung down Bharadvaja’s son’s large head. O king! On seeing the head of Bharadvaja’s son, those on your side lost all enterprise. Making up their minds to run away, they fled in all the directions. Drona followed the path of the stars and ascended to heaven. O king! I witnessed the nature of Drona’s death, because of the favours of the rishi Krishna,
Satyavati’s son.
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He ascended like a flaming and smokeless meteor. I saw the immensely radiant one ascend to heaven.

‘“When Drona was killed, the Kurus, the Pandavas and the Srinjayas were distressed. They ran away at great speed and the soldiers were dispersed. In that battle, many horses were killed with sharp arrows. When Drona was killed, those on your side lost their spirits. They were defeated and suffered from great fear about what would happen next. They lost control over their selves and thought that they had lost both.
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The kings searched for the severed body of Bharadvaja’s son. O king! But because the field was covered with headless torsos, they could not find it. Having obtained victory, the Pandavas thought about the great fame that would follow. They made loud sounds with their arrows and roared like lions. O king! In the midst of the soldiers, Bhimasena and Parshata Dhrishtadyumna were seen to embrace each other. Bhima spoke to Parshata, the scorcher of enemies. ‘O Parshata! I will embrace you again, as the victorious one, when the wicked son of a suta and Dhritarashtra’s evil son have been killed in the battle.’ Having said this, Bhima was filled with great joy. Pandava made the earth tremble with the slapping of his arms. Terrified by that sound, those on your side fled from the battle. They abandoned the dharma of kshatriyas and devoted themselves to running away. O lord of the earth! Having obtained victory, the Pandavas were delighted. Because their enemies were destroyed in the battle, they were overjoyed. O king! When Drona was killed, the Kurus were afflicted with arrows. With their leader slain, they were shattered. They were overcome with supreme sorrow. They lost their senses and lost their enterprise. With their energy destroyed, they were full of lassitude.

‘“They lamented loudly and surrounded your son. They were covered with dust. They trembled and glanced in the ten directions. Their voices were choked with tears, like the daityas after Hiranyaksha’s city was destroyed.
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They surrounded the king, like small animals that were terrified. Your son was unable to remain amidst them and moved away. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Your warriors were overcome by hunger and thirst and were exhausted. They were severely scorched by the sun and were cheerless in their hearts. They were enraged on seeing the fall of Bharadvaja’s son, which was like the sun falling down or the ocean drying up, or Meru moving or Vasava being defeated. O king! The Kouravas were frightened and began to run away. On seeing that the one on the golden chariot had been killed, Shakuni, the king of Gandhara, fled with the other frightened rathas, but faster than the others. The son of a suta also fled with his large army and the army ran away with great force, with its standards. Shalya, the lord of Madra, glanced here and there and fled out of fear, with an army that had chariots, elephants and horses stationed in front. While many of the foremost ones had been slain, Sharadvata fled with the many elephants and foot soldiers that remained, saying that this was a great calamity. O king! Kritavarma fled on swift horses, surrounded by the remnants from the divisions of the Bhojas, the Kalingas, the Arattas and the Bahlikas. O king! On seeing that Drona had been brought down, Uluka was terrified and fled with large numbers of frightened infantry. Duhshasana was handsome and young. He possessed valour and all the good signs. However, he was also extremely anxious and fled, surrounded by elephants. O great king! Maharatha Duryodhana fled, surrounded by elephants, horses, chariots and infantry. The remnants of the army were routed and ran away, astride elephants, chariots and dark horses. The men lost their enterprise and their energy and thought that the army had been destroyed. O lord! Abandoning their armour, those on your side ran away. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The soldiers loudly called out to each other, ‘Stay. Remain.’
But they themselves did not remain there. They abandoned their chariots and their ornamented charioteers. Other warriors climbed onto their horses, or swiftly fled on foot. The soldiers were frightened and lost all their energy. They were terrified.