Mahabharata: Volume 7 (9 page)

‘D
hritarashtra said, “Describe the battle between Arjuna and the samshaptakas and also tell me about the one between the others on my side and the Pandavas.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! Listen. I will describe the battle exactly as it happened. The brave ones fought with the enemy and this destroyed bodies and lives. Partha penetrated the mass of samshaptakas, which was like an ocean.
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The destroyer of enemies was like a giant storm that agitated the ocean. Dhananjaya used his sharp and broad-headed arrows to slice off the heads of the brave ones. The faces were like full moons, with excellent eyes, eyebrows and teeth. He
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quickly scattered these around on the ground, like lotuses devoid of their stalks. The faces were well formed and large and were smeared with sandalwood paste and perfumes. With weapons and armour on their bodies, they looked like five-headed serpents. In that encounter, Arjuna severed the arms of his enemies with razor-sharp arrows. With his broad-headed arrows, Pandava severed the best of charioteers, standards, bows and hands decorated with gems. O king! Arjuna shot thousands of arrows in that battle and dispatched elephants, horses and chariots, with their riders, to Yama’s eternal abode. The foremost of brave ones roared like angry bulls that desired intercourse. They roared and attacked. As they were being killed, they struck him with their arrows, like bulls goring with their horns. The battle between them and him was wonderful and it made the body hair stand up. It was like one between the wielder of the vajra and the
daitya
s, for the conquest of the three worlds. With his weapons, Arjuna countered all the weapons of his enemies on every side. He swiftly pierced them with many arrows and robbed them of their lives. He shattered the poles,
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wheels
and axles and killed warriors, horses and charioteers. He shattered the weapons and quivers and brought down the standards. The yokes, harnesses, poles and bumpers of chariots were fragmented. The place became impassable because of the shattered yokes and the heaps of weapons. The chariots were scattered, like giant clouds by the wind. Everyone was astounded on seeing this and this, increased the terror of the enemy. Arjuna rivalled the deeds of one thousand maharathas acting together. Masses of siddhas,
devarshi
s
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and
charana
s
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were satisfied. The drums of the gods were sounded and flowers were showered down on Keshava and Arjuna’s heads. An invisible voice was heard. ‘Keshava and Arjuna possess the beauty of the moon, the sun, the wind and the fire. They blaze in strength and are resplendent. Those two brave lords always dazzle. When those two brave ones are stationed on the same chariot, they are as invincible as Brahma and Ishana.
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Those two brave lords are foremost among all beings and are Nara and Narayana.’
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O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On witnessing this great wonder and on hearing these words, Ashvatthama controlled himself and rushed against the two Krishnas in the battle.
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‘ “He advanced against Pandava and attacked him with arrows that were like the destroyer Yama. Drona’s son laughed on his chariot. In his hand, he held up an arrow and said, ‘O brave one! A guest has arrived before you. If you think me to be deserving, with all your heart, grant the guest the opportunity of fighting with you.’ Having been thus challenged by the preceptor’s son, who wished to fight, Arjuna thought that he had been greatly honoured and spoke to Janardana. ‘The samshaptakas should be killed by me, but Drona’s
son is challenging me. O great-armed one! Instruct me about which one I should do first.’ Having been thus addressed, Krishna drove Partha, like Vayu taking Indra to a sacrifice, towards Drona’s son, who had issued a challenge in the appropriate manner. Drona’s son was single-minded in his intentions and Keshava spoke to him. ‘O Ashvatthama! Be patient. Strike and bear the counter-strike. The time has come for those who live off others to repay the food they have received from their masters.
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Brahmanas are subtle in settling disputes. Kshatriyas are coarser, resulting in victory or defeat. Because of your folly, you have asked for excellent and divine hospitality from Partha. Now be patient and receive what you have asked for from Pandava.’ When Vasudeva had spoken thus, the supreme among brahmanas agreed. He pierced Keshava with sixty iron arrows and Arjuna with three. Arjuna became extremely angry at this and used three broad-headed arrows to slice down his bow. Drona’s son then picked up a bow that was more terrible. He strung it in an instant and pierced Arjuna and Keshava, with three arrows for Vasudeva and one thousand for Pandava. Carefully, Drona’s son shot a thousand arrows, then another one million and then ten million. He confounded Arjuna in the battle. O venerable one! He was knowledgeable about the brahman and arrows issued from his quiver, his bow, his bowstring, his fingers, his arms, his hands, his chest, his face, his nose, his eyes, his ears, his head, his limbs, his pores, his chariot and his standard. He pierced Keshava and Pandava with a great net of arrows. Drona’s son roared in joy, like the rumbling of a large cloud. On hearing the roar, Pandava spoke to Achyuta.
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‘O Madhava! Behold Drona’s son’s wickedness towards me. He thinks that since we have entered this chamber of arrows, we are about to be slain. But with my training and my strength, I will destroy his resolution.’ The foremost among the Bharata lineage shattered each of Ashvatthama’s arrows into three fragments. It was like the wind dispelling a mist.

‘ “Then Pandava used his fierce arrows to pierce the samshaptakas and their horses, charioteers, chariots, elephants, standards and large
numbers of infantry. Everyone who was a spectator there, in whatever form, thought himself to have been covered by those arrows. Arrrows of many different types were shot from Gandiva. In that battle, they killed elephants, horses and men who were within a distance of a
krosha
.
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Broad-headed arrows severed and brought down the trunks of elephants that were mad with musth. They were sliced down, like trees in the autumn by an axe. After this, the elephants themselves, like mountains, were brought down, with their riders. It was as if the mountains were being shattered by the wielder of the vajra with his vajra. There were chariots that had been properly prepared and were like the cities of gandharvas. Well-trained and swift horses, indomitable in battle, were yoked to them. Dhananjaya showered down arrows on these enemies, ornamented horse riders, foot soldiers and horses. In that great ocean of the samshaptakas, Dhananjaya was like the sun that arises at the end of a yuga. They were difficult to dry up.
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But with his fierce arrows that were like rays, he dried them up.

‘ “Drona’s son was like a gigantic mountain and swiftly, he again pierced him with extremely forceful iron arrows that were as energetic as the sun, like the wielder of the vajra against a mountain. At this, the preceptor’s son became wrathful and wished to fight. He advanced towards Partha, wishing to strike his horses and his charioteer with his swift arrows. But these were struck down. He
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next released a multitude of arrows towards Ashvatthama, who was like a guest whohad arrived in a house. Abandoning the samshaptakas, Pandava attacked Drona’s son, like a giver abandons the undesirable in favour of the desirable.
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There was a clash like that between Shukra and the radiant
Angirasa.
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It was as if Shukra and Angirasa were clashing in the sky to enter the same
nakshatra.
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Their flaming arrows traversed the sky and scorched each other. They terrified the worlds with those rays, like planets that had been dislodged from their positions. With an iron arrow, Arjuna severely struck Drona’s son in the midst of his eyebrows and he looked as resplendent as the sun, with its rays extending upwards. The two Krishnas were also severely wounded by the hundreds of arrows shot by Ashvatthama. They looked like two suns that dazzled with their rays at the end of a yuga. Protected by Vasudeva, Arjuna released a weapon that was sharp on every side. He struck Drona’s son with arrows that were like the vajra, the fire, or Vaivasvata’s
¹⁶⁷
staff. The performer of terrible deeds pierced the extremely energetic Keshava and Arjuna in the inner organs. These were arrows that were released well and were extremely fierce and forceful. Struck by these, even Death would have been pained. But Arjuna countered the arrows of Drona’s son and covered him with twice that number of well-tufted arrows.

‘ “Having enveloped that solitary and brave one and his horses, charioteer and standard, he struck the samshaptakas again. Partha shot arrows and severed the bows, arrows, quivers, bowstrings, hands, arms, weapons held in the hands, umbrellas, standards, horses, garments, garlands, ornaments, shields, armour, wishes and all the beautiful heads of his enemies, as they were stationed there and did not retreat.
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Those brave ones made every endeavour, stationed on well-prepared chariots, horses and elephants. But they were restrained by the large numbers of Partha’s arrows and the foremost among men fell down. The heads of men were like lotuses, the sun
and the full moon. They were adorned with diadems, garlands and crowns. They were severed by broad-headed and razor-sharp arrows and arrows that were in the shape of a half-moon. They incessantly fell down on the ground. Brave ones from Kalinga, Vanga, Anga and Nishada wished to kill Pandava and rushed against him. They were astride elephants that looked like the elephant of the king of the gods. They were angry and insolent, as insolent as the enemies of the gods. Partha sliced down those elephants, their trunks and their armour and mangled their inner organs. He brought down the standards and flags, as if the one with the vajra in his hand was bringing down the peaks of mountains.

‘ “When they were routed, Kiriti enveloped his preceptor’s son with arrows that possessed the complexion of the rising sun. It was as if a rising sun was dispelling a large net of clouds created by the wind. Countering Arjuna’s arrows with his own arrows, Drona’s son covered Arjuna and Vasudeva with his arrows, as if the moon and the sun were being covered in the sky by a thundering cloud at the end of the summer. Afflicted by these arrows, Arjuna directed his weapons towards those on your side and suddenly made everything dark with his arrows. He pierced all of them with his well-tufted arrows. In that encounter, no one could discern when Savyasachi picked up an arrow, affixed it and released it. One could only see that horses, elephants, foot soldiers and rathas were slain and their bodies fell down. Swiftly, Drona’s son affixed ten iron arrows. He released them so quickly that they seemed to be a single arrow. They were released well and Arjuna was pierced by five and Achyuta by another five. Having been thus wounded, those two foremost of men, who were like the lord of riches
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and Indra, began to exude blood. They were afflicted by the one who had completed his learning.
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Some thought that they had been killed. The lord of Dasharha spoke to Arjuna. ‘Why are you hesitating? Kill this warrior. If you commit the error of ignoring him, he will cause great hardship, like a disease that spreads.’ Having been thus addressed by Achyuta, he was no longer
distracted and sought to wound Drona’s son with his arrows. He severed the harnesses of the horses and pierced the steeds, which then bore him
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a long distance away. The intelligent one did not return again to fight with Partha. The one with self-control knew that the victory of the brave one from the Vrishni lineage and Dhananjaya, the best of the Angirasa lineage,
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was certain. Reversing, Ashvatthama withdrew his horses from the field of battle, like a disease is treated through mantras, herbs and remedies and withdraws from the body. Keshava and Arjuna headed in the direction of the samshaptakas. Flags were stirred by the wind and fluttered atop their chariot, which rumbled like the clouds.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “At this time, a loud uproar arose towards the northern side of the Pandu soldiers. The rathas, elephants, horses and foot soldiers were being slaughtered by Dandadhara. Keshava reversed the direction of the chariot, but did not stop the swift horses, which were as fast as Garuda or the wind. He told Arjuna, ‘Magadha is extremely powerful and is on an elephant that can crush. He is like Bhagadatta in training and strength. Having killed him, you will then slay the samshaptakas again.’ Having completed these words, he bore Partha towards Dandadhara.
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The
foremost among Magadhas was foremost in wielding the goad, just as the brilliant planet is foremost among planets.
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He was fiercely destroying the enemy soldiers, like a brilliant planet destroying the earth.
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His elephant was the crusher of enemy soldiers and was like an elephant of the danavas. It had been prepared well and it roared like a giant cloud. He killed thousands of rathas, horses and large numbers of elephants with his arrows. The elephant also stood on chariots and quickly crushed horses, charioteers, rathas and foot soldiers. With its front legs and its trunk, it killed elephants, like a wheel of death. Men with armour made out of steel
¹⁷⁶
and adorned in ornaments were brought down, with their horses and foot soldiers. As those supreme ones were crushed and killed, a sound arose, like that of reeds being crushed by the wind. There were the sounds of drums, kettledrums and many conch shells at the spot, mixed with the noise of bowstrings slapping against palms. There were the roars of thousands of men, horses and elephants.

‘ “On his supreme chariot, Arjuna advanced against that supreme of elephants. Dandadhara struck Arjuna with twelve supreme arrows, Janardana with sixteen and each of the horses with three. He then roared and laughed. At this, Partha used broad-headed arrows to slice off his bow, with the bowstring and arrows attached, and brought down his ornamented standard. He next struck those who were protecting his feet and this enraged the lord of Girivraja.
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His tusker’s temples were shattered and it was as dark as a mass of clouds. But it was also as swift as the wind and he wished to crush Arjuna with this. He shot arrows and hurled spears at Janardana and Dhananjaya. Pandava simultaneously shot three razor-sharp
arrows and severed his two arms, which were like the trunks of elephants, and his head, which had the complexion of the full moon. He then struck the elephant with one hundred arrows. Partha’s arrows were decorated with gold. They struck the elephant, which was clad in golden armour. It looked like a mountain in the night, when herbs and trees burn because of a fire. Afflicted with pain, it roared like a cloud. It roamed aimlessly and then, with trembling steps, it tottered as it tried to run away. It was weakened and fell down, together with the driver. It was as if a mountain had been shattered by thunder and had fallen down.

‘ “When his brother was killed in the battle, Danda advanced, wishing to kill Indra’s younger brother
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and Dhananjaya. He was astride a tusker that possessed the complexion of snow and was garlanded in gold. It looked like a summit of the Himalayas.
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He hurled three lances that were as bright as the rays of the sun towards Janardana and five towards Arjuna. Having struck them, he roared. Pandava severed his arms with extremely fierce kshurapra arrows, while they still held lances, were adorned with armlets and were smeared with sandalwood paste. They simultaneously fell down from the elephant’s back and looked as beautiful as two serpents that had fallen off a mountain’s peak. With an arrow that was in the shape of a half-moon, Kiriti severed Danda’s head and it fell down from the elephant onto the ground. It was covered with blood and looked beautiful as it fell down, like the sun setting in the western direction. The supreme elephant possessed a white complexion and Partha pierced it with supreme arrows that blazed like the rays of the sun. It shrieked as it fell down, as if the summit of a mountain had been struck down by thunder. There were other supreme elephants that were their equals
¹⁸⁰
and wished to obtain victory. Like those two elephants, Savyasachi carefully brought them down and that extremely large army of elephants was routed. Elephants, chariots, horses and large numbers of men dashed against each other and fell
down in that battle. They were wounded and struck each other. They anxiously lamented and were killed. Arjuna was then surrounded by his own soldiers, like Purandara by the masses of gods. They said, ‘O brave one! We were frightened of the enemy, who seemed to us to be like Death before beings. It is good fortune that you have killed him. We were immersed in terror and had you not rescued us, we would have been afflicted by the forces of the enemy. The enemy would have rejoiced. You have killed the enemy and we are now rejoicing.’ Hearing these and many other conciliatory words spoken by his well-wishers, Arjuna was delighted in his mind. He then honoured the men, in accordance with what they deserved, and again headed towards the mass of samshaptakas.” ’