Chapter 963(103)
‘Sanjaya said, “While they were still fighting, the sun set. Terrible twilight set in and the field of battle could no longer be seen. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! King Yudhishthira saw that twilight had set in and that his own soldiers were being slaughtered by Bhishma, the destroyer of enemies. They had discarded their weapons and, surrounded by the enemy, had begun to run away. In the battle, maharatha Bhishma was incited by supreme anger. He saw that the Somakas had been vanquished and that the maharathas were dispirited. He thought for a short while and gave the instructions for withdrawal. King Yudhishthira instructed that the soldiers should be withdrawn. In a similar way, your soldiers were also withdrawn at the same time. O best of the Kurus! Having withdrawn the soldiers, the maharathas entered their camps, having been wounded in the battle. The Pandavas reflected on what should be done vis-à-vis Bhishma in the battle. Oppressed by Bhishma, they could not find any peace. In the battle, Bhishma had vanquished the Pandavas, together with the Srinjayas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He was worshipped by your sons and praised by them. With the delighted Kurus surrounding him in every direction, he entered his camp. It was night and all the beings lost their senses. Towards the beginning of that terrible night, the Pandavas, the Vrishnis and the invincible Srinjayas sat down to have a consultation. All those immensely powerful ones thought that the time had come to consult about what would be beneficial for them. Those wise ones anxiously consulted to determine what would be best.
‘“O king! King Yudhishthira consulted for a long time. He glanced towards Vasudeva and spoke these words. ‘O Krishna! Behold the great-souled Bhishma, terrible in his valour. He crushes my soldiers like an elephant amidst a clump of lotuses. We do not even have the enterprise to glance at the great-souled one. He is like an expanding fire that is consuming my soldiers. He is like the terrible and great serpent Takshaka, whose venom is virulent. O Krishna! In the battle, the powerful Bhishma uses sharp weapons. He grasps his bow in the encounter and releases sharp arrows. It is possible to vanquish an angry Yama, the king of the gods with the vajra in his hand, Varuna with his noose and the lord of riches with his club. But if he is enraged, it is impossible to defeat Bhishma in a great battle. O Krishna! It is because of this reason that I am immersed in an ocean of grief. Having confronted Bhishma in the battle, I am suffering from weakness of intelligence. O invincible one! I will go to the forest. It is beneficial that I should go there. O Krishna! I have no desire to fight. Bhishma always kills us. He is like a flaming fire, towards which insects are attracted. I will obtain the same result of death by daring to fight with Bhishma. O Varshneya! Despite being valorous, for the sake of the kingdom, I am being conveyed towards destruction. My brave brothers are sorely afflicted through arrows. It is because of me, and because of affection towards their brother, that they were dislodged from the kingdom. O Madhusudana! Krishna395 was oppressed because of what I had done. I think that being alive has great value. But it is now extremely difficult to remain alive. If I remain alive today, I will spend the remaining part396 in pursuing supreme dharma. O Keshava! If you show your favours towards me and towards my brothers, tell me what I should do. O Keshava! But this should be without contravening my own dharma.’ Krishna heard these words and their detailed description.
‘“Overcome by compassion, he comforted Yudhishthira and replied, ‘O Dharma’s son! You should not grieve. You are devoted to the truth. Your brave brothers are invincible and are the destroyers of enemies. Arjuna and Bhimasena are as energetic as Vayu and Agni. Madri’s two sons are as valorous as the lord of the thirty gods. O Pandava! For the sake of the good relationship that exists between us, employ me to fight with Bhishma. O king! Instructed by you, there is nothing I will not do in this great battle. While the sons of Dhritarashtra look on, if Phalguna does not desire it, I will challenge Bhishma, the bull among men, in this battle and kill him. O Pandava! If you see that Bhishma’s death will ensure that you win the kingdom, alone on a chariot, I will slay the aged grandfather of the Kurus today. O king! Witness my valour in this battle, like that of the great Indra. I will use great weapons and bring him down from his chariot. There is no doubt that someone who is an enemy to the sons of Pandu is my foe too. My welfare is your welfare. All that is mine is yours. Your brother is my friend, relative397 and disciple. O lord of the earth! For Arjuna’s sake, I can slice off and give my own flesh. This tiger among men will also lay down his life for my sake. O father!398 This is our understanding, that we will protect each other. O Indra among kings! Employ me, so that I can be your protector. In Upaplavya, Partha earlier took an oath before many people. “I will slay Gangeya.” I should protect the oath that the intelligent Partha took. If Partha gives me permission, there is no doubt that I should perform this task. Or let Phalguna bear this limited burden in battle. Let him kill Bhishma, the destroyer of enemy cities, in battle. If Partha stirs himself, there is nothing that he cannot accomplish in battle, even if the thirty gods have raised their arms against him, together with the daityas and the danavas. O lord of men! They can be killed by Arjuna in battle, not to speak of Bhishma. Bhishma, Shantanu’s immensely valorous son, has now become perverse and has lost his intelligence. He will not live for long. He no longer understands what his duty is.’
‘“Yudhishthira replied, ‘O mighty-armed one! O Madhava! It is exactly as you have spoken. All of them together are not capable of withstanding your force. O tiger among men! With an immensely strong one like you as my protector, I am always certain of obtaining everything that I desire. O supreme among victorious ones! With Govinda as a protector, I can vanquish the gods, together with Indra, in battle, not to speak of Bhishma in this great battle. But I cannot make your words come false for the sake of glorifying my own objective. O Madhava! As you had promised, help us, but without taking part in the fight. O Madhava! Bhishma had come to an agreement with me. “For your sake, I will proffer advice. But I will never fight for you. O lord! I tell you truthfully that I will fight for Duryodhana’s cause.” O Madhava! He may provide counsel, as to how we can obtain the kingdom. Let all of us go to Devavrata, to ask him about the means whereby he may be killed. O Madhusudana! Together with you, let all of us go and ask him. O supreme among men! Together with you, let all of us quickly go to Bhishma. O Varshneya! If this seems desirable to you, let us go and seek Kourava’s counsel. O Janardana! He will offer us beneficial and truthful advice. O Krishna! In this battle, let us do what he asks us to do. The one who is rigid in his vows will give us counsel and victory. We lost our father when we were children and he reared us. O Madhava! This is the aged grandfather whom I wish to kill. He is the father of our beloved father. Shame on the livelihood of kshatriyas.’”
‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! On hearing these words, Varshneya spoke to the descendant of the Kuru lineage. ‘O mighty-armed one! I have always liked whatever you have said. Devavrata Bhishma is accomplished. He can burn down with his glance. Let us go to the one who is the son of the one who goes to the ocean399 to ask about the means of his death. He will certainly speak the truth, especially if he is asked by you. Let us go there, to ask the grandfather of the Kurus.’ ‘O Madhava! Let us bow down our heads and go and ask him for counsel. He will offer us counsel about how we can fight with the enemy.’400 O Pandu’s elder brother! Having thus consulted, all the brave Pandavas, together with the valiant Vasudeva, departed. They discarded their weapons and armour and proceeded to Bhishma’s residence. They entered and bowed their heads in obeisance before Bhishma. O great king! O bull among the Bharata lineage! The Pandavas worshipped him. They lowered their heads and sought Bhishma’s protection. The mighty-armed Bhishma, the grandfather of the Kurus, told them, ‘O Varshneya! Welcome. O Dhananjaya! Welcome. O Dharma’s son! O Bhima! O twins! Welcome. What is the task that I can accomplish for you now? What will extend your pleasure? Even if it should prove to be extremely difficult, I will do it with all my heart.’ With affection, Gangeya repeatedly spoke in this wa
y. Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, was miserable in his soul and spoke these words. ‘O one who is learned in dharma! How will we obtain victory and the kingdom? How can this destruction of subjects be stopped? O lord! Tell us this. You yourself tell us the means whereby we can bring about your own death. O king! How will we be able to withstand you in battle? O grandfather of the Kurus! You do not exhibit the slightest bit of weakness. In the battle, your bow is always seen, whirling around in a circle. No one can distinguish when you affix an arrow, aim or stretch your bow. O mighty-armed one! We see you stationed on your chariot, like the sun. O slayer of enemy heroes! You slaughter men, horses, chariots and elephants. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Which man is capable of killing you? O supreme among men! You bring down a great shower of arrows. Because of you, my large army is decaying from one day to another. How can we defeat you in battle? How can the kingdom be ours? How can there be peace among my soldiers? O grandfather! Tell us this.’ O Pandu’s elder brother! Shantanu’s son then spoke these words to Pandava. ‘O Kounteya! As long as I am alive in battle, your prosperity will never be seen. I tell you this truthfully. After you have vanquished me in battle, your victory over the Kouravas is certain. If you wish to obtain victory in this battle, strike me down quickly. O Partha! You have my permission to happily strike at me. I think it is good for you that you know my nature.401 After I have been killed, everyone else will be killed. Therefore, do as I am asking you to.’
‘“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell us the means whereby we may defeat you in battle. When you are enraged in battle, you are like Yama with a staff in his hand. It is possible to defeat the wielder of the vajra, or Varuna, or Yama. But you are incapable of being defeated in battle, even by the gods and the asuras, together with Indra.’
‘“Bhishma replied, ‘O mighty-armed one! O Pandava! What you have said is true. I am incapable of being defeated in battle, even by the gods and the asuras, together with Indra. But this is when I grasp my weapons in battle and grasp my supreme bow. O king! But when I cast aside my weapons, the maharathas can kill me in battle. I do not wish to fight with someone who has cast his weapons aside, someone who has fallen down, someone whose armour and standard have been dislodged, someone who is running away, someone who is frightened, someone who solicits sanctuary, someone who is a woman, someone who bears the name of a woman, someone who is disabled, someone who only has one son, someone who does not have a son and someone who is difficult to look at. O Partha! Hear about the vow that I took a long time ago. I will never fight if I see an inauspicious sign on the standard. O king! This son of Drupada is a maharatha in your army. Shikhandi is a brave and victorious one who always desires to fight. But he was a woman earlier. He became a man later. All of you know everything about how this came about. In the battle, let the brave Arjuna place Shikhandi ahead of him. Let the armoured one attack me with sharp arrows. I will see an inauspicious sign on the standard then, especially that of someone who was earlier a woman. Even if I have grasped my bow, I will never strike him then. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Let Pandava Dhananjaya then strike me from every side with his arrows. Truly, with the exception of the immensely fortunate Krishna and Pandava Dhananjaya, I do not see anyone in the worlds who is capable of killing me. Therefore, placing him402 at the front, let Bibhatsu strive his utmost to bring me down. Victory will be obtained. O Kounteya! Act in accordance with the words I have spoken. You will then be able to defeat the assembled sons of Dhritarashtra in the battle.’”
‘Sanjaya said, “Having taken his permission and having shown their respects to the great-souled Bhishma, the grandfather of the Kurus, the Parthas then returned to their own camp. Gangeya prepared himself for his departure to the next world. Arjuna was tormented by grief and he was overcome with shame. He said, ‘O Madhava! How can I fight with my senior, the aged one of the lineage? He is accomplished in wisdom and intelligence. How can I fight with the grandfather in a battle? O Vasudeva! As a child, I used to play with the great-minded one. O Gada’s elder brother! I used to sully the great-souled one’s garments with the dust on my body, when I used to climb onto his lap as a child. He is the father of my father, the great-souled Pandu. “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I am not your father, but your father’s father.” These are the words he used to tell me in my childhood. How can he be killed by me now? I wish that my soldiers are killed. I cannot fight with that great-souled one. O Krishna! Which do you think is superior, victory or death?’ Krishna replied, ‘O Jishnu! Earlier, you have promised to kill Bhishma in the battle. O Partha! Established in the dharma of kshatriyas, how can you not kill him now? O Partha! Bring him down from his chariot, like a tree that has been struck by lightning. Without killing Gangeya in battle, victory cannot be obtained. This has been determined by destiny earlier. The killing has been ordained by destiny. Bhishma’s killer is an earlier Indra.403 It cannot but be otherwise. O invincible one! Bhishma is like Death with a gaping mouth. No one other than you is capable of fighting with him, not even the wielder of the vajra himself. O mighty-armed one! Kill Bhishma. Listen to these words of mine. This is what the immensely intelligent Brihaspati told Shakra in earlier times. “O Shakra! One must kill someone who possesses all the qualities, if he comes as an assassin, or if he arrives to kill.” O Dhananjaya! This is the eternal dharma in which kshatriyas have been established. They must fight, protect and perform sacrifices, without any malice.’ Arjuna replied, ‘O Krishna! It is certain that Shikhandi will be the cause of Bhishma’s death. As soon as he sees Panchala, Bhishma will withdraw. Therefore, we will place Shikhandi ahead of all of us. It is my view that this is the means for bringing about Gangeya’s downfall. I will restrain the other great archers with my arrows. Shikhandi will fight with Bhishma, the best of warriors. I have heard from the chief of the Kurus that he will not kill Shikhandi. He was born as a maiden earlier and became a man later.’ Having decided this, the Pandavas, together with Madhava, retired to their own beds. The bulls among men were happy.”’
Chapter 964(104)
‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! How did Shikhandi fight with Gangeya in that battle? How did Bhishma advance against the Pandavas? Tell me this.”
‘Sanjaya replied, “The morning was clear and it was time for the sun to rise. Many drums, kettledrums and tambourines were sounded. Conch shells with the complexion of curds were blown in every direction. The Pandava warriors placed Shikhandi at the forefront and marched out. O great king! They constructed a vyuha that was capable of destroying all enemies. O lord of the earth! Shikhandi was stationed at the forefront of all the soldiers. Bhimasena and Dhananjaya protected his wheels. Droupadi’s sons and Subhadra’s valiant son were behind him. Satyaki and maharatha Chekitana protected them. Dhrishtadyumna was behind them, protected by the Panchalas. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The lord, King Yudhishthira, marched out, together with the twins, roaring like lions. Virata was behind him, surrounded by his soldiers. O great king! Drupada advanced behind him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The five brothers from Kekaya and the valiant Dhrishtaketu protected the Pandu soldiers from the rear. The Pandavas arranged the large army of soldiers in the form of this vyuha. They advanced in the battle, ready to give up their lives. O king! In that fashion, the Kurus placed the immensely strong Bhishma at the forefront of all their soldiers and advanced against the Pandavas. He was protected by your invincible and extremely strong sons. The great archer, Drona, was behind them, together with his maharatha son. Bhagadatta was behind him, surrounded by a large army of elephants. Kripa and Kritavarma followed Bhagadatta. Sudakshina, the powerful king of Kamboja, was behind them, as were Jayatsena from Magadha, Soubala and Brihadbala. There were many other great archers and kings, with Susharma at the forefront. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They protected your army’s rear. From one day to another, Bhishma, Shantanu’s son, created a different kind of vyuha for the battle—sometimes it was asura, sometimes it was pishacha, sometimes it was rakshasa.
‘“O descendant o
f the Bharata lineage! The battle between those on your side and those of the enemy commenced. O king! They struck each other and extended Yama’s kingdom. The Parthas, with Arjuna at their head, placed Shikhandi at the forefront. They advanced against Bhishma in the battle and released many kinds of arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those on your side were oppressed by Bhima’s arrows. They were covered in blood and left for the next world. Nakula, Sahadeva and maharatha Satyaki advanced against your soldiers and afflicted them with energy. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Those on your side were being slain in that battle. They were incapable of resisting the great army of the Pandavas. Your soldiers were slaughtered in every direction. O king! They were oppressed by those maharathas and were seen to run away in different directions. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Those on your side could not find a protector. They were slaughtered by the sharp arrows of the Pandavas, together with the Srinjayas.”
‘Dhritarashtra said, “On seeing that the army was thus oppressed by the Parthas, what did the valiant Bhishma do, when he became enraged in that battle? O Sanjaya! How did the scorcher of enemies advance against the Pandavas in battle? O Sanjaya! How did he kill the brave Somakas? Tell me this.”
‘Sanjaya replied, “O great king! When the soldiers of your sons were oppressed by the Pandavas and the Srinjayas, I will tell you what the grandfather did. O Pandu’s elder brother! The brave Pandavas were delighted. They advanced and began to slaughter your son’s army. O Indra among men! There was a destruction of men, elephants and horses. Bhishma could not tolerate that the enemy was slaying the soldiers in the battle. The great archer attacked the Pandavas, the Panchalas and the Srinjayas. He was invincible and was prepared to give up his own life. O king! He attacked the five supreme maharathas among the Pandavas.404 These were the ones who were exerting themselves in the battle and he checked them with his arrows. He used iron arrows, vatsadantas405 and sharp anjalikas. He was angry and killed many elephants and horses in that battle. O king! That bull among men brought down charioteers from their chariots, horse-riders from the backs of horses, assembled foot soldiers and elephant-riders from the backs of elephants. He terrified the enemy. In that battle, the maharatha Pandavas quickly attacked Bhishma together, like the wielder of the vajra assailed by asuras. He released sharp arrows that were like Shakra’s vajra to the touch. He was seen in every direction, having assumed a terrible form. As he fought in that battle, his bow was always seen whirling around in a circular motion, like Shakra’s giant bow. O lord of the earth! On witnessing his deeds in that battle, your sons were filled with supreme wonder and honoured the grandfather. The Parthas were dispirited at the way your brave father was fighting in the battle. They glanced towards him, like the immortals towards Viprachitti. They could not resist the one who was like death with a gaping mouth.
Mahabharata: Vol. 5 Page 43