Mahabharata: Volume 7

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘ “Karna became wrathful in that battle and assumed a fiercer form. In every direction, he shrouded Pandava with showers of arrows. O king! In that encounter, Pandava was enveloped by the son of the suta. However, like the sun covered by clouds, he felt no pain. O venerable one! At this, Adhiratha’s son laughed in the battle and shot hundreds and thousands of nets of arrows. The arrows of the great-souled one seemed to cover everything in a canopy of shade. Those supreme arrows were like clouds that were descending. O great king! The great-souled Karna severed his bow. He laughingly brought his charioteer down from the seat on the chariot. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With four sharp arrows, he killed his four horses and quickly dispatched them to Yama’s abode. O venerable one! Using his arrows, he swiftly shattered his chariot into tiny fragments and also destroyed his flags, the ones who protected his wheels, his standard, his sword, his shield that was decorated with the signs of one hundred moons and all his implements. O lord of the earth! His horses were slain. He was without a chariot. He was devoid of his armour. He quickly descended from his chariot and stood there, with a club. O king! That extremely terrible club was raised. However, using hundreds and thousands of arrows, the son of the suta shattered it into fragments. On seeing that he was without any weapons, Karna struck with many arrows with drooping tufts, but made sure that he did not hurt him grievously. O king! Nakula was defeated in that battle by someone who was powerful and was skilled in the use of weapons. With his senses afflicted, he suddenly fled. Radheya followed him, laughing repeatedly. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O king! He placed the string of his bow around the neck of the one who was running away.222 Pulled by the string of the great bow around his neck, he was as resplendent as the moon in the sky, surrounded by white clouds and decorated with Shakra’s bow.223 Karna spoke these words to him. ‘The words that were spoken by you have been rendered futile. You have been repeatedly struck by me. Can you cheerfully utter them again? O Pandava! Do not fight again with those who are your superior in strength. O son! O Pandava! Fight with those who are your equals. Do not be ashamed at this. O son of Madri! Go home, or go where Krishna and Phalguna are.’ O great king! Having spoken these words, he released him. O king! Though he could have been killed, the son of the suta did not kill him. O king! He remembered Kunti’s words and abandoned him. O king! Having been released by the archer son of the suta, Pandava was ashamed and went towards Yudhishthira’s chariot. Having been tormented by the son of the suta, he ascended that chariot and sighed, scorched by grief, like angry snakes inside a pot.

  ‘ “Having abandoned him in the battle, Karna swiftly advanced against the Panchalas. He was on a chariot with dazzling flags and drawn by horses with the complexion of the moon. O lord of the earth! When they saw the commander224 advancing against the Panchalas on his chariot, a great uproar arose among the Pandavas. O great king! The son of the suta caused carnage there. As the sun reached its midday spot, the lord roamed and wheeled around. The wheels of chariots were shattered. The standards and flags of others were torn. O venerable one! The son of the suta killed charioteers and shattered the wheels. We saw the dispirited Panchalas fleeing on their chariots. Crazy elephants were terrified and roamed here and there, as if their limbs had been burnt by a conflagration in a great forest. The temples of elephants were shattered and they exuded blood. Their trunks were severed. O venerable one! Their bodies and armour were mangled, their tails were sliced down. They were like dispelled clouds, destroyed by that great-souled one. There were other elephants that were frightened because of the iron arrows and hundreds of spears. They advanced towards him, like insects towards a fire. We saw other giant elephants destroying each other. Blood flowed from their bodies, like water from the slopes of mountains. Horses lost their breastplates, the dressings on their tails and their silver, bronze and golden ornaments. Their coverings were destroyed and they lost their bridles. Whisks, spreads and quivers fell down. Brave riders, the ornaments of a battle, were killed. In that battle there, we saw supreme horses wandering around. O lord of men! We saw the best of warriors who fought on horses, with lances, swords and scimitars. They wore armour and headdresses. They were destroyed. There were chariots embellished with gold, yoked to swift horses. With the rathas swiftly slain, we saw them roaming around.225 O venerable one! Wheels and poles were destroyed for some, wheels were shattered for others. There were others without flags and standards, or with their yokes destroyed. O lord of the earth! Deprived of everything, we saw rathas wandering around in every direction, scorched by the arrows and weapons of Surya’s son.226 There were those without weapons. And there were many with weapons, but they had been killed. We saw many foot soldiers from their side running around in every direction. They were adorned with colourful flags of many different hues, decorated with bells. There were other warriors with severed head, arms and thighs. We saw the arrows released from Karna’s bow sever them. We beheld those warriors confront a terrible and great calamity. They were killed by Karna’s sharp arrows. In that battle, the Srinjayas were slaughtered by the son of the suta, as they advanced towards him, like insects towards a flame. In every spot there, he consumed those arrays of maharathas and the kshatriyas avoided him, taking him to be the fire that comes at the time of the destruction of a yuga. The remnants of the brave Panchala maharathas were routed and retreated. Karna pursued them from the rear, showering arrows. They were devoid of armour and standards, but the spirited one pursued them. The maharatha son of the suta tormented them with his arrows. It was like the destroyer of darkness227 scorching beings when it has attained midday.” ’

  Chapter 1168(18)

  ‘Sanjaya said, “Your son, Yuyutsu, was driving away that large army.228 Uluka asked him to wait and quickly attacked him. O king! At this, Yuyutsu used an arrow that was extremely sharp at the edges to strike Uluka, like Indra striking a mountain with his vajra. In that encounter, Uluka became angry with your son and slicing his bow down with a kshurapra arrow,229 struck him with a barbed arrow. When his bow was severed, Yuyutsu picked up another large bow that was more forceful. O bull among the Bharata lineage! His eyes red with rage, he pierced Shakuni’s son with sixty arrows. Striking his charioteer with three arrows, he pierced him230 again. Uluka now became wrathful in the battle and piercing him with twenty arrows that were adorned with gold, severed his golden standard. With the pole shattered, that extremely large and lofty standard fell down. O king! Blazing in gold, it fell down in front of Yuyutsu. On seeing that his standard had been uprooted, Yuyutsu became senseless with rage. He struck Uluka between the breasts with five arrows. O venerable one! O supreme among the Bharata lineage! With a broad-headed arrow that had been washed in oil, Uluka violently severed his charioteer’s head. He then killed his four horses and pierced him with five arrows. Having been severely struck by that powerful one, he231 departed on his chariot. O king! Having defeated him, Uluka swiftly advanced towards the Panchalas and the Srinjayas and began to slay them with sharp arrows.

  ‘ “O great king! Fearlessly, and in the twinkling of an eye, your son, Shrutakarma, advanced against Shatanika and deprived him of his horses, his charioteer and his chariot.232 O venerable one! Though his horses were slain, the immensely powerful Shatanika remained stationed on his chariot and extremely angry, flung a club towards your son. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having reduced the chariot, together with its horses and charioteer, to ashes, it fell down with great force and shattered the earth. Those two brave ones, the extenders of the fame of the Kuru lineage, were both without chariots. They glared angrily at each other and withdrew from the battle. Frightened, your son ascended Vivitsu’s chariot.233 Shatanika quickly advanced towards Prativindhya’s chariot.234

  ‘ “Angrily, Sutasoma235 pierced Shakuni with sharp arrows, but could not make him tremble, like a wind against a mountain. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing his father’s supreme enemy, Sutasoma enveloped him with thousands of arrows. However, Shakuni was dexterous and colourful in figh
ting and wished to be victorious in that encounter. He severed those arrows with other arrows. In that battle, having countered those arrows with his sharp arrows, he angrily struck Sutasoma with three arrows. Your immensely valorous brother-in-law used his arrows to bring down his horses and his charioteer and shattered his standard into fragments. At this, all the people roared in applause. O venerable one! His horses were slain. He was without a chariot. His bow was severed. However, the archer236 descended from the chariot, stood on the ground and picked up a supreme bow. He released gold-tufted arrows that had been sharpened on stone and enveloped your brother-in-law’s chariot. The shower of arrows released by the maharatha was like a torrent of insects. But on seeing this, Soubala was not distressed and remained stationed on his chariot. The immensely illustrious one countered those arrows with a storm of his arrows. On witnessing Sutasoma’s extraordinary deed of fighting on foot, while the king was on his chariot, all the warriors, and all the siddhas who were assembled in the firmament, were satisfied and honoured him. The king237 then used sharp and extremely forceful broad-headed arrows that possessed drooping tufts to sever his bow and all his quivers. When his bow was severed in the encounter, he picked up a sword and roared. It possessed the complexion of lapis lazuli or a lotus and had an ivory handle. It was as radiant as the clear sky, and the intelligent Sutasoma whirled it around. It seemed as if he was Death himself. O great king! He had the strength and learning of fourteen techniques238 and roamed around, violently whirling his sword in thousands of circular motions. The valiant Soubala shot arrows at him. But as they descended, he quickly severed them with his supreme sword. O great king! Soubala, the destroyer of enemy heroes, became enraged at this and shot arrows that were like venomous serpents towards Sutasoma. However, displaying his learning, strength and dexterity, the immensely radiant one, with valour like that of Tarkshya,239 used his sword to slice them down in that battle. O king! As he was roaming around and executing circular motions, he240 used an extremely sharp kshurapra arrow to sever that resplendent sword. Thus sliced down, the large sword fell down violently on the ground. When the sword was severed, maharatha Sutasoma retreated six steps and hurled that part of the sword that was still in his fist. That fragment was decorated with gold and diamonds. In that encounter, it quickly severed the great-souled one’s241 bow and bowstring and fell down on the ground. After this, Sutasoma went to Shrutakirti’s giant chariot. Soubala picked up another terrible bow that was extremely difficult to withstand. Using this, he attacked the Pandava soldiers and killed large numbers of the enemy. O lord of the earth! On seeing Soubala fearlessly striding around in the battle, a loud uproar arose amongst the Pandavas, when they saw that large, proud and armed soldiers were driven away by the great-minded Soubala. O king! It was like the army of the daityas being crushed by the king of the gods. In that fashion, the Pandava soldiers were destroyed by Soubala.

  ‘ “O king! Kripa countered Dhrishtadyumna in the battle, like a sharabha242 in a forest, advancing and fighting against a proud elephant. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Parshata was checked by the powerful Goutama and could not advance a single step. On witnessing Goutama’s form advancing towards Dhrishtadyumna’s chariot, all the beings were terrified and thought that he243 was confronting destruction. The rathas and riders were distressed in their minds and said, ‘The immensely energetic Sharadvata, supreme among men, is certainly extremely enraged at Drona’s killing. He is intelligent and skilled in the use of divine weapons. Will Dhrishtadyumna be safe today from Goutama? Will this entire army be freed from this great danger? The brahmana will kill all of us together. His severe form is seen to be like that of the Destroyer. In this encounter, he will follow the footsteps of Bharadvaja’s son. The preceptor244 is light in the use of his hands and is always victorious in battle. He possesses the valour of weapons and is angry as well. It can be seen that Parshata is now extremely reluctant to fight.’ These and other words were spoken by those on your side and on the side of the enemy. O king! Kripa Sharadvata breathed angrily and enveloped Parshata, who was immobile, in all his inner organs. In that encounter, he was struck by the great-souled Goutama. He was supremely confounded in that battle and did not know what he should do. His charioteer said, ‘O Parshata! Are you fine? I have never seen you face such a difficulty in a battle. These arrows shot by that foremost among brahmanas are capable of penetrating the inner organs and are directed at your inner organs. It is sheer fortune that you have escaped. I will withdraw the chariot from the spot, like the force of a river driven back by the ocean. Your valour has been destroyed by this brahmana and I think that he cannot be killed.’ O king! At this, Dhrishtadyumna gently spoke these words. ‘O son!245 My mind has gone numb and there is sweat on my body. Behold! My body is overcome by lassitude and my body hair is standing up. O charioteer! Abandon the brahmana in the battle and slowly go to the spot where Achyuta, Arjuna and Bhimasena are, so that I may obtain safety in the battle. In my view, that is what we should do.’ O great king! At this, the charioteer urged the horses towards the spot where the great archer, Bhima, was fighting with your soldiers. O venerable one! On seeing that Dhrishtadyumna’s chariot was going away, Goutama followed it and showered hundreds of arrows. The scorcher of enemies repeatedly blew on his conch shell. He drove away Parshata, like the great Indra against Shambara.

  ‘ “The invincible Shikhandi was responsible for Bhishma’s death. In the battle, Hardikya246 smiled repeatedly and repulsed him. Shikhandi advanced against the maharatha from the Hridika lineage and struck him between the shoulder joints with five sharp and iron arrows. Kritavarma became angry and struck him with sixty swift arrows. O king! The maharatha smiled and severed his247 bow with a single arrow. Drupada’s powerful son then grasped another bow and enraged, asked Hardikya to wait. O Indra among kings! He shot ninety arrows that were gold-tufted and extremely forceful. But they were repulsed by his248 armour. On seeing that they were repulsed and fell down on the ground, the powerful one used an extremely sharp kshurapra arrow to sever his bow. When the bow had been severed, he249 was like a bull with shattered horns and he250 angrily struck him in the arms and the chest with eighty arrows. Though he was angry, Kritavarma was mangled by these arrows. The lord picked up another stringed bow and affixing arrows, struck Shikhandi in the shoulder with those supreme arrows. With those arrows sticking to his shoulders, Shikhandi looked beautiful. He was like a giant tree, with sparkling branches and sub-branches. Having severely pierced each other, they were both covered with blood. They were as resplendent as bulls that had wounded each other with their horns. Those two maharathas made supreme efforts to kill each other. They roamed around on their chariots, executing a thousand circular motions. O great king! In that battle, Kritavarma pierced Parshata with seventy arrows that were gold-tufted and had been sharpened on stone. In that encounter, Bhoja, supreme among strikers, quickly released a terrible arrow that was capable of robbing life. O king! Severely struck by this, he251 quickly lost his consciousness. He suddenly lost his senses and grasped the pole of his standard. His charioteer took the supreme of rathas away from the battle. Tormented by Hardikya’s arrows, he sighed repeatedly. O lord! Drupada’s brave son was defeated. At this, the Pandava soldiers were slaughtered and fled in all directions.” ’