‘ “The soldiers, with Bhimasena at the forefront, and brave rathas with Satyaki at the forefront, again attacked your soldiers, who had already been routed. The great-souled ones descended with such great force that it was irresistible. O king! The large army of your sons retreated. The chariots, horses and men were scattered. Their armour and mail were in disarray. Their weapons and bows were dislodged. Your soldiers were agitated and driven away in different directions. They were like a herd of elephants, afflicted by lions in a great forest.” ’
Chapter 1184(34)
‘Sanjaya said, “O king! On seeing that your soldiers were being driven away by the Pandavas, your son loudly tried to rally them. In that battle, the flanks, the distant flanks, the even more distant flanks and the right wings of the the Kurus raised their weapons and attacked Bhima. O great king! On seeing that the army of the sons of Dhritarashtra was running away, Karna asked Shalya, the adornment of a battle, to drive towards Vrikodara, on the foremost of horses that possessed the complexion of swans. Those horses reached Bhimasena’s chariot and engaged. On seeing that Karna had approached, Bhima was full of anger. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He made up his mind to destroy Karna. He told brave Satyaki and Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, ‘Protect King Yudhishthira, who has dharma in his soul. In my sight, he escaped from a great calamity. In front of me, for the sake of Duryodhana’s pleasure, the evil-minded Radheya deprived the king of all his garments.467 O Parshata! Today, I will bring an end to that misery. In the battle, I will kill Karna, or he will kill me. Either will happen in this extremely terrible battle. I am telling you this truthfully. Today, I am handing over the king in trust to you. Do not be anxious. But protect him in every way.’ Having said this, the mighty-armed one headed in the direction of the chariot of Adhiratha’s son. He roared loudly like a lion and this made all the directions resound.
‘ “On seeing that Bhima, who delighted in a battle, was swiftly advancing, the lord who was the king of Madra spoke to the son of the suta. ‘O Karna! Behold the enraged and mighty-armed descendant of the Pandava lineage. He has conquered his wrath for a long time and certainly wishes to release it towards you. O Karna! I have never seen him in such a form earlier, not even when Abhimanyu and rakshasa Ghatotkacha were killed. In his ire, he is capable of resisting the three worlds. The form that he has assumed is like the resplendent fire of destruction.’ O king! While the lord of Madra was speaking these words to Radheya, Vrikodara, flaming in his anger, attacked Karna. On seeing that Bhima, who delighted in fighting, had thus arrived, Radheya laughed and spoke these words to Shalya. ‘O lord of Madra! O lord! There is no doubt that the words that you have spoken to me now about Bhimasena are true. Vrikodara is brave, valiant and angry. He is indifferent towards protecting his body and his life and is superior in strength. When he lived in disguise in the city of Virata, for the sake of bringing pleasure to Droupadi, resorting only to his arms, he secretly killed Kichaka and his followers.468 He is senseless with anger and armoured now. He is stationed in the forefront of this battle. He is roaming around in this battle, like Death with a staff, and wishes to do something. I have also harboured a desire for a long time, that either I will kill Arjuna in a battle, or Dhananjaya will kill me. Now that Bhima has advanced against me, perhaps that wish may come true today. If I kill Bhimasena or deprive him of his chariot, and Partha advances against me, that will be fortunate. Please do whatever needs to done, quickly.’ On hearing the words of the great-souled Radheya, Shalya spoke these words to the son of the suta. ‘O mighty-armed one! Advance against the immensely strong Bhimasena. If you restrain Bhimasena, you may be able to reach Phalguna. O Karna! The desire that you have harboured in your heart for a long time, may well be accomplished. I am telling you this truthfully.’ Having been thus addressed, Karna again spoke to Shalya. ‘Arjuna will kill me in the battle, or I will kill Dhananjaya. Fix your mind on the battle. Drive. Drive there.’ O lord of the earth! Having been thus instructed, Shalya swiftly drove the chariot to the spot where Bhima, the great archer, was driving away the army. At this, there was the extremely loud noise of trumpets and drums. O Indra among kings! This arose as Karna and Bhima clashed.
‘ “The powerful Bhimasena was extremely angry. He was invincible and drove your soldiers away in different directions, using sharp and sparkling iron arrows. O lord of the earth! O great king! That fierce battle between Karna and Pandava was tumultuous and terrible in form. O Indra among kings! In an instant, Pandava attacked Karna. On seeing that he was descending, Karna Vaikartana Vrisha angrily struck him between the breasts with an iron arrow. The one who was immeasurable in his soul again covered him with a shower of arrows. Having been thus pierced, he enveloped the son of the suta with arrows. He pierced Karna with nine sharp arrows with drooping tufts. Karna used his arrows to sever his bow into two fragments from the middle. When he was deprived of his bow, he struck him between the breasts with extremely sharp iron arrows that were capable of penetrating all armour. O king! Vrikodara picked up another bow and struck the son of the suta with extremely sharp arrows that were capable of penetrating the inner organs. He roared powerfully and made heaven and earth tremble. Karna struck him with twenty-five iron arrows, like a maddened and proud elephant attacked in the forest with flaming torches. With his limbs mangled by the arrows, Pandava became senseless with rage. His eyes were coppery red with anger and intolerance and he wished to kill the son of the suta. His bow was extremely powerful and supreme and capable of bearing a great load. He affixed an arrow that was capable of shattering mountains. The son of the wind god469 powerfully stretched the bow back, all the way up to his ears. Wishing to kill Karna, the great archer angrily released the arrow. Having been thus released by the powerful one, the arrow, with a sound like that of the vajra or thunder, struck Karna in that battle, with a force like that of the vajra against a mountain. O extender of the Kuru lineage! Thus struck by Bhimasena, the son of the suta, the leader of an army, lost his senses and sank down on the floor of his chariot. On seeing that the son of the suta had lost his senses, the lord of Madra bore Karna, the adornment of a battle, away on the chariot. When Karna was defeated, the large army of the sons of Dhritarashtra was driven away by Bhimasena, like an army of the danavas by Indra.” ’
Chapter 1185(35)
‘Dhritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! This deed performed by Bhima was extremely difficult to accomplish. He brought down the mighty-armed Karna from the seat of his chariot. There is only one person who can kill the Srinjayas and the Pandavas in the battle and that is Karna. O suta! That is what Duryodhana has repeatedly told me. On seeing that Radheya had been defeated by Bhima in the battle, what did my son, Duryodhana, do next?”
‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! On seeing that Radheya, the son of the suta, was beaten back in that great battle, he470 addressed the large army of his brothers. ‘O fortunate ones! Swiftly go and protect Radheya. He confronts a hardship and has been submerged in the fathomless ocean that is Bhimasena.’ Having been thus instructed by the king, they wished to kill Bhimasena and attacked him in great anger, like insects heading towards a flame. Shrutayudha, Durdhara, Kratha, Vivitsu, Vikata, Soma, Nishangi, Kavachi, Pashi, Nanda, Upanandaka, Dushpradharsha, Subahu, Vatavega, Suvarchasa, Dhanurgraha, Durmada, Satva and Soma471 —these were valiant and extremely powerful. They attacked Bhimasena with chariots and surrounded him from every direction. They released a storm of arrows, of many different forms, from every direction. O lord of men! Your sons quickly descended on the immensely strong Bhimasena and attacked him. He killed five hundred rathas and fifty other rathas who advanced against him. He angrily severed Vivitsu’s head with a broad-headed arrow. It had earrings and a helmet and was like the full moon. O great king! Severed by Bhima, it fell down on the ground. O lord! On seeing that their brave brother had been killed, in that battle, all of them attacked Bhima, who was terrible in his valour, from all directions. In that great battle, Bhima, terrible in his valour, used other broad-headed arrows to rob the lives
of two more of your sons in the encounter. O king! They fell down on the ground, like trees that had been uprooted by a tempest. They were Vikata and Soma, who were like ones born from the wombs of the gods. Swiftly, Bhima used an extremely sharp iron arrow to convey Kratha to Yama’s eternal abode. Slain, he fell down on the ground. O lord of men! Fierce sounds of lamentation arose there. O king! Your archer sons were being slain there. Agitating your soldiers in the battle, the immensely strong Bhimasena conveyed Nanda and Upananda472 to Yama’s abode. Your sons were terrified and lost their senses. On seeing Bhimsena in that battle, like Yama the Destroyer, they fled.
‘ “On seeing that your sons had been killed, the great-minded son of the suta again went to the spot where Pandava was, on horses that possessed the complexion of swans. O great king! The king of Madra swiftly drove those horses towards Bhimasena’s chariot and powerfully engaged with him. O lord of men! O great king! The clash that ensued between Karna and Pandava was fierce. It was tumultuous and terrible in form. O great king! On seeing those two maharathas clash against each other, my mind was certainly anxious to know what would transpire today. O Indra among kings! However, Karna laughed and didn’t have to make a great effort. In a short instant, he deprived Bhima, whose deeds were terrible, of his chariot. O best of the Bharatas! Despite being deprived of his chariot, the one who was like the wind god, laughed. The mighty-armed one descended from his supreme chariot, with a club in his hand. O king! Bhima, the striker and scorcher of enemies, assumed a terrible form and violently killed seven hundred elephants. He knew about the inner organs and struck them at the base of their tusks, their eyes, their temples and their loins. Having severely struck them in their inner organs and killed them, he roared. They fled in fear, but were again rallied back by the riders. They surrounded him, like clouds around the sun. However, using his club, he killed and brought down seven hundred elephants on the ground, with their riders, weapons and flags, like a mass of clouds driven away by the wind. There were extremely strong elephants that belonged to Subala’s son.473 In the battle, Kounteya again brought down five hundred and two of these. He fiercely crushed one hundred chariots and a hundred foot soldiers that belonged to the enemy. They were killed by Pandava in the battle, while your army looked on. They were scorched by the sun and by the great-souled Bhima. Your soldiers began to shrink, like a strip of leather held above a fire. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Those on your side were terrified because of their fear of Bhima. In that encounter, they were driven away by Bhima in the ten directions. There were five hundred other rathas. With shields and armour, they cheerfully and swiftly attacked Bhima, showering him with arrows from every direction. With his club, Bhima brought down all those rathas and charioteers, with their flags, standards and weapons, like Vishnu against the asuras. On Shakuni’s instructions, three thousand riders who prided themselves on their bravery, advanced against Bhima, with lances, swords and spears in their hands. He was the destroyer of enemy heroes and spiritedly counter-attacked those horse riders. He roamed around in diverse motions and killed and brought them down. When they were thus oppressed by him, a great and tumultuous sound arose in every direction. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It was as if a clump of reeds was being severed with a sword. Having slain three thousand supreme horses that belonged to Subala’s son, he ascended a chariot and angrily attacked Radheya.
‘ “O king! In that battle, Karna enveloped Dharma’s son, the scorcher of enemies, with arrows and brought down his charioteer. On seeing that he474 was fleeing from the encounter on his chariot, the maharatha pursued him and released swift arrows that were shafted with the feathers of herons. When the fleeing king was thus enveloped with arrows, the son of the wind god angrily covered heaven and earth with his net of arrows. Radheya, the destroyer of enemies, swiftly repulsed him. In every direction, he enveloped Bhima with sharp arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Karna was in front of Bhimasena’s chariot. Satyaki, whose soul was immeasurable, placed himself at the side and attacked Karna, severely afflicting him with arrows. Those two bulls among archers475 clashed against each other and spiritedly released colourful and dazzling arrows. O Indra among kings! Those terrible nets of arrows released by them could be seen to fiercely stretch out in the sky, like the red backs of cranes. Because of the thousands of arrows released by them, we could not see the radiance of the sun, the sky, the directions, or the sub-directions. O king! It was midday and the great radiance of the sun was scorching. But all that seemed to be dispelled by the storm of arrows that Karna and Madhava476 shot.
‘ “On seeing that Soubala, Kritavarma, Drona’s son, Adhiratha’s son and Kripa were engaged with the Pandavas, the Kurus returned again. O lord of the earth! When they descended, a fierce sound arose. It was like the terrible sound made by oceans during the rainy season. On beholding each other in that great battle, both armies were anxious. But they were also extremely delighted at having engaged with each other. When the sun attained its midpoint, the battle commenced. Nothing like this has been seen earlier, nor heard of. A large army violently clashed against another large army in that battle. It was as if a large store of water was heading powerfully towards the ocean. There was an extremely loud roar as those two armies clashed against each other. It was as if the waters in the ocean were roaring loudly. Thus, those two armies powerfully clashed against each other. They became one, like two rivers meeting each other. O lord of the earth! A battle that was fierce in form commenced. The Kurus and the Pandavas engaged, desiring extremely great fame. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The Kurus roared out loudly to each other there and many different kinds of noises were heard. In that encounter, the warriors were heard to revile the fathers, the mothers, the deeds and the conduct of their adversaries. In the battle, they were seen to censure each other. O king! I formed the view that their lifespans had run out. On seeing the angry forms of those immensely energetic ones, I was overcome by a great fear about what would transpire. O king! The Pandava and Kourava maharathas began to wound and kill each other with sharp arrows.” ’
Chapter 1186(36)
‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! The kshatriyas wished to kill each other. They bore feelings of enmity towards each other and slew each other in the battle. O great king! Large numbers of chariots, throngs of horses, masses of men and numerous elephants clashed against each other in every direction. There were clubs, maces, kanapas,477 lances, catapults; and bhushundis478 were seen to move everywhere. They descended in that extremely fierce battle. In every direction, showers of arrows descended like locusts. In the encounter, elephants clashed against elephants and killed each other. Horses clashed against horses, chariots against chariots, infantry against large numbers of infantry and large numbers of horses against horses. O king! In that encounter, foot soldiers, chariots, elephants, rathas, elephants, horses and elephants were seen to swiftly crush the other three kinds of forces.479 The brave foot soldiers roared at each other. That terrible encounter was like a sacrificial spot for animals. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Covered in blood, the earth was beautiful. It was as if the earth was covered by large numbers of shakragopa insects during the monsoon.480 The earth was as beautiful as a young lady481 dressed in a white garment that had been dyed with saffron.482 With the colourful flesh and blood, it seemed to be decorated in gold. Heads, arms and thighs were severed. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Earrings and ornaments were dislodged. Golden necklaces and armour were dislodged from the bodies of the archers. With large numbers of flags, they fell down on the ground. Elephants engaged with elephants and gored each other with the tips of their tusk. Wounded by the tusks, the elephants looked beautiful. Their limbs were covered with blood and they looked like mobile mountains full of minerals, with red chalk flowing down their sides. The elephants destroyed many lances hurled by their opponents, including those that were still held horizontally in the hands. With their armour destroyed by iron arrows, those supreme elephants looked dazzling. O great king! The
y were like mountains deprived of clouds at the onset of winter. The best of elephants were pierced with gold-tufted arrows. O venerable one! They looked like beautiful mountain tops, lit with torches. Some elephants, as large as mountains, were struck by other elephants and fell down on the ground. They fell down in that battle, like mountains with wings.483 Other elephants were struck by arrows and oppressed by their wounds. These fled. With their temples and frontal globes shattered, they shrieked and fell down in that great battle. There were others that emitted terrible roars like lions. O king! There were others that shrieked and ran hither and thither. Horses with golden harnesses and trappings were killed by the arrows and weakened. They screamed and ran in the ten directions. Others that were afflicted and rendered unconscious, fell down on the ground. Oppressed by the arrows and javelins, they screamed in many different kinds of ways. O venerable one! Men were slain there. They screamed and fell down on the ground. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Others saw their relatives, fathers, grandfathers and others running away from the enemy. On seeing this, they called out the names of their lineages and their own names and summoned each other. O great king! Bedecked with golden ornaments, their arms were severed and having fallen, or while falling down, were immobile or writhed. Thousands of these fell down on the ground and quivered. In that battle, they quivered powerfully, like serpents. O lord of the earth! Those arms were like the bodies of serpents, smeared with sandalwood. Drenched with blood, they were as beautiful as golden standards. A fierce encounter ensued in every direction. Without recognizing,484 they fought and killed each other. Because of that descent of weapons, the earth was covered with dust. O king! Since everything was covered in darkness, one could not differentiate those on one’s own side from that of the enemy. A terrible and large river with currents of blood, fierce in form, was created there and began to flow. The severed heads were like rocks. The hair constituted weeds and moss. It was full of the best of bows and arrows and large numbers of bones. Flesh constituted the mud and mire. There were extremely terrible currents of blood. The river that was created there extended Yama’s kingdom. That river was fearsome in form and conveyed them to Yama’s abode. It generated fear in the minds of the kshatriyas who submerged and immersed themselves in it. O tiger among men! Carnivorous beasts roared in various places there. That horrible field of battle looked like the city of the lord of the dead.485 In every direction, large numbers of headless torsos were seen to rise up. Satisified with the flesh and the blood, large numbers of demons danced around. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They drank the blood there. They drank the marrow. Satiated with the fat and the marrow, crows, vultures and smaller crows were seen to run around. O king! In that battle, the brave ones cast aside all fear, though it is difficult to give that up. They resorted to the vow of warriors and performed their tasks without any fear. There were large numbers of arrows and lances on the field of battle and it was infested with innumerable predatory beasts. The brave ones roamed around there, displaying their manliness. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They made each other listen to their names and lineages. In the encounter, they recounted the names of their fathers and their families. O lord of the earth! In diverse ways there, the warriors made others listen to these. They attacked each other, with spears, javelins and battleaxes. An extremely terrible battle commenced, fearsome in form. The Kourava army was weakened, like a shattered boat on the ocean.” ’
Mahabharata: Volume 7 Page 20