Mahabharata: Volume 7

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘ “On hearing that sound, the immensely strong Bhimasena was extremely delighted, because he desired to catch sight of Partha. O great king! On hearing that Partha was advancing, the powerful Bhimasena became ready to give up his life and crushed your soldiers. He was like the force of the wind. He was like the force of the wind in speed. Bhima, the powerful son of the wind god, roamed around like the wind. O Indra among kings! O lord of the earth! Your soldiers were afflicted. O great king! They were whirled around, like a shattered boat on the ocean. Bhima showed those soldiers the dexterity of his hands. He released sharp arrows and conveyed them to Yama’s eternal abode. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the battle there, the warriors witnessed Bhima’s superhuman strength. He was like the Destroyer at the time of the destruction of a yuga. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They were afflicted by Bhimasena’s terrible strength. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On seeing this, King Duryodhana spoke these words, addressing the soldiers, the great archers and the warriors. ‘All of you unite in this battle and kill Bhima. Once he has been slain, I think that all the remaining soldiers will have been killed.’ Accepting the instructions of your son, the kings enveloped Bhima with a shower of arrows from every direction. O king! There were many elephants and men, desiring victory. O Indra among kings! There were also chariots and horses that surrounded Vrikodara. O king! O foremost among Bharatas! Having been thus surrounded by valiant ones from every direction, the brave one was as beautiful as the moon surrounded by stars. O great king! That supreme of men looked radiant and handsome in the battle, in particular, as beautiful as Vijaya was. All those kings released showers of arrows at him. They were cruel and their eyes were red in anger. They wished to kill Vrikodara. In that battle, Bhima drove away that large army with straight-tufted arrows and emerged, like a fish in the water coming out of a net. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He killed ten thousand elephants that refused to retreat, two hundred thousand and two hundred men, five thousand horses and one hundred rathas. Having killed them, Bhima created a river made out of blood and mire. Blood constituted the water and chariots were the eddies. It was full of crocodiles in the form of elephants. The men were the fish and horses were the sharks. Hair constituted the moss and the weeds. The trunks of the best of elephants were severed and many jewels were borne along. Thighs were alligators. The fat was the mud. It was full of many heads that were the rocks. The bows and arrows were like rafts. Clubs and maces were the flags. In the battle, a current of warriors were borne along to Yama’s abode. In an instant, the tiger among men created a river that flowed downwards.673 It was like the fierce Vaitarani, difficult for those who have not perfected their souls to cross. Wherever the spot where Pandaveya, supreme among rathas, advanced, in that spot he brought down hundreds and thousands of warriors.

  ‘ “O great king! Having seen the deeds performed by Bhimasena in the battle, Duryodhana spoke these words to Shakuni. ‘O maternal uncle! Defeat the immensely strong Bhimasena in the encounter. If the immensely strong Pandaveya is vanquished, I think that our victory is ensured.’ O great king! At this, the powerful Soubala advanced, surrounded by his brothers, to engage in that great battle. In the battle, he rushed against Bhimasena, whose valour was terrible. He countered the brave one, like the shoreline against the abode of makaras. Though he was restrained by sharp arrows, Bhima did not retreat. O Indra among kings! Shakuni struck him on the left flank and between the breasts with iron arrows that were gold-tufted and had been sharpened on stone. O great king! Those golden arrows, tufted with the feathers of herons and peacocks, penetrated the great-souled one’s armour and sank in. In the battle, Bhima was severely pierced by those gold-decorated arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He violently shot an arrow towards Soubala. O king! As the terrible arrow arrived, the immensely strong Shakuni, the scorcher of enemies, displayed the dexterity of his hands and shattered it into one hundred fragments. O lord of the earth! When it fell down on the ground, Bhima was enraged. He laughed and severed Soubala’s bow with a broad-headed arrow. The powerful Soubala cast aside that severed bow and picked up another bow and sixteen broad-headed arrows. O great king! With four of those broad-headed and straight-tufted arrows, he struck Bhima’s horses and his charioteer with a fifth. O lord of the earth! He severed his standard with one and his umbrella with two. With four more, Subala’s son struck his four horses.674 O great king! At this, the powerful Bhimasena became wrathful. In that battle, he hurled a javelin that was completely made out of iron, but had a golden handle. Released from Bhima’s arm, it was like the flickering tongue of a serpent. It swiftly descended on the great-souled Soubala’s chariot. O lord of the earth! The javelin had been hurled by the enraged Bhimasena and was decorated with gold. But he675 seized it and hurled it back and it penetrated the great-souled Pandava’s left arm. It then fell down on the ground, like lightning descending from the sky. O great king! In every direction, the sons of Dhritarashtra let out a loud cry. However, Bhima was not prepared to tolerate those spirited roars, like those of lions. In haste, the maharatha grasped a bow and strung it. O Indra among kings! In a short while, in that battle, the immensely strong one enveloped Soubala’s soldiers, who were prepared to give up their lives, with arrows. O lord of the earth! He killed his676 four horses and his charioteer. The valiant one swiftly severed his standard with a broad-headed arrow. With the horses slain, the supreme among men abandoned his chariot. His eyes were red with rage and he stretched his bow, sighing deeply. O king! He covered Bhima from every direction with many arrows. However, the powerful Bhimasena countered him with force. He angrily severed his bow and pierced him with sharp arrows. O lord of men! Powerfully and extremely severely pierced by the enemy, the afflicter of enemies fell down on the ground, with only a little bit of life left in him. O lord of the earth! On discerning that he had lost his senses, your son bore him away on his own chariot, while Bhimasena looked on. On seeing that the tiger among men was taken away on the chariot, the sons of Dhritarashtra retreated. They suffered from great fear on account of Bhima and, terrified, fled in different directions. O king! When the archer Bhimasena had defeated Soubala, your son, Duryodhana, was shattered by great fear. Thinking about his maternal uncle, he fled on swift horses. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing that the king had retreated, the troops withdrew, abandoning the duels that were going on in different directions. On seeing this, all the atirathas among the sons of Dhritarashtra also retreated. Bhima quickly rushed at them, showering down many hundreds of arrows. Slaughtered by Bhima, the sons of Dhritarashtra withdrew.

  ‘ “O king! From every direction, they sought refuge with Karna, who was stationed in the battle. That greatly valiant and immensely strong one became like an island to them. O king! O tiger among men! It was as if mariners who suffered from a calamity and had a shattered boat found comfort on reaching an island. O bull among the Bharata lineage! In that way, those on your side sought refuge with Karna. O king! Having stationed themselves there, they cheered each other. They advanced to fight again, preferring to die rather than retreat.” ’

  Chapter 1206(56)

  ‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! When the soldiers were shattered by Bhimasena in the battle, what did Duryodhana and Soubala say? What about Karna, foremost among victorious warriors, Kripa, Kritavarma, Drona’s son, Duhshasana and other warriors on my side? I think that Pandaveya’s valour was extremely wonderful. Did Radheya Karna, the destroyer of enemies, act towards all the Kuru warriors in accordance with his vow? O Sanjaya! On seeing that the army had been routed by the infinitely energetic Kounteya, Radheya, Adhiratha’s son, remained the prosperity, the armour, the base and the hope of remaining alive. What did the warrior Karna do? What about my sons and the invincible maharatha kings? O Sanjaya! You are skilled in narrating. Tell me everything about all this.”

  ‘Sanjaya replied, “O great king! In the afternoon, while Bhimasena looked on, the powerful son of a suta began to strike all the Somakas. The extremely strong
Bhima also began to uproot all the soldiers of the sons of Dhritarashtra. On seeing that the intelligent Bhimasena was driving away the army, Karna asked his charioteer to drive him towards the Panchalas. The immensely strong king of Madra, Shalya, drove the white horses, which were extremely swift, towards the Chedis, the Panchalas and the Karushas. Shalya, the destroyer of enemy troops, penetrated those soldiers. He cheerfully drove the horses to the spot where that foremost one677 wanted him to go. The chariot was like a cloud and was covered in tiger skins. O lord of the earth! On seeing it, the Pandus and the Panchalas were terrified. The loud roar of the chariot could be heard in the great battle. Its roar was like that of a cloud, or of a mountain being shattered.

  ‘ “Karna drew his bow all the way back to his ear and slew hundreds and thousands of Pandava soldiers with hundreds of sharp arrows. While he was performing that superhuman deed in the encounter, the great archers, the Pandava maharathas, surrounded him. Shikhandi, Bhima, Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, Nakula, Sahadeva, Droupadi’s sons and Satyaki surrounded him and showered down arrows, wishing to kill Radheya. In the battle, the brave Satyaki, supreme among men, pierced Karna with twenty sharp arrows in his shoulder joints. Shikhandi pierced Karna with twenty-five arrows, Dhrishtadyumna with five, Droupadi’s sons with sixty-four, Sahadeva with seven and Nakula with one hundred. In that encounter, the immensely strong and angry Bhimasena pierced him in the shoulder joints with ninety arrows with drooping tufts. Adhiratha’s immensely strong son laughed. He drew back his supreme bow and released sharp arrows, afflicting them. Radheya pierced each of them back with five arrows each. The bull among men severed Satyaki’s bow and standard and struck him between the breasts with nine arrows. The scorcher of enemies wrathfully pierced Bhimasena with thirty arrows and struck his charioteer with three arrows. In the twinkling of an eye, the bull among men deprived Droupadi’s sons of their chariots and it was extraordinary. With straight-tufted arrows, he made all of them retreat. He killed the brave maharathas from Panchala and Chedi. O lord of the earth! In that battle, the Chedis and the Matysas were slaughtered. They rushed against Karna, who was single-handed, and struck him with torrents of arrows. The maharatha son of a suta struck those down with his sharp arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I witnessed this extraordinary deed performed by Karna. In the battle, the brave and powerful son of a suta was single-handed. O great king! However, despite those enemy warriors striving to their utmost in the encounter, he restrained the Pandaveyas with his arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the gods, siddhas and supreme rishis were satisfied at the dexterity shown by the great-souled Karna. The great archers, the sons of Dhritarashtra, applauded that best of men. Karna was best among supreme rathas. He was foremost among all archers. O great king! Karna consumed the army of the enemy, just as a large and flaming fire burns down dead wood during the summer. Thus slaughtered by Karna and witnessing Karna’s great strength, the Pandaveyas were terrified in the battle and fled here and there. In the great encounter, loud lamentations arose among the Panchalas, since they were slaughtered by the sharp arrows that were released from Karna’s bow. The large army of the Pandavas was frightened at the sound. In the battle there, the enemies thought that Karna was the only warrior. Thus Radheya, the afflicter of enemies, accomplished that supremely wonderful deed. He single-handedly countered all the Pandavas and no one was capable of glancing towards him. They were like a large mass of water that dashes against a supreme mountain and is driven back. In that way, the Pandava soldiers clashed against Karna and were shattered. O king! In the battle, Karna blazed like a fire without smoke. The mighty-armed one burnt down the large army of the Pandavas. O great king! With great agility and his light arrows, the brave Karna severed the heads, with earrings, and the arms of the valiant ones. There were swords with handles of ivory. There were standards, javelins, horses and elephants. There were the parts of chariots and many kinds of flags and whisks. There were axles, yokes, harnesses and many kinds of wheels. Karna observed his vow of a warrior and shattered these into hundreds of fragments. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Elephants and horses were slain by Karna. Because of the flesh, blood and mire, the earth assumed an impassable form. With destroyed horses, foot soldiers, chariots and elephants, one could no longer distinguish uneven terrain from plain ground. Nor could the warriors distinguish those on their own side from that of the enemy. The arrows generated from Karna’s weapon created a terrible darkness. The arrows released from Radheya’s bow were decorated in gold. O great king! In the battle, the Pandaveya maharathas repeatedly endeavoured, but were shrouded by Karna. O great king! The maharathas endeavoured and were submerged. They were like a herd of deer, driven away by an angry lion in the forest. The warriors who fought against Karna in the battle were greatly illustrious. But those soldiers were slaughtered, like a large number of smaller animals by a wolf.

  ‘ “Seeing that the Pandava soldiers were retreating, the great archers, the sons of Dhritarashtra, pursued them, emitting fierce roars. O Indra among kings! Duryodhana was filled with great delight. He joyfully instructed that many musical instruments should be sounded in every direction. The great archers among the Panchalas, supreme among men, were shattered. But though shattered, those brave ones returned, preferring death over retreat. O great king! The brave Radheya, scorcher of enemies and bull among men, countered and repelled them in many different kinds of ways. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Twenty rathas among the Panchalas were slain there by Karna and so were one hundred angry enemy riders from among the Chedis. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He emptied the seats of chariots and the backs of horses. He brought down men from the necks of elephants. He drove away the infantry. The scorcher of enemies was like the sun at midday and was impossible to look at. The son of a suta assumed as cruel a form as Yama and roamed around. O great king! In this fashion, the great archer Karna, the destroyer of large numbers of the enemy, killed men, horses, rathas and elephants and was stationed there. The immensely strong one was stationed there like the Destroyer after slaying large numbers of beings. The single-handed maharatha was stationed there, after having slain the Somakas. However, we beheld the wonderful valour of the Panchalas. Though they were slaughtered by Karna, they did not forsake the field of battle. The king,678 Duhshasana, Sharadvata Kripa, Ashvatthama, Kritavarma and Shakuni Soubala slew the Pandava soldiers in hundreds and thousands. O Indra among kings! The brothers who were Karna’s sons were also true in their valour. Those powerful ones easily fought with the Panchalas, here and there. They created a cruel and great destruction among the horses there. Despite this, the brave Pandavas, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi and Droupadi’s sons were enraged and attacked those on your side. In this fashion, there was destruction among the Pandavas there and also amongst those on your side, when they clashed against the immensely strong Bhima in the battle.” ’

  Chapter 1207(57)

  ‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! Meanwhile, in that great battle, Arjuna divided up the enemy and glanced at the enraged son of a suta. He generated a large river of blood that bore along flesh, marrow and bones. The bull among men spoke these words to Vasudeva. ‘O Krishna! The standard of the son of a suta can be seen there. Bhimasena and the other maharathas are fighting there. O Janardana! Terrified of Karna, the Panchalas are being driven away. The radiant and white umbrella of King Duryodhana is there. Karna looks extremely beautiful as he is routing the Panchalas. Kripa, Kritavarma and Drona’s immensely strong son are protecting the king and are protected by the son of a suta. Those on our side are unable to kill them, but they are slaying the Somakas. Shalya is stationed on his chariot, skilled in handling the reins. O Krishna! He looks extremely beautiful as he guides the horses of the chariot of the son of a suta. My wish is that you should drive my chariot to that maharatha. Without killing Karna in the battle, I will not retreat. O Janardana! Otherwise, while we look on in this battle, Radheya will exterminate the maharatha Parthas and Srinjayas.’ Having been thus instructed, Kesha
va quickly drove the chariot towards your army, so that there might be a duel between Karna, the great archer, and Savyasachi. On Pandava’s instructions, the mighty-armed Hari departed, thus providing assurance to the Pandava soldiers in every direction. O venerable one! There was the loud clatter of Pandaveya’s chariot in the battle. It was like the sound of Vasava’s vajra or a giant flood. There was a great roar from the chariot of Pandava, who was unwavering in his valour. Vijaya, immeasurable in his soul, advanced against your army.