Mahabharata: Volume 7

by Debroy, Bibek

  Chapter 1239(20)

  ‘Sanjaya said, “When the brave Shalva, the ornament of an assembly, was killed, that army was agitated, like a giant tree struck by a forceful storm. On seeing that the army was routed, the immensely strong and valiant maharatha Kritavarma resisted the soldiers of the enemy in the battle. O king! The descendant of the Satvata lineage10 was stationed in the battle and was enveloped with arrows. On seeing this, the brave ones11 returned and a battle between the Kurus and the Pandavas commenced. O great king! They did not retreat and preferred death over retreat. There was a wonderful battle between Satvata and the enemy. Single-handedly, he countered the Pandu soldiers, who were difficult to resist. On witnessing this, other well-wishers performed extremely difficult deeds. They cheerfully roared like lions and that great sound rose up to heaven. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The Panchalas were frightened by that noise. However, Shini’s grandson, the mighty-armed Satyaki, attacked. He advanced against the immensely strong Kshemadhurti, and using seven sharp arrows, conveyed him to Yama’s abode. The mighty-armed descendant of the Shini lineage tormented with sharp arrows. As he attacked, Hardikya rushed against him, terrible and fierce. Those two archers, best among rathas, roared like lions. They rushed against each other, wielding the best of weapons. The Pandavas, the Panchalas, other warriors and the best of kings became spectators to that clash between those two lions among men. The maharathas from the Vrishni and Andhaka lineages used vatsadantas and iron arrows. Like cheerful elephants, they tried to kill each other. Hardikya and the bull among the Shini lineage roamed around in diverse motions. They repeatedly struck each other with showers of arrows. Those lions from the Vrishni lineage stretched their bows with force and strength and shot arrows. We saw these in the sky, travelling fast, like insects. Hridika’s son approached the one who was the performer of truthful deeds12 and used four sharp arrows to pierce his four horses. The long-armed one became angry, like an elephant struck with a goad. He used eight supreme arrows to pierce Kritavarma. Kritavarma stretched his bow back all the way up to his ears. Piercing Satyaki with three arrows, he severed his bow with another one. When that best of bows was severed, the bull among the Shini lineage picked up another bow with an arrow affixed to it. Shini’s descendant, best among all archers, picked up that best of bows with great speed. The immensely valorous, immensely intelligent and immensely strong one was unable to tolerate the fact that his bow had been severed by Kritavarma. Enraged, the atiratha speedily attacked Kritavarma. Using ten extremely sharp arrows, the bull among the Shini lineage struck Kritavarma’s charioteer, horses and standard. His gold-decorated chariot, horses and charioteer were destroyed. O king! O venerable one! On seeing this, the great archer, maharatha Kritavarma, was overcome by great rage and picked up a javelin. With the force of his arms, he hurled this towards the bull among the Shini lineage, wishing to kill him. But Satvata shattered the javelin with his sharp arrows. Shattered, it fell down, and Madhava13 was confused. His horses had been slain. His charioteer had been killed. In the encounter, Yuyudhana,14 skilled in the use of weapons, used a broad-headed arrow to strike him in the chest. Kritavarma fell down on the ground. In the duel, the brave one was deprived of his chariot by Satyaki. At this, all the soldiers15 were overcome by great fear and your sons were miserable, because Kritavarma had been deprived of his chariot and his horses and charioteer had been slain. The horses of that scorcher of enemies had been killed. His charioteer had been slain. O king! On seeing this, Kripa attacked the bull among the Shini lineage, wishing to kill him. While all the archers looked on, the mighty-armed one swiftly picked him up on his own chariot and bore him away from the field of battle. O king! Kritavarma had been deprived of his chariot and Shini’s descendant remained stationed there. All of Duryodhana’s soldiers again became reluctant to fight. Because they were covered in dust, the soldiers could no longer discern the enemy. O king! With the exception of King Duryodhana, those on your side ran away. Duryodhana was nearby and saw that his own army had been routed. O venerable one! Angered, he quickly attacked all the Pandus, Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, Droupadi’s sons, the large numbers of Panchalas, the Kekayas, the Somakas and the Panchalas16 and countered them. He was fearless and unassailable and repulsed them with sharp weapons. Your immensely strong son endeavoured and remained stationed in the battle. He was as resplendent as the great fire on a sacrificial altar, invoked with mantras. In the battle, the enemy was incapable of approaching him, like mortal beings against Death. Hardikya ascended another chariot and attacked.” ’

  Chapter 1240(21)

  ‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! Your son, supreme among rathas, was stationed on his chariot in the battle. He was resplendent and difficult to resist, like the powerful Rudra. The earth was covered with thousands of his arrows. He showered the enemy with arrows, like rain pouring down on a mountain. In the great battle, there wasn’t a man among the Pandavas, or a horse, elephant or a ratha, who was not wounded by his arrows. O lord of the earth! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Whichever warrior I saw in the encounter was struck by your son with his arrows. The soldiers in the army17 were covered by dust and were seen to be mangled by the great-souled one’s arrows. O lord of the earth! The earth seemed to be made out of arrows that were released by the archer Duryodhana, swift in the use of his hands. Among the thousands of warriors on your side, or that of the enemy, it seemed to me that Duryodhana was the only man. We beheld your son’s wonderful valour. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He was single-handed. But the united Parthas could not advance against him. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He pierced Yudhishthira with one hundred arrows, Bhimasena with seventy, Sahadeva with seven, Nakula with sixty-four, Dhrishtadyumna with five, Droupadi’s sons with seven each and pierced Satyaki with three. O venerable one! He severed Sahadeva’s bow with a broad-headed arrow. Casting aside the severed bow, Madri’s powerful son picked up another great bow and attacked the king. In the battle, he pierced Duryodhana with ten arrows. The brave and great archer, Nakula, pierced the king with nine arrows and roared, assuming a terrible form. Satyaki struck the king with an arrow with drooping tufts. Droupadi’s sons struck him with seveny-three and Dharmaraja with seven. Bhimasena struck the king with eighty arrows. He was afflicted from every direction by storms of arrows shot by those great-souled ones. O great king! However, while all the soldiers looked on, he did not waver. All the beings and all the men witnessed the dexterity, skill and prowess of the great-souled one. O Indra among kings! Some sons of Dhritarashtra had only fled a short distance away. On seeing the king, those armoured ones surrounded him. When they attacked, they created a tumultuous sound. It was like a turbulent ocean on a monsoon night. In the battle, those great archers approached the unvanquished king and counter-attacked the Pandava assassins.

  ‘ “In the encounter, Drona’s son repulsed the enraged Bhimasena. O great king! Arrows were released in all the directions. The brave ones could not be distinguished in the battle, nor the directions or the sub-directions. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Both of those resplendent ones18 were the performers of cruel deeds and were extremely difficult to resist. They assumed fearful forms and fought, acting and neutralizing each other. The entire universe was terrified because of the twangs of their bows and their words. In the battle, the brave Shakuni attacked Yudhishthira. Subala’s powerful son slew the four horses that belonged to the lord and roared. This made all the soldiers tremble. At that time, the powerful Sahadeva bore the brave and unvanquished king19 away from the field of battle on his chariot. Dharmaraja Yudhishthira ascended another chariot. He pierced Shakuni with nine arrows and pierced him again with five. The best among all archers then roared loudly. O venerable one! The battle was wonderful and fearful in form. It generated delight among the spectators and was applauded by the siddhas and the charanas. Uluka, immeasurable in his soul, attacked the great archer, Nakula, invincible in battle, and showered him with arrows from every direction. In that way, the brave Nakula repulsed
Soubala’s son in the encounter and repulsed him with a great shower of arrows. They were brave maharathas, born in noble lineages. They were seen to fight with each other, enraged with each other. O king! In that way, Kritavarma fought against Shini’s descendant, the tormentor of enemies, and was resplendent, like Shakra in an encounter against Bala. In the battle, Duryodhana severed Dhrishtadyumna’s bow. When his bow had been severed, he pierced him with sharp arrows. While all the archers looked on, in that encounter, Dhrishtadyumna grasped a supreme weapon and fought against the king. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The clash between those two was exceedingly great. They were like two supreme and crazy elephants, with shattered temples, exuding musth. In the battle, the brave Goutama became angry and pierced Droupadi’s immensely strong sons with many arrows with drooping tufts. That clash between them and him was like that between a being and the senses.20 It assumed a fierce and terrible form and neither side was inclined to show mercy. They afflicted him, like senses oppressing a stupid person. He angrily fought against them in that battle. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus the colourful battle between them and him raged on. O lord! It was like the one that always takes place between a being and the senses.

  ‘ “Men fought with men. Tuskers fought with tuskers. Horses clashed against horses and rathas against rathas. O lord of the earth! The battle became tumultuous and fearful in form. O lord! It was wonderful in one spot and terrible and fierce in another. O great king! There were many terrible clashes. Those scorchers of enemies clashed against each other in the encounter. They pierced, struck and killed each other in the great encounter. Because of the weapons, a terrible dust was seen to rise. O king! As they ran away, it was also created by the horses and the horse riders and was fanned by the wind. The dust was created by the chariots and the breaths of the tuskers. It was like a tawny cloud in the evening and obstructed the path of the sun. The sun was covered by the dust and lost its brilliance. The earth and the brave maharathas were shrouded. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! But in a short while, the earth was sprinkled with the blood of the brave ones and, in every direction, became free of the dust. That terrible dust, fierce in form, was pacified. O great king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those extremely fearful duels could again be seen, as the best and the eldest fought against each other at midday. O Indra among kings! The armour was seen to blaze in resplendent brilliance. As arrows descended in that battle, a tumultuous sound was raised. It was as if a large forest of bamboos was being burnt in every direction.” ’

  Chapter 1241(22)

  ‘Sanjaya said, “That fierce battle continued, terrible in form. The army of your sons was shattered by the Pandavas. The maharathas made great efforts to restrain them and your sons fought against the Pandava soldiers. Wishing to ensure your son’s pleasure, the warriors on your side suddenly returned. When they returned, the battle again assumed a fearful form. Those on your side and the enemy fought against each other in the battle, like the gods and the asuras. The soldiers on your side, and that of the enemy, were unwilling to retreat. They fought against each other through guessing and by means of signs.21 As they fought against each other, there was a great destruction.

  ‘ “King Yudhishthira was overcome by great rage. In the battle, he wished to vanquish the sons of Dhritarashtra and the kings. He pierced Sharadvata with three arrows that were gold-tufted and had been sharpened on stone. He slew Kritavarma’s four horses with injurious arrows. Ashvatthama bore the illustrious Hardikya away. Sharadvata pierced Yudhishthira back with eight arrows. In the battle, King Duryodhana dispatched seven hundred chariots towards the spot where King Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, was. Those chariots possessed the speed of thought or the wind and rathas rode them. In the encounter, they rushed against Kounteya’s chariot. O great king! They surrounded Yudhishthira from all sides. With their arrows, they made him disappear, like clouds against the sun. Rathas, with Shikhandi at the forefront, were unwilling to tolerate this and became angry. They attacked with the best of swift chariots, decorated with nets of bells. They advanced to protect Yudhishthira, Kunti’s sons. A terrible battle ensued between the Pandavas and the Kurus. Blood flowed like water and it extended Yama’s kingdom. Having slain the seven hundred rathas that belonged to the Kuru assassins, the Pandavas and the Panchalas again countered them. A great battle was fought between your son and the Pandavas. Nothing like this had been seen earlier, nor heard of. That merciless battle continued in every direction. Warriors, on your side and that of the others, were slain. The warriors roared and blew on their conch shells. The archers roared like lions and shouted. O venerable one! As that battle extended, the inner organs were mangled. In search of victory, the warriors dashed in every direction. Every species on earth seemed to be destroyed and this generated sorrow. As the battle extended, the best of women were deprived of their partings in the encounter.22 That merciless and extremely fearful battle continued. There was a sound, like that of the earth, with all its mountains and forests, during an earthquake. O king! Torches with handles fell down in every direction. From the solar disc, meteors descended from the firmament onto the ground. Harsh winds blew from every side and showered down stones underneath. The elephants shed tears and trembled severely. Disregarding these ominous portents, the extremely fearful battle raged on. Consulting each other, the kshatriyas weren’t distressed and fought again on that beautiful and sacred region of Kurukshetra, desiring to go to heaven.

  ‘ “Shakuni, the son of the king of Gandhara, said, ‘Station yourselves in the forefront of the battle. I will slay the Pandavas from the rear.’ At this, the spirited warriors from Madra cheerfully advanced, uttering many sounds of delight and so did the enemy. Those invincible ones, unwavering in their aim, attacked us again. They brandished their bows and arrows and showered down arrows. The soldiers of the king of Madra were slain by the army there. On seeing this, Duryodhana’s soldiers again retreated. The powerful king of Gandhara again spoke these words. ‘O wicked ones! O ones who are ignoring dharma! Return and fight. Why are you running away?’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! The king of Gandhara possessed an army of ten thousand horses, with warriors with sparkling lances. He used this army and his valour and there was a destruction of men. He attacked the Pandava soldiers from the rear and killed them with his sharp arrows. O great king! In every direction, the extremely large army of the Pandus was destroyed and driven away, like clouds by the wind. From a close distance, Yudhishthira saw that his own army was being routed. The immensely strong Sahadeva was in front of him and he urged him. ‘Subala’s armoured son is afflicting our rear. O Pandava! Behold. The evil-minded one is slaying our soldiers. Advance with the sons of Droupadi and kill Shakuni Soubala. O unblemished one! Protect yourself with an army of Panchala chariots. Let all the elephants and horses go with you, and three thousand foot soldiers. Kill Shakuni Soubala.’ At this, seven hundred elephants, with bows in the hands of the riders, five thousand horses, the valiant Sahadeva, three thousand foot soldiers and the sons of Droupadi combined and attacked Shakuni, invincible in a battle, in the encounter. O king! However, the powerful Soubala, desiring victory, overcame the Pandavas and slaughtered the soldiers from the rear. The spirited Pandava horse riders were angry. They penetrated Soubala’s army and overcame his rathas. Those brave riders stationed themselves amidst elephants and enveloped Soubala’s large army with showers of arrows. The brave men used clubs and javelins. O king! Because of your evil counsel, a great battle raged. As the rathas watched, the twang of bowstrings was no longer heard, because one could not distinguish those on one’s own side from that of the enemy. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Javelins were hurled from the arms of the brave ones among the Kurus and the Pandavas and one could see them descend like stellar bodies. O lord of the earth! Sparkling swords were seen to descend there and covered the sky, rendering it exceedingly beautiful. O king! O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Beautiful javelins descended in every direction and were like locusts in the sky. The lim
bs of horses were covered with blood and because they were wounded, fell down in hundreds and thousands. They fell against each other and crowded together. Wounded, they were seen to vomit blood from their mouths. There was a terrible darkness and the soldiers were covered in dust. With wet eyes, those scorchers of enemies retreated from the spot. O king! Horses and men were covered with dust. Some fell down on the ground. Others vomited copious quantities of blood. The hair of some men got entangled with the hair of others and they could not move. The immensely strong ones dragged each other from the backs of their horses and, clashing like wrestlers, slew each other. Many lost their lives and were dragged away by the horses. There were many others who fell down on the ground, desiring victory. Those men, proud of their prowess, were seen here and there. Blood flowed from their wounds. Their arms were severed. Their hair was shorn. The earth was seen to be strewn with hundreds and thousands of them. Those who tried to use their horses could not travel a great distance away. Horse riders were slain and the earth was covered with horses. Armour was smeared with blood. And there were those who were armed with many terrible kinds of weapons, seeking to kill each other. They clashed against each other in the battle and many soldiers were killed. O lord of the earth! Soubala fought in that battle for a short while. He then retreated with the six thousand horses that still remained.