Vaisampayana said, "Having defeated Vikartana's son, Arjuna said unto
the son of Virata, 'Take me towards that division where yonder device of
a golden palmyra is seen. There our grandfather, Santanu's son, like
unto a celestial, waiteth, desirous of an encounter with me.' Thereupon,
beholding that mighty host thronged with cars and horses and elephants,
Uttara, sorely pierced with arrows, said, 'O hero, I am no longer able
to guide thy excellent steeds. My spirits droop and my mind is
exceedingly bewildered. All the directions seem to be whirling before my
eyes in consequence of the energy of the celestial weapons used by thee
and the Kurus. I have been deprived of my senses by the stench of fat
and blood and flesh. Beholding all this, from terror my mind is, as it
were, cleft in twain. Never before had I beheld such a muster of horses
in battle. And at the flapping of fences, and the blare of conchs, the
leonine roars made by the warriors and the shrieks of elephants, and the
twang of the _Gandiva_ resembling the thunder, I have, O hero, been so
stupefied that I have been deprived of both hearing and memory. And, O
hero, beholding thee incessantly drawing to a circle, in course of the
conflict, the _Gandiva_ which resembleth a circle of fire, my sight
faileth me and my heart is rent asunder. And seeing thy fierce form in
battle, like that of the wielder of the _Pinaka_ while inflamed with
wrath, and looking also at the terrible arrows shot by thee, I am filled
with fear. I fail to see when thou takest up thy excellent arrows, when
thou fixest them on the bow-string, and when thou lettest them off. And
though all this is done before my eyes, yet, deprived of my senses, I do
not see it. My spirits are drooping and earth itself seems to be
swimming before me. I have no strength to hold the whip and the reins.'
Hearing these words, Arjuna said, 'Do thou not fear. Assure thyself.
Thou also hast, on the field of battle performed, O bull among men,
wonderful feats. Blessed be thou, thou art a prince and born in the
illustrious line of Matsyas. It behoveth thee not to feel dispirited in
chastising thy foes. Therefore, O prince, stationed on my car, muster
all thy fortitude and hold the reins of my steeds, O slayer of foes,
when I once more become engaged in battle.'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Having said this unto Virata's son, that best
of men and foremost of car-warriors, the mighty-armed Arjuna, again
addressed the son of Virata, saying. 'Take me without delay to the van
of Bhishma's division. I will cut off his very bow-string in the battle.
Thou shalt behold today the celestial weapons of blazing beauty, shot by
me, look like flashes of lightning disporting amid the clouds in the
sky. The Kauravas shall behold the gold decked back of my _Gandiva_
today, and assembled together the foe shall dispute, saying,--_By which
hand of his, the right or the left, doth he shoot_? And I shall cause a
dreadful river (of death) to flow today towards the other world with
blood for its waters and cars for its eddies, and elephants for its
crocodiles. I shall today, with my straight arrows, extirpate the _Kuru_
forest having hands and feet and heads and backs and arms for the
branches of its trees. Alone, bow in hand, vanquishing the Kuru host, a
hundred paths shall open before me like those of a forest in
conflagration. Struck by me thou shalt today behold the Kuru army moving
round and round like a wheel (unable to fly off the field). I shall show
thee today my excellent training in arrows and weapons. Stay thou on my
car firmly, whether the ground be smooth or uneven. I can pierce with my
winged arrows even the mountain of _Sumeru_ that stands touching the
very heavens. I slew of old, at Indra's command, hundreds and thousands
of _Paulomas_ and _Kalakhanjas_ in battle. I have obtained my firmness
of grasp from Indra, and my lightness of hand from _Brahman_, and I have
learnt various modes of fierce attack and defence amid crowds of foes
from _Prajapati_. I vanquished, on the other side of the great ocean,
sixty thousands of car-warriors--all fierce archers--residing in
_Hiranyapura_. Behold, now I defeat the multitudinous host of the Kurus
like a tempest scattering a heap of cotton. With my fiery arrows I shall
today set the _Kuru_-forest to fire, having banners for its trees, the
foot-soldiers for its shrubs, and the car-warriors for its beasts of
prey. Like unto the wielder of the thunderbolt overthrowing the Danavas,
alone I shall, with my straight arrows, bring down from the chambers of
their cars the mighty warrior of the Kuru army stationed therein and
struggling in the conflict to the best of their power. I have obtained
from _Rudra_ the _Raudra_, from _Varuna_ the _Varuna_, from _Agni_ the
_Agneya_, from the god of Wind the _Vayava_, and from Sakra the
thunderbolt and other weapons. I shall certainly exterminate the fierce
_Dhartarashtra-forest_ though protected by many leonine warriors.
Therefore, O Virata's son, let thy fears be dispelled.'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Thus assured by Savyasachin, the son of Virata
penetrated into that fierce array of cars protected by Bhishma. The son
of Ganga, however, of fierce deeds, cheerfully withstood the
mighty-armed hero advancing from desire of vanquishing the heroes in
battle. Jishnu, then, confronting Bhishma, cut off his standard clean
off at the roots by shooting a gold-decked arrow pierced by which it
fell to the ground. And at this, four mighty warriors, Duhsasana and
Vikarna and Dussaha and Vivingsati, skilled in weapons and endued with
great energy, and all decked with handsome garlands and ornaments,
rushed towards that terrible bowman. And advancing towards
Vibhatsu--that fierce archer, these all encompassed him around. Then the
heroic Duhsasana pierced the son of Virata with a crescent-shaped arrow
and he pierced Arjuna with another arrow in the breast. And Jishnu,
confronting Duhsasana, cut off by means of a sharp-edged arrow furnished
with vulturine wings his adversary's bow plaited with gold, and then
pierced his person in the breast by means of five arrows. And afflicted
by the arrows of Partha, Duhsasana fled, leaving the combat. Then
Vikarna, the son of Dhritarashtra, pierced Arjuna--that slayer of
hostile heroes, by means of sharp and straight arrows furnished with
vulturine wings. But the son of Kunti within a moment hit him also in
the forehead with straight shafts. And pierced by Arjuna, he fell down
from his car. And at this, Dussaha, supported by Vivingsati, covered
Arjuna with a cloud of sharp arrows, impelled by the desire of rescuing
his brother. Dhananjaya, however, without the least anxiety, pierced
both of them almost at the same instant by means of couple of keen-edged
arrows and then slew the steeds of both. And there upon, both those sons
of Dhritarashtra, deprived of their steeds and their bodies mangled were
taken away by the warrior behind them who had rushed forward with other
cars. Then the unvanquished Vibhatsu, the mighty son of Kunti, decked
with diadem and sure of aim, simultaneously attacked all sides with his
arrows."