“Sanjaya said, ‘Vrikodara, however, could not brook that slaughter of his
army. He struck Valhika with sixty and Karna with ten arrows. Drona then,
desirous of slaying Bhima, quickly struck the latter, in his very vitals,
many straight and whetted shafts of keen edge. Desirous again of allowing
no time, he once more struck him with six and twenty shafts whose touch
resembled that of fire and which were all like snakes of virulent poison.
Then Karna pierced him with a dozen shafts, and Aswatthaman with seven,
and king Duryodhana also with six. The mighty Bhimasena, in return,
pierced them all. He struck Drona with fifty shafts, and Karna with ten.
And piercing Duryodhana with a dozen shafts, and Drona with eight, he
engaged in that battle uttering a loud shout. In that encounter in which
the warriors fought reckless of their lives and in which death was easy
of attainment, Ajatasatru despatched many warriors, urging them to
rescue Bhima. Those heroes of immeasurable energy, viz., the two sons of
Madri and Pandu, and others headed by Yuyudhana, quickly proceeded to
Bhimasena’s side. And those bulls among men, filled with rage and uniting
together, advanced to battle, desirous of breaking the army of Drona that
was protected by many foremost of bowmen. Indeed, those great
car-warriors of mighty energy, viz., Bhima and others, fell furiously
upon Drona’s host. Drona, however, that foremost of car-warriors,
received without any anxiety, all those mighty car-warriors, of great
strength,--those heroes accomplished in battle. Disregarding their
kingdoms and casting off all fear of death, the warriors of thy army
proceeded against the Pandavas. Horsemen encountered horsemen, and
car-warriors encountered car-warriors. The battle proceeded, darts
against darts, swords against swords, axes against axes. A fierce
encounter with swords took place, producing a terrible carnage. And in
consequence of the collision of elephants against elephants the battle
became furious. Some fell down from the backs of elephants, and some from
the backs of steeds, with heads downwards. And others, O sire, fell down
from cars, pierced with arrows. In that fierce press, as some one fell
down deprived of armour, an elephant might be seen attacking him in the
chest and crushing his head. Elsewhere might be seen elephants crushing
numbers of men fallen down on the field. And many elephants, piercing the
earth with their tusks (as they fell down), were seen to tear therewith
large bodies of men. Many elephants, again, with arrows sticking to their
trunks, wandered over the field, tearing and crushing men by hundreds.
And some elephants were seen pressing down into the earth fallen warriors
and steeds and elephants cased in armour of black iron, as if these were
only thick reeds. Many kings, graced with modesty, their hour having
come, laid themselves down (for the last sleep) on painful beds, overlaid
with vultures’ feathers. Advancing to battle on his car, sire slew son;
and son also, through madness all losing regard, approached sire in
battle. The wheels of cars were broken; banners were torn; umbrellas fell
down on the earth. Dragging broken yokes, steeds ran away. Arms with
swords in grasp, and heads decked with ear-rings fell down. Cars, dragged
by mighty elephants, thrown down on the ground, were reduced to
fragments. Steeds with riders fell down, severely wounded by elephants.
That fierce battle went on, without anybody showing any regard for any
one. “Oh father!--Oh son!--Where art thou, friend?--Wait!--Where dost
thou go!--Strike!--Bring! Slay this one!”--these and diverse other cries,
with loud laughs and shouts, and roars were uttered and heard there. The
blood of human beings and steeds and elephants, mingled together. The
earthy dust disappeared. The hearts of all timid persons became
cheerless. Here a hero getting his car-wheel entangled with the car-wheel
of another hero, and the distance being too near to admit of the use of
other weapons, smashed that other’s head by means of his mace. Brave
combatants, desirous of safety where there was no safety, dragged one
another by the hair, and fought fiercely with fists, and teeth and nails.
Here was a hero whose upraised arm with sword in grasp was cut off. There
another’s arm was lopped off with bow, or arrow or hook in grasp. Here
one loudly called upon another. There another turned his back on the
field. Here one severed another’s head from his trunk, getting him within
reach. There another rushed with loud shouts upon an enemy. Here one was
filled with fear at another’s roar. There another slew with sharp shafts
a friend or a foe. Here an elephant, huge as a hill, slain with a long
shaft, fell down on the field and lay like a flat island in a river
during the summer season. There an elephant, with sweat trickling down
its body, like a mountain with rills flowing down its breast,
having crushed by its tread a car-warrior with his steeds and charioteer
on the field. Beholding brave warriors, accomplished in arms and covered
with blood, strike one another, they that were timid and of weak hearts,
lost their senses. In fact, all became cheerless. Nothing could any
longer be distinguished. Overwhelmed with the dust raised by the troops,
the battle became furious. Then the commander of the Pandava forces
saying, “This is the time,” speedily led the Pandavas on those heroes
that are always endued with great activity. Obeying his behest, the
mighty-armed Pandavas, smiting (the Kaurava army) proceeded towards
Drona’s car like swans towards a lake,--“Seize him,”--“Do not fly
away,”--“Do not fear,”--“Cut into pieces,”--these uproarious cries were
heard in the vicinity of Drona’s car. Then Drona and Kripa, and Karna and
Drona’s son, and king Jayadratha, and Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, and
Salya, received those heroes. Those irresistible and invincible warriors,
however, viz., the Panchalas and the Pandavas, inspired by noble
sentiments, did not, though afflicted with shafts, avoid Drona. Then
Drona, excited with great rage, shot hundreds of shafts, and caused a
great carnage amongst the Chedis, the Panchalas, and the Pandavas. The
twang of his bowstring and the slaps of his palms, were, O sire, heard on
all sides. And they resembled the roar of thunder and struck fear into
the hearts of all. Meanwhile, Jishnu, having vanquished large number of
Samsaptakas, quickly came to that place where Drona was grinding the
Pandava troops. Having crossed many large lakes whose waters were
constituted by blood, and whose fierce billows and eddies were
constituted by shafts, and having slain the Samsaptakas, Phalguni showed
himself there. Possessed of great fame and endued as he was with the
energy of the Sun himself, Arjuna’s emblem, viz., his banner bearing the
ape, was beheld by us to blaze with splendour. Having dried up the
Samsaptaka ocean by means of weapons that constituted his rays, the son
of Pandu then blasted the Kurus also, as if he were the very Sun that
arises at the end of the Yuga. Indeed, Arjuna scorched all the Kurus by
the heat of his weapons, like the fire[61] that appears at the end of the
Yuga, burning down all creatures. Struck by him with thousands of shafts,
elephant warriors and horsemen and car-warriors fell down on the earth,
with dishevelled hair, and exceedingly afflicted with those arrowy
showers, some uttered cries of distress. Others set up loud shouts. And
some struck with the shafts of Partha, fell down deprived of life.
Recollecting the practices of (good) warriors, Arjuna struck not those
combatants among the foe that had fallen down, or those that were
retreating, or those that were unwilling to fight. Deprived of their cars
and filled with wonder, almost all the Kauravas, turning away from the
field, uttered cries of Oh and Alas and called upon Karna (for
protection). Hearing that din made by the Kurus, desirous of protection,
Adhiratha’s son (Karna), loudly assuring the troops with the words “Do
not fear” proceeded to face Arjuna. Then (Karna) that foremost of Bharata
car-warriors, that delighter of all the Bharatas, that first of all
persons acquainted with weapons, invoked into existence the Agneya
weapon. Dhananjaya, however, baffled by means of his own arrowy downpours
the flights of arrows shot by Radha’s son, that warrior of the blazing
bow, that hero of bright shafts. And similarly, Adhiratha’s son also
baffled the shafts of Arjuna of supreme energy. Resisting Arjuna’s
weapons thus by his own, Karna uttered loud shouts and shot many shafts
at his antagonist. Then Dhristadyumna and Bhima and the mighty
car-warrior Satyaki, all approached Karna, and each of them pierced in
with three straight shafts. The son of Radha, however, checking Arjuna’s
weapons by his own arrowy showers, cut off with three sharp shafts the
bows of those three warriors. Their bows cut off, they looked like snakes
without poison. Hurling darts at their foe from their respective cars,
they uttered loud leonine shouts. Those fierce darts of great splendour
and great impetuosity, looking like snakes, hurled from those mighty
arms, coursed impetuously towards Karna’s car. Cutting each of those
darts with three straight arrows and speeding many arrows at the same
time at Partha, the mighty Karna uttered a loud shout. Then Arjuna
piercing Karna with seven shafts, despatched the latter’s younger brother
by means of his sharp shafts. Slaying Satrunjaya thus with six arrows,
Partha, with a broad-headed shaft, struck off Vipatha’s head as the
latter stood on his car. In the very sight of the Dhritarashtras,
therefore, as also of the Suta’s son, the three uterine brothers of the
latter were despatched by Arjuna unaided by any one. Then Bhima, jumping
down from his own car, like a second Garuda, slew with his excellent
sword five and ten combatants amongst those that supported Karna.
Mounting once more on his car and taking up another bow, he pierced Karna
with ten shafts and his charioteer and steeds with five. Dhrishtadyumna
also taking up a sword and a bright shield, despatched Charmavarman and
also Vrihatkshatra, the ruler of the Naishadhas. The Panchala prince
then, mounting upon his own car and taking up another bow, pierced Karna
with three and seventy shafts, and uttered a loud roar. Sini’s grandson
also, of splendour equal to that of Indra himself, taking up another bow
pierced Suta’s son with four and sixty shafts and roared like a lion. And
cutting off Karna’s bow with a couple of well-shot shafts, he once more
pierced Karna on the arms and the chest with three arrows. The king
Duryodhana, and Drona and Jayadratha, rescued Karna from the
Satyaki-ocean, as the former was about to sink into it. And foot-soldiers
and steeds and cars and elephants, belonging to thy army and numbering by
hundreds, all accomplished in smiting rushed to the spot where Karna was
frightening (his assailants). Then Dhrishtadyumna, and Bhima and
Subhadra’s son, and Arjuna himself, and Nakula, and Sahadeva, began to
protect Satyaki in that battle. Even thus went on that fierce battle for
the destruction of bowmen belonging to thy army and of the enemy’s. All
the combatants fought, reckless of their very lives. Infantry and cars
and steeds and elephants were engaged with cars and infantry.
Car-warriors were engaged with elephants and foot-soldiers and steeds,
and cars and foot-soldiers were engaged with cars and elephants. And
steeds were seen engaged with steeds, and elephants with elephants, and
foot-soldiers with foot-soldiers. Even thus did that battle, marked by
great confusion, take place, enhancing the delight of cannibals and
carnivorous creatures, between those high-souled men facing one another
fearlessly. Indeed, it largely swelled the population of Yama’s kingdom.
Large numbers of elephants and cars and foot-soldiers and steeds were
destroyed by men, cars, steeds and elephants. And elephants were slain by
elephants, and car-warriors with weapons upraised by car-warriors, and
steeds by steeds, and large bodies of foot-soldiers. And elephants were
slain by cars, and large steeds by large elephants and men by steeds; and
steeds by foremost of car-warriors. With tongues lolling out, and teeth
and eyes pressed out of their places, with coats of mail and ornaments
crushed into dust, the slaughtered creatures fell down on the field.
Others, again, of terrible mien were struck and thrown down on the earth
by others armed with diverse and excellent weapons and sunk into the
earth by the tread of steeds and elephants, and tortured and mangled by
heavy cars and car wheels. And during the progress of that fierce carnage
so delightful to beasts of prey and carnivorous birds and cannibals,
mighty combatants, filled with wrath, and slaughtering one another
careered over the field putting forth all their energy. Then when both
the hosts were broken and mangled, the warriors bathed in blood, looked
at each other. Meanwhile, the Sun went to his chambers in the western
hills, and both the armies, O Bharata, slowly retired to their respective
tents.’”