“Sanjaya said, ‘After that bull among men, viz., Duryodhana, had set out
from behind, following Partha and him of Vrishni’s race, O king, both of
whom had penetrated into the Kaurava army, the Pandavas accompanied by
the Somakas, quickly rushed against Drona with loud shouts. And then
commenced the battle (between them and Drona’s troops). And the battle
that took place between the Kurus and the Pandavas at the gate of the
array, was fierce and awful, making the hair stand on end. The sight
filled the spectators with wonder. O king, the sun was then in the
meridian. That encounter, O monarch, was truly such that we had never
seen or heard of its like before. The Parthas headed by Dhrishtadyumna,
all accomplished in smiting and arrayed properly covered the troops of
Drona with showers of arrows. Ourselves also, placing Drona, that
foremost of all wielders of weapons, at our head, covered the Parthas,
gathered by Prishata’s son, with our shafts. The two hosts, adorned with
cars and looking beautiful, then appeared like two mighty masses of
clouds in the summer sky, driven towards each other by opposite winds.
Encountering each other, the two hosts increased their impetuosity, like
the rivers the Ganga and the Yamuna, swollen with water during the season
of the rains. Having diverse kinds of weapons for the winds that ran
before them, teeming with elephants and steeds and cars charged with
lightning, constituted by the maces wielded by the warriors, the fierce
and mighty cloud formed by the Kuru host, urged on by the Drona-tempest,
and pouring incessant shafts that constituted its torrents of rain,
sought to quench the scorching Pandava-fire. Like an awful hurricane in
summer agitating the ocean, that best of Brahmanas, viz., Drona,
agitating the Pandava host. Exerting themselves with great vigour, the
Pandavas rushed towards Drona alone for piercing his host, like a mighty
torrent of water towards a strong embankment, for sweeping it away. Like
an immovable hill resisting the fiercest current of water, Drona,
however, resisted in that battle the enraged Pandavas and Panchalas and
Kekayas. Many other kings also, endued with great strength and courage,
attacking them from all sides, began to resist the Pandavas. Then that
tiger among men, viz., the son of Prishata, uniting with the Pandavas,
began repeatedly to strike Drona, for piercing the hostile host. Indeed,
as Drona showered his arrows on Prishata’s son, even so did the latter
shower his on Drona. Having scimitars and swords for the winds that blew
before it, well-equipped with darts and lances and sabres, with the
bow-string constituting its lightning, and the (twang of the) bow for its
roars, the Dhrishtadyumna-cloud poured on all sides torrents of weapons,
as its showers of stones. Slaying the foremost of car-warriors and a
large number of steeds, the son of Prishata seemed to deluge the hostile
divisions (with his arrowy downpours). And the son of Prishata, by his
arrows, turned Drona away from all those tracks amid the car-divisions of
the Pandavas, through which that hero attempted to pass, striking the
warriors there with his shafts. And although Drona struggled vigorously
in that battle, yet his host, encountering Dhrishtadyumna, became divided
into three columns. One of these retreated towards Kritavarman, the chief
of the Bhojas; another towards Jalasandha; and fiercely slaughtered the
while by the Pandavas, proceeded towards Drona himself. Drona, that
foremost of car-warriors, repeatedly united his troops. The mighty
warrior Dhrishtadyumna as often smote and separated them. Indeed, the
Dhartarashtra force, divided into three bodies, was slaughtered by the
Pandavas and the Srinjayas fiercely, like a herd of cattle in the woods
by many beasts of prey, when unprotected by herdsmen. And people thought
that in that dreadful battle, it was Death himself who was swallowing the
warriors first stupefied by Dhrishtadyumna. As a kingdom of a bad king is
destroyed by famine and pestilence and robbers, even so was thy host
afflicted by the Pandavas. And in consequence of the rays of the sun
falling upon the weapons and the warriors, and of the dust raised by the
soldiers, the eyes of all were painfully afflicted. Upon the Kaurava host
being divided into three bodies during that dreadful carnage by the
Pandavas, Drona, filled with wrath, began to consume the Panchalas with
his shafts. And while engaged in crushing those divisions and
exterminating them with his shafts, the form of Drona became like that of
the blazing Yuga-fire. That mighty car-warrior pierced cars, elephants,
and steeds, and foot-soldiers, in that battle, each with only a single
arrow, (and never employing more than one in any case). There then was no
warrior in the Pandava army who was capable of bearing, O lord, the
arrows shot from the bow of Drona. Scorched by the rays of the sun and
blasted by the shafts of Drona, the Pandava divisions there began to reel
about on the field. And thy host also, similarly slaughtered by
Prishata’s son, seemed to blaze up at every point like a dry forest on
fire. And while both Drona and Dhrishtadyumna were slaughtering the two
hosts, the warriors of both armies, in utter disregard of their lives,
fought everywhere to the utmost extent of their prowess. Neither in thy
host, nor in that of the enemy, O bull of Bharata’s race, was there a
single warrior who fled away from the battle through fear. Those uterine
brothers, viz., Vivinsati and Chitrasena and the mighty car-warrior
Vikarna, surrounded Kunti’s son Bhimasena on all sides. And Vinda and
Anuvinda of Avanti, and Kshemadhurti of great prowess supported thy three
sons (who contended against Bhimasena). King Valhika of great energy and
noble parentage, with his own troops and counsellors, resisted the sons
of Draupadi. Saivya, the chief of the Govasanas, with a thousand foremost
warriors, faced the son, of great prowess, of the king of the Kasis and
resisted him. King Salya, the ruler of the Madras, surrounded royal
Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, who resembled a blazing fire. The brave
and wrathful Duhsasana, properly supported by his own divisions, angrily
proceeded, in that battle, against Satyaki, that foremost of
car-warriors. I myself, with my own troops, cased in mail and equipped
with weapons, and supported by four hundred foremost of bowmen, resisted
Chekitana.[138] Sakuni with seven hundred Gandhara warriors armed with
bows, darts and swords, resisted the son of Madri (viz., Sahadeva). Vinda
and Anuvinda of Avanti, those two great bowmen, who had, for the sake of
their friend (Duryodhana), uplifted their weapons, disregarding their
lives, encountered Virata, the king of the Matsyas. King Valhika,
exerting himself vigorously, resisted the mighty and unvanquished
Sikhandin, the son of Yajnasena, that hero capable of resisting all foes.
The chief of Avanti, with the Sauviras and the cruel Prabhadrakas,
resisted wrathful Dhrishtadyumna, the prince of the Panchalas. Alamvusha
quickly rushed against the brave Rakshasa Ghatotkacha of cruel deeds,
who was wrathfully advancing to battle. The mighty car-warrior
Kuntibhoja, accompanied by a large force, resisted Alamvusha, that prince
of Rakshasas, of fierce mien. Thus, O Bharata, hundreds of separate
encounters between the warriors of thy army and theirs, took place.
“As regards the ruler of the Sindhus, he remained in the rear of the
whole army protected by many foremost of bowmen and car-warriors
numbering Kripa amongst them. And the ruler of the Sindhus had for the
protectors of his wheels two of the foremost warriors, viz., the son of
Drona on his right, O king, and the Suta’s son (Karna) on the left. And
for protecting his rear he had a number of warriors headed by Somadatta’s
son, viz., Kripa, and Vrishasena, and Sala, and the invincible Salya, who
were conversant with policy and were mighty bowmen accomplished in
battle. And the Kuru warriors, having made these arrangements for the
protection of the ruler of the Sindhus, fought (with the Pandavas).’”