“Dhritarashtra said, ‘What, indeed, O Sanjaya, did Duryodhana say when he
saw that Karna turning away from the field upon whom my sons had reposed
all their hopes of victory? How, indeed, did the mighty Bhima, proud of
his energy, fight? What also, O son, did Karna do after this, beholding
Bhimasena in that battle resemble a blazing fire?’
“Sanjaya said, ‘Mounting upon another car that was duly equipped Karna
once more proceeded against the son of Pandu, with the fury of the Ocean
tossed by the tempest. Beholding Adhiratha’s son excited with rage, thy
sons, O king, regarded Bhimasena to be already poured as a libation on
the (Karna) fire. With furious twang of bowstring and terrible sounds of
his palms, the son of Radha shot dense showers of shafts towards
Bhimasena’s car. And once more, O monarch, a terrible encounter took
place between the heroic Karna and the high-souled Bhima. Both excited
with wrath, both endued with mighty arms, each desirous of slaying the
other, those two warriors looked at each other, as if resolved to burn
each other with their (wrathful) glances. The eyes of both were red in
rage, and both breathed fiercely, like a couple of snakes. Endued with
great heroism, those two chastisers of foes approached and mangled each
other. Indeed, they fought with each other like two hawks endued with
great activity, or like two Sarabhas excited with wrath. Then that
chastiser of foes, viz., Bhima recollecting all the woes suffered by him
on the occasion of the match at dice, and during his exile in the woods
and residence in Virata’s city, and bearing in mind the robbing of their
kingdom swelling with prosperity and gems, by thy sons, and the numerous
other wrongs inflicted on the Pandavas by thee and the Suta’s son and
remembering also the fact that thou hadst conspired to burn innocent
Kunti with her sons, and calling to his memory the sufferings of Krishna
in the midst of the assembly at the hands of those wretches, as also the
seizure of her tresses by Duhsasana, and the harsh speeches uttered, O
Bharata, by Karna, to the effect, “Take thou another husband, for all thy
husbands are dead: the sons of Pritha have sunk into hell and are like
sesamum seeds without kernel,”--remembering also those other words, O son
of Kuru, that the Kauravas uttered in thy presence, add the fact also
that thy sons had been desirous of enjoying Krishna as a slave, and those
harsh words that Karna spoke to the sons of Pandu when the latter,
attired in deer-skins were about to be banished to the woods, and the joy
in which thy wrathful and foolish son, himself in prosperity, indulged,
thinking the distressed sons of Pritha as veritable straw, the virtuous
Bhima that slayer of foes, remembering these and all the woes he had
suffered since his childhood, became reckless of his very life.
Stretching his invincible and formidable bow, the back of whose staff was
decked with gold, Vrikodara, that tiger of Bharata’s race, utterly
reckless of his life, rushed against Karna. Shooting dense showers of
bright arrows whetted on stone, Bhima shrouded the very light of the sun.
Adhiratha’s son, however, smiling the while, quickly baffled, by means of
his own winged arrows whetted on stone, that arrowy downpour of
Bhimasena. Endued with great strength and mighty arms, that mighty
car-warrior, the son of Adhiratha, then pierced Bhima with nine keen
arrows. Struck with those arrows, like an elephant struck with the hook,
Vrikodara fearlessly rushed against the Suta’s son. Karna, however,
rushed against that bull among the Pandavas who was thus rushing towards
him with great impetuosity and might, like an infuriated elephant against
an infuriated compeer. Blowing his conch then, whose blast resembled the
sound of a hundred trumpets, Karna cheerfully agitated the force that
supported Bhima, like the raging sea. Beholding that force of his
consisting of elephants and steeds and cars and foot-soldiers, thus
agitated by Karna, Bhima, approaching the former, covered him with
arrows. Then Karna caused his own steeds of the hue of swans to be
mingled with those of Bhimasena’s of the hue of bears, and shrouded the
son of Pandu with his shafts. Beholding those steeds of the hue of bears
and fleet as the wind, mingled with those of the hue of swans, cries of
oh and alas arose from among the troops of thy sons. Those steeds, fleet
as the wind, thus mingled together, looked exceedingly beautiful like
white and black clouds, O monarch, mingled together in the firmament.
Beholding Karna and Vrikodara to be both excited with wrath, great
car-warriors of thy army began to tremble with fear. The field of battle
where they fought soon became awful like the domain of Yama. Indeed, O
best of Bharatas, it became as frightful to behold as the city of the
dead. The great car, warriors of thy army, looking upon that scene, as if
they were spectators of a sport in an arena, beheld not any of the two to
gain any advantage over the other in that dreadful encounter. They only
beheld, O king, that mingling and clash of the mighty weapons of those
two warriors, as a result, O monarch, of the evil policy of thyself and
thy son. Those two slayers of foes continued to cover each other with
their keen shafts. Both endued with wonderful prowess, they filled the
welkin with their arrowy downpours. Those two mighty car-warriors
shooting at each other keen shafts from desire of taking each other’s
life, became exceedingly beautiful to behold like two clouds pouring
torrents of rain. Those two chastisers of foes, shooting gold-decked
arrows, made the welkin look bright, O king, as if with blazing meteors.
Shafts equipped with vulturine feathers, shot by those two heroes, looked
like rows of excited cranes in the autumn sky. Meanwhile, Krishna and
Dhananjaya, those chastisers of foes, engaged in battle with the Suta’s
son, thought the burthen too great for Bhima to bear. As Karna and Bhima
for baffling each other’s shafts, shot these arrows at each other, many
elephants and steeds and men deeply struck therewith, fell down deprived
of life. And in consequence of those falling and fallen creatures
deprived of life counting by thousands, a great carnage, O king, took
place in the army of thy sons. And soon, O bull of Bharata’s race, the
field of battle became covered with the bodies of men and steeds and
elephants deprived of life.’”