“Sanjaya said, ‘Hearing the twang, resembling the loud call of Death
himself or the frightful peal of Indra’s thunder, of Dhananjaya’s bow,
while he stretched it, that host of thine, O king, anxious with fear and
exceedingly agitated, became like the waters of the sea with fishes and
makaras within them, ruffled into mountain-like waves and lashed into
fury by the hurricane that arises at the end of the Yuga. Then
Dhananjaya, the son of Pritha, careered in battle in such a way that he
was seen at the same time to be present in all directions, displaying his
wonderful weapons. Indeed, so light-handed was the son of Pandu that we
could not mark when he took out his shafts, O king, when he fixed them on
the bow-string, when he stretched the bow, and when he let them off. Then
the mighty-armed one, O king, excited with wrath, invoked into existence
the invincible Aindra weapon, frightening all the Bharatas. Hundreds and
thousands of blazing shafts of fiery mouths, inspired by mantras with the
force of celestial weapons, flowed from it. With those shafts resembling
fire or the rays of the sun, coursing with fierce impetuosity, the welkin
became incapable of being gazed at, as if filled with flashing meteors.
Then that darkness which had been caused by the Kaurava with their
arrows, which was incapable of being dispersed even in imagination by
others, the son of Pandu, careering around and displaying his prowess,
destroyed by means of those shafts of his that were inspired by means of
mantras with the force of celestial weapons, like the sun himself
speedily dispersing at dawn of day the darkness of night by means of his
rays. Then the puissant Arjuna, with those blazing shafts of his, sucked
the lives of thy warriors like the summer sun sucking with his hot rays
the waters of tanks and lakes. Indeed, showers of shafts endued with the
force of celestial weapons, (shot by Arjuna) covered the hostile army
like the rays of the sun covering the earth. Other arrows of fierce
energy, sped (by Dhananjaya), quickly entered the hearts of (hostile)
heroes, like dear friends. Indeed, those brave warriors that came in that
battle before Arjuna, all perished like insects approaching a blazing
fire. Thus crushing the lives of his foes and their fame, Partha careered
in that battle like Death in embodied form. Heads decked with diadems,
massive arms, adorned with Angadas, and ears with ear-rings of the foes,
Partha, cut off with his shafts. The arms, with spears, of
elephant-riders; those, with lances, of horsemen; those, with shields, of
foot-soldiers; those with bows, of car-warriors; and those, with whips
and goads, of charioteers the son of Pandu cut off. Indeed, Dhananjaya
looked resplendent with his shafts of blazing points that seemed to
constitute his rays, like a blazing fire with incessant sparks and rising
flames. The hostile kings, mustering all their resolution, could not even
gaze at Dhananjaya, that foremost of all bearers of arms, that hero equal
to the chief of the gods himself, that bull among men, seen at the same
time in all directions on his car, scattering his mighty weapons, dancing
in the track of his car, and producing deafening sounds with his
bowstring and palms, and resembling the midday sun of scorching rays in
the firmament. Bearing his shafts of blazing points, the diadem-decked
Arjuna looked beautiful like a mighty mass of rain-charged clouds in the
season of rains decked with a rainbow. When that perfect flood of mighty
weapons was set in motion by Jishnu, many bulls among warriors sank in
that frightful and unfordable flood. Strewn with infuriated elephants
whose trunks or tusks had been cut off, with steeds deprived of hoofs or
necks, with cars reduced to pieces, with warriors having their entrails
drawn out and others with legs or other limbs cut off, with bodies lying
in hundreds and thousands that were either perfectly still or moving
unconsciously, we beheld the vast field, on which Partha battled,
resembled the coveted arena of Death, O king, enhancing the terrors of
the timid, or like the sporting ground of Rudra when he destroyed
creatures in days of old. Portions of the field, strewn with the trunks
of elephants cut off with razor-headed arrows, looked as if strewn with
snakes. Portions, again, covered with the cut-off heads of warriors,
looked as if strewn with garlands of lotuses. Variegated with beautiful
head-gear and crowns, Keyuras and Angadas and car-rings with coats of
mail decked with gold, and with the trappings and other ornaments of
elephants and steeds, and scattered over with hundreds of diadems, lying
here and there, and the earth looked exceedingly beautiful like a new
bride. Dhananjaya then caused a fierce and terrible river full of fearful
objects and enhancing the fear of the timid, to flow resembling the
Vaitarani itself. The marrow and fat (of men and animals) formed its
mire. Blood formed its current. Full of limbs and bones, it was
fathomless in depth. The hairs of creatures formed its moss and weeds.
Heads and arms formed the stones on its shores. It was decked with
standards and banners that variegated its aspect. Umbrellas and bows
formed the waves. And it abounded with bodies of huge elephants deprived
of life, and it teemed with cars that formed hundreds of rafts floating
on its surface. And the carcases of countless steeds formed its banks.
And it was difficult to cross in consequence of wheels and yokes and
shafts and Akshas and Kuveras of cars, and spears and swords and darts
and battle-axes and shafts looking like snakes. And ravens and kankas
formed its alligators. And jackals, forming its Makaras, made it
terrible. And fierce vultures formed its sharks. And it became frightful
in consequence of the howls of jackals. And it abounded with capering
ghosts and Pisachas and thousands of other kinds of spirits. And on it
floated countless bodies of warriors destitute of life. Beholding that
prowess of Arjuna whose visage then resembled that of the Destroyer
himself, a panic, such as had never occurred before, possessed the Kurus
on the field of battle. The son of Pandu, then, baffling with his weapons
those of the hostile heroes, and engaged in achieving fierce feats, gave
all to understand that he was a warrior of fierce feats. Then Arjuna
transgressed all those foremost of car-warriors, like the midday sun of
scorching rays in the firmament, no one amongst the creatures there could
even look at him. The shafts issuing out of the bow Gandiva of that
illustrious hero in that battle, seemed to us to resemble a row of cranes
in the welkin. Baffling with his own the weapons of all those heroes, and
showing by the terrible achievements in which he was engaged that he was
a warrior of fierce feats, Arjuna, desirous of slaying Jayadratha,
transgressed all those foremost of car-warriors, stupefying them all by
means of his shafts. Shooting his shafts on all sides, Dhananjaya, having
Krishna for his charioteer, presented a beautiful sight by careering with
great speed on the field of battle. The shafts in the welkin, by hundreds
and thousands, of that illustrious hero, seemed to course incessantly
through the sky. We never could notice when that mighty bowman took out
his shafts, when indeed, that son of Pandu aimed them, and when he let
them off. Then, O king, filling all the points of the compass with his
shafts and afflicting all the car-warriors in battle, the son of Kunti
proceeded towards Jayadratha and pierced him with four and sixty straight
arrows. Then the Kuru warriors, beholding the son of Pandu proceeded
towards Jayadratha, all abstained from battle. In fact, those heroes
became hopeless of Jayadratha’s life. Every one amongst thy warriors that
rushed in that fierce battle against the son of Pandu, had his body
deeply pierced, O lord, with a shaft of Arjuna. The mighty car-warrior
Arjuna, that foremost of victorious persons, with his shafts blazing as
fire made thy army teem with headless trunks.[175] Indeed, O king, thus
creating a perfect confusion in thy host consisting of four kinds of
forces, the son of Kunti proceeded towards Jayadratha, And he pierced the
son of Drona with fifty shafts and Vrishasena with three. And the son of
Kunti mildly struck Kripa with nine arrows, and he struck Salya with
sixteen arrows and Karna with two and thirty. And piercing the ruler of
the Sindhus then with four and sixty arrows, he uttered a leonine shout.
The ruler of the Sindhus, however, thus pierced by the wielder of Gandiva
with his arrows, became filled with rage and unable to brook it, like an
elephant when pierced with the hook. Bearing the device of the boar on
his banner, he quickly sped towards Phalguna’s car many straight shafts
equipped with vulturine feathers, resembling angry snakes of virulent
poison, well-polished by the hands of the smith, and shot from his bow
drawn to the fullest stretch. Then piercing Govinda with three shafts, he
struck Arjuna with six. And then he pierced the steeds of Arjuna with
eight arrows and his standard also with one. Then Arjuna, baffling the
keen arrows sped by the ruler of the Sindhus, cut off at the same time,
with a pair of shafts, the head of Jayadratha’s driver and the
well-decked standard also of Jayadratha. Its stay cut off and itself
pierced and struck with arrows, that standard fell down like a flame of
fire. Meanwhile, the sun was going down quickly. Janardana then quickly
addressed the son of Pandu and said, “Behold, O Partha, the ruler of the
Sindhus hath, by six mighty and heroic car-warriors, been placed in
their-midst! Jayadratha also, O mighty-armed one, is waiting there in
fear! Without vanquishing those six car-warriors in battle, O bull among
men, thou wilt never be able to slay the ruler of the Sindhus even if
thou exertest thyself without intermission. I shall, therefore, resort to
Yoga for shrouding the sun. Then the ruler of the Sindhus will (in
consequence) behold the sun to have set. Desirous of life, O lord,
through joy that wicked wight will no longer, for his destruction,
conceal himself. Availing yourself of that opportunity, thou shouldst
then, O best of the Kurus, strike him. Thou shouldst not give up the
enterprise, thinking the sun to have really set.” Hearing these words,
Vibhatsu replied unto Kesava, saying, “Let it be so.” Then Krishna
otherwise called Hari, possessed of ascetic powers, that lord of all
ascetics, having taken recourse to Yoga, created that darkness. Thy
warriors, O king, thinking the sun to have set were filled with delight
at the prospect of Partha’s laying down his life. Indeed, thy warriors,
not seeing the sun, were filled with gladness. All of them stood, with
heads thrown backwards. King Jayadratha also was in the same attitude.
And while the ruler of the Sindhus was thus beholding the sun, Krishna,
once more addressing Dhananjaya said these words, “Behold, the heroic
ruler of the Sindhus is now looking at the sun, casting off his fear of
thee, O foremost one among the Bharatas! This is the hour, O mighty-armed
one, for the slaughter of that wicked-souled wretch. Speedily cut off the
head and make thy vow true.” Thus addressed by Kesava the valiant son of
Pandu began to slaughter thy host with his arrows resembling the sun or
fire in splendour. And he pierced Kripa with twenty arrows and Karna with
fifty. And he struck Salya and Duryodhana each with six. And he pierced
Vrishasena with eight arrows and the ruler of the Sindhus himself with
sixty. And the mighty-armed son of Pandu, O king, deeply piercing with
his arrows the other warriors of thy host, rushed against Jayadratha.
Beholding him in their presence like a swelling fire with its tongue of
flame outstretched, the protectors of Jayadratha were sorely puzzled.
Then all the warriors, O king, desirous of victory bathed the son of
Indra in that battle with torrents of arrows. Shrouded with incessant
showers of arrows, the son of Kunti, that mighty-armed and unvanquished
descendant of Kuru, became filled with rage. Then that tiger among men,
viz., the son of Indra, desirous of slaughtering thy host, created a
thick net of arrows. Then those warriors of thine, O king, thus
slaughtered in battle by that hero, abandoned the ruler of the Sindhus in
fear and fled away. And they fled away in such a manner that no two
persons could be seen flying together. The prowess that we then beheld of
Kunti’s son was extremely wonderful. Indeed, the like of what that
illustrious warrior then did had never been nor will ever be. Like Rudra
himself slaughtering creatures, Dhananjaya slaughtered elephants and
elephant-riders, horses and horse-riders, and (car-warriors and)
car-drivers. I did not in that battle, O king, see a single elephant or
steed or human warrior that was not struck with Partha’s shafts. Their
vision blurred by dust and darkness, thy warriors became perfectly
cheerless and unable to distinguish one another. Urged on by fate and
with their vital limbs cut open and mangled with shafts, they began to
wander, or limp, or fall down. And some amongst them, O Bharata, became
paralysed and some became deathly pale. During that terrible carnage
resembling the slaughter of creatures at the end of the Yuga, in that
deadly and fierce battle from which few could escape with life, the earth
became drenched with gore and the earthy dust that had arisen disappeared
in consequence of the showers of blood that fell and the swift currents
of wind that blew over the field. So deep was that rain of blood that the
wheels of cars sank to their naves. Thousands of infuriated elephants
endued with great speed, O king, of thy army, their riders slain and
limbs mangled, fled away, uttering cries of pain and crushing friendly
ranks with their tread. Steeds destitute of riders and foot-soldiers
also, O king, fled away, O monarch, from fear, struck with the shafts of
Dhananjaya. Indeed, thy soldiers, with dishevelled hair and deprived of
their coats of mail, with blood streaming out of their wounds, fled away
in terror, leaving the field of battle. And some, deprived of the power
of motion as if their lower limbs had been seized by alligators, remained
on the field. And others concealed themselves behind and under the bodies
of slain elephants. Routing thy host thus, O king, Dhananjaya began to
strike with terrible shafts the protectors of the ruler of the Sindhus
with his arrowy showers, Karna and Drona’s son and Kripa and Salya and
Vrishasena and Duryodhana. So quick was he in the use of weapons that no
one could mark when Arjuna took out his arrows, when he fixed them on the
bowstring, when he stretched the bow and let them off. Indeed, while
striking the foe, his bow was seen incessantly drawn to a circle. His
arrows also were seen incessantly issuing out of his bow and scattered in
all directions. Then cutting off Karna’s bow as also of Vrishasena’s,
Arjuna felled Salya’s driver from his niche in the car, with a
broad-headed arrow. With many arrows that foremost of victors, viz.,
Dhananjaya, then deeply pierced in that battle Kripa and Aswatthaman,
related as uncle and nephew to each other. Sorely afflicting those mighty
car-warriors of thy army thus, the son of Pandu took up a terrible arrow
of fiery splendour. Looking like the thunderbolt of Indra, and inspired
with divine mantras, that formidable arrow was capable of bearing any
strain. And it had been always worshipped with incense and garlands of
flowers. Duly inspiring it (by mantras) with the force of the
thunderbolt, that descendant, of Kuru, viz., the mighty-armed Arjuna,
fixed it on Gandiva. When that arrow of fiery effulgence was fixed on the
bowstring, loud shouts, O king, were heard in the welkin. Then Janardana,
once more addressing Arjuna, quickly said, “O Dhananjaya, quickly cut off
the head of the wicked-souled ruler of the Sindhus! The sun is about to
get at the mountain of Asta. Listen, however, to the words I say about
the slaughter of Jayadratha. The father of Jayadratha is Vriddhakshatra
known all over the world. It was after a long time that he got
Jayadratha, that slayer of foes, for his son. (At the birth of the son)
an incorporeal and invisible voice, deep as that of the clouds or of the
drum, said unto king Vriddhakshatra. ‘This thy son, O lord, amongst men
in this world will become worthy of the two races (viz., the Solar and
the Lunar) in respect of blood, behaviour, self-restraint and the other
attributes. He will become one of the foremost of Kshatriyas, and will
always be worshipped by heroes. But while struggling in battle, some bull
among the Kshatriyas, some conspicuous person in the world, excited with
wrath, will cut off this one’s head.’ That chastiser of foes, viz., the
(old) ruler of the Sindhus, hearing these words, reflected for sometime.
Overwhelmed with affection for his son, he summoned all his kinsmen and
said, ‘That man who will cause the head of my son to fall on the earth
while the latter, struggling in battle, will be bearing a great burthen,
I say that the head of that man will certainly crack into a hundred
pieces.’ Having spoken these words and installed Jayadratha on the
throne, Vriddhakshatra, repairing to the woods, devoted himself to
ascetic austerities. Endued with great energy, he is still engaged in the
observance of the austerest of penances outside this very
Samantapanchaka, O ape-bannered one! Therefore, cutting off Jayadratha’s
head in this dreadful battle, thou, O slayer of foes, shouldst, O
Bharata, by thy fierce celestial weapon of wonderful feats, quickly throw
that head decked with car-rings upon the lap of Vriddhakshatra himself, O
younger brother of the son of the Wind-god! If thou fellest Jayadratha’s
head on the earth, thy own head, then, without doubt, will crack into a
hundred fragments. Aided by thy celestial weapon, do thee deed in such a
way that the lord of earth viz., the old Sindhu king, may not know that
it is done. Truly, O Arjuna, there is nothing in the three worlds which
thou canst not achieve or do, O son of Vasava!” Hearing these words (of
Krishna), Dhananjaya, licking the corners of his mouth, quickly shot that
arrow which he had taken up for Jayadratha’s slaughter, that arrow, viz.,
whose touch resembled that of Indra’s thunder, which was inspired with
mantras and converted into a celestial weapon, which was capable of
bearing any strain, and which had always been worshipped with incense and
garlands. That shaft, sped from Gandiva, coursing swiftly, snatched
Jayadratha’s head away, like a hawk snatching away a smaller bird from
the top of a tree. Dhananjaya, then, with his shafts, sent that head
along in the welkin (without allowing it to fall down). For grieving his
foes and gladdening his friends, the son of Pandu, by shooting his shafts
repeatedly at it, sent that head outside the limits of Samantapanchaka.
Meanwhile, king Vriddhakshatra, the father of thy son-in-law, endued with
great energy, was, O sire, engaged in his evening prayers. Decked with
black locks and adorned with ear-rings, that head of Jayadratha was
thrown upon Vriddhakshatra’s lap, as the latter was saying his prayers in
a sitting posture. Thus thrown on his lap, that head decked with
car-rings, O chastiser of foes, was not seen by king Vriddhakshatra. As
the latter, however, stood up after finishing his prayers it suddenly
fell down on the earth. And as the head of Jayadratha fell down on the
earth, the head of Vriddhakshatra, O chastiser of foes, cracked into a
hundred pieces. At the sight of this, all creatures were filled with
wonder. And all of them applauded Vasudeva and the mighty Vibhatsu.
“‘After, O king, the ruler of the Sindhus had been slain by the
diadem-decked Arjuna, that darkness, O bull of Bharata’s race, was
withdrawn by Vasudeva. Thy sons with their followers, O king, thus came
to know subsequently that the darkness, they had seen, had all been an
illusion produced by Vasudeva. Even thus, O king, was thy son-in-law, the
ruler of the Sindhus, having caused eight Akshauhinis to be slaughtered,
himself slain by Partha of inconceivable energy. Beholding Jayadratha,
the ruler of the Sindhus slain, tears of sorrow fell from the eyes of thy
sons. After Jayadratha, O king, had been slain by Partha, Kesava blew his
conch and that scorcher of foes, viz., the mighty-armed Arjuna also blew
his; Bhimasena also, in that battle, as if for sending a message to
Yudhishthira, filled the welkin with a tremendous leonine shout.
Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, hearing that tremendous shout understood
that the ruler of the Sindhus had been slain by the high-souled Phalguna.
With sounds of drums and other instruments he gladdened the warriors of
his own army, and proceeded against the son of Bharadwaja from desire of
battle. Then commenced, O king, after the sun had set, a fierce battle
between Drona and the Somakas, that made the very hair stand on end.
Desirous of slaying him, those mighty car-warriors after the fall of
Jayadratha, fought with the son of Bharadwaja, exerting themselves to
their utmost. Indeed, the Pandavas, having got the victory by slaying the
ruler of the Sindhus fought with Drona, intoxicated with success. Arjuna,
also, O king, having slain king Jayadratha, fought with many mighty
car-warriors of thy army. Indeed, that hero decked with diadem and
garlands, having accomplished his former vow, began to destroy his foes
like the chief of the celestials destroying the Danavas, or the sun
destroying darkness.’”