“Sanjaya said, ‘Having slain Alayudha, the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha became
filled with delight. Standing at the head of the army he began to utter
diverse kinds of shouts. Hearing those loud roars of his that made
elephants tremble, a great fear, O monarch, entered into the hearts of
thy warriors. Beholding the mighty son of Bhimasena engaged with
Alayudha, the mighty-armed Karna rushed against the Panchalas. He pierced
Dhrishtadyumna and Sikhandin, each with ten strong and straight shafts
sped from his bow drawn to its fullest stretch. With a number of other
powerful shafts, the Suta’s son then caused Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas,
and the great car-warrior Satyaki to tremble. The bows of those warriors
also, O king, while they were engaged in striking Karna from all sides,
were seen to be drawn into circles. On that night, the twang of their
bow-strings and the rattle of their car-wheels (mingling together),
became loud and deep as the roar of the clouds at the close of summer.
The nocturnal battle, O monarch, resembled a gathering mass of clouds.
The twang of bow-string and the rattle of car-wheels constituted its
roar. The bows (of warriors) constituted its lightning flashes; and
showers of shafts formed its downpour of rain. Standing immovable like a
hill and possessed of the strength of a prince of mountains, that grinder
of foes, viz., Vikartana’s son, Karna, O king, destroyed that wonderful
shower of arrows shot at him. Devoted to the good of thy sons, the
high-souled Vaikartana, in the battle, began to strike his foes with
lances endued with the force of thunder, and with whetted shafts,
equipped with beautiful wings of gold. Soon the standards of some were
broken and cut down by Karna, and the bodies of others pierced and
mangled by him with keen arrows; and soon some were deprived of drivers,
and some of their steeds. Exceedingly afflicted by the Suta’s son in that
battle, many of them entered the force of Yudhishthira. Beholding them
broken and compelled to retreat, Ghatotkacha became mad with rage.
Mounted on that excellent car of his that was decked with gold and
jewels, he uttered a leonine roar and approaching Vikartana’s son, Karna,
pierced him with shafts endued with the force of thunder. Both of them
began to cover the welkin with barbed arrows, and cloth-yard shafts, and
frog-faced arrows, and Nalikas and Dandas and Asanis and arrows bearing
heads like the calf’s tooth or the boar’s ear, and broad-headed shafts,
and shafts pointed like horns, and others bearing heads like razors. The
welkin, covered with that arrowy shower, looked, in consequence of those
gold-winged shafts of blazing splendour coursing horizontally through it,
as if hung with garland of beautiful flowers. Each endued with prowess
equal to that of the other, they struck each other equally with powerful
weapons. None could, in that battle, find any mark of superiority in
either of those excellent heroes. Indeed, that battle between the son of
Surya and Bhima’s son, characterised by a thick and heavy shower of
weapons, looked exceedingly beautiful and presented almost an unrivalled
sight like the fierce encounter between Rahu and Surya in the welkin.’
“Sanjaya continued, ‘When Ghatotkacha, O king, that foremost of all
persons conversant with weapons, found that he could not prevail over
Karna, he invoked into existence a fierce and mighty weapon. With that
weapon, the Rakshasa first slew the steeds of Karna and then the latter’s
driver. Having achieved that feat, Hidimva’s son quickly made himself
invisible.’
“Dhritarashtra said, ‘When the Rakshasa fighting by deceitful means thus
disappeared, tell me, O Sanjaya, what the warriors of my army thought.’
“Sanjaya said, ‘Seeing the Rakshasa disappear, all the Kauravas loudly
said, “Appearing next, the Rakshasa, fighting deceitfully, will certainly
slay Karna.” Then Karna, endued with wonderful lightness in the use of
weapons, covered all sides with showers of shafts. The welkin being
covered with the darkness caused by that thick arrowy shower, all
creatures became invisible. So great was the lightness of hand displayed
by the Suta’s son, that none could mark when he touched his quivers with
his fingers, when he fixed his arrows on the bowstring, and when he aimed
and sped them off. The entire welkin seemed to be shrouded with his
arrows. Then a fierce and terrible illusion was invoked into existence by
the Rakshas in the welkin. We beheld in the sky what appeared to us to be
a mass of red clouds resembling the fierce flame of a blazing fire. From
that cloud issued flashes of lightning, and many blazing brands, O Kuru
king! And tremendous roars also issued therefrom, like the noise of
thousands of drums beat at once. And from it fell many shafts winged with
gold, and darts, lances and heavy clubs, and other similar weapons, and
battle-axes, and scimitars washed with oil, and axes of blazing edges,
and spears, and spiked maces emitting shining rays, and beautiful maces
of iron, and long darts of keen points, and heavy maces decked with gold
and twined round with string’s, and Sataghnis, all around. And large
rocks fell from it, and thousands of thunderbolts with loud report, and
many hundreds of wheels and razors of the splendour of fire. Karna
shooting showers of shafts, failed to destroy that thick and blazing
downpour of darts and lances and clubs. Loud became the uproar then of
falling steeds slain by those shafts, and mighty elephants struck with
thunder, and great car-warriors deprived of life by other weapons.
Afflicted by Ghatotkacha with that terrible shower of arrows all around,
that host of Duryodhana was seen to wander in great pain over the field.
With cries of Oh and Alas, and exceedingly cheerless, that wandering host
seemed on the point of being annihilated. The leaders, however, in
consequence of the nobility of their hearts, fled not away with faces
turned from the field. Beholding that exceedingly frightful and awful
shower of mighty weapons, caused by the Rakshasa’s illusion, falling upon
the field, and seeing their vast army incessantly slaughtered, thy sons
became inspired with great fear. Hundreds of jackals with tongues blazing
like fire and terrible yells, began to cry. And, O king, the (Kaurava)
warriors beholding the yelling Rakshasas, became exceedingly distressed.
Those terrible Rakshasas with fiery tongues and blazing mouths and sharp
teeth, and with forms huge as hills, stationed in the welkin, with darts
in grasp looked like clouds pouring torrents of rain. Struck and crushed
with those fierce shafts and darts and lances and maces and spiked clubs
of blazing splendour, and thunder-bolts and Pinakas and Asanis and discs
and Sataghnis, the (Kaurava) troops began to fall down. The Rakshasas
began to pour upon the warriors of thy son long darts, and treacle and
Sataghnis, and Sthunas made of black iron and twined with strings of
jute. Then all the combatants became stunned. Brave warriors, with
weapons broken or loosened from their grasp, or deprived of heads, or
with fractured limbs began to fall down on the field. And in consequence
of the falling rocks, steeds and elephants and cars began to be crushed.
Those Yatudhanas of terrible forms created by Ghatotkacha with the aid of
his powers of illusion pouring that thick shower of mighty weapons spared
neither those that were terrified nor those that begged for quarter.
During that cruel carnage of Kuru heroes, brought on by Death himself,
during that extermination of Kshatriyas the Kaurava warriors suddenly
broke and fled with speed, crying aloud, “Fly, ye Kauravas! All is lost!
The gods Indra at their head are slaying us for the sake of the
Pandavas!” At that time there was none that could rescue the sinking
Bharata troops. During that fierce uproar and rout and extermination of
the Kauravas, the camps losing their distinctive features, the parties
could not be distinguished from each other. Indeed, during that terrible
rout in which the soldiers showed no regard for one another, every side
of the field, when looked at, seemed to be empty. Only Karna, O king,
could be seen there, drowned in that shower of weapons. Then Karna
covered the welkin with his shafts, contending with that celestial
illusion of the Rakshasa. The Suta’s son, endued with modesty and
achieving the most difficult and noble feats, did not lose his senses in
that battle. Then, O king, all the Saindhavas and Valhikas affrightedly
looked at Karna who kept his senses in that fight. And they all
worshipped him, while they looked at the triumph of the Rakshasa. Then a
Sataghni equipped with wheels, hurled by Ghatotkacha, slew the four
steeds of Karna simultaneously. These dropped down on the ground, on
their knees, deprived of life, teeth, eyes, and tongues. Then jumping
down from his steedless car and seeing the Kauravas flying away, and
beholding his own celestial weapon baffled by the Rakshasa illusion,
Karna, without losing his senses, turned his mind inwards and began to
reflect on what he should next do. At that time all the Kauravas,
beholding Karna and that terrible illusion (of the Rakshasa) cried out
saying, “O Karna, slay the Rakshasa soon with thy dart. These Kauravas
and the Dhartarashtras are on the point of being annihilated. What will
Bhima and Arjuna do to us? Slay this wretched Rakshasa at dead of night,
who is consuming us all. They that will escape from this dreadful
encounter to-day will fight with the Parthas in battle. Therefore, slay
this terrible Rakshas now with that dart given thee by Vasava. O Karna,
let not these great warriors, the Kauravas, these princes that resemble
Indra himself, be all destroyed in this nocturnal battle.” Then Karna,
seeing the Rakshasa alive at dead of night, and the Kuru army struck with
fear, and hearing also the loud wails of the latter set his heart upon
hurling his dart. Inflamed with rage like a wrathful lion and unable to
brook the assaults of the Rakshasa, Karna took up that foremost of
victory-giving and invincible darts, desirous of compassing the
destruction of Ghatotkacha. Indeed, that dart, O king, which he had kept
and adored for years for (achieving) the slaughter of Pandu’s son in
battle, that foremost of darts which Sakra himself had given to the
Suta’s son in exchange for the latter’s ear-rings, that blazing and
terrible missile twined with strings and which seemed to thirst for
blood, that fierce weapon which looked like the very tongue of the
Destroyer or the sister of Death himself, that terrible and effulgent
dart, Naikartana, was now hurled at the Rakshasa. Beholding that
excellent and blazing weapon capable of piercing the body of every foe,
in the hands of the Suta’s son, the Rakshasa began to fly away in fear
assuming a body gigantic as the foot of the Vindhya mountains. Indeed,
seeing that dart in Karna’s hand, all creatures in the sky, O king,
uttered loud cries. Fierce winds began to blow, and thunders with loud
report began to fall on the earth. Destroying that blazing illusion of
Ghatotkacha and piercing right through his breast that resplendent dart
soared aloft in the night and entered a starry constellation in the
firmament. Having fought, using diverse beautiful weapons, with many
heroic Rakshasa and human warriors, Ghatotkacha, then uttering diverse
terrible roars, fell, deprived of life with that dart of Sakra. This also
is another exceedingly wonderful feat that the Rakshasa accomplished for
the destruction of his foes, that at a time when his heart was pierced by
that dart, he shone resplendent, O king, like a mighty mountain or a mass
of clouds. Indeed, having assumed that terrible and awful form,
Bhimasena’s son of frightful deeds fell down. When dying, O king, he fell
upon a portion of thy army and pressed those troops down by the weight of
his own body. Quickly falling down, the Rakshasa with his gigantic and
still increasing body, desirous of benefiting the Pandavas, slew a full
Akshauhini of thy troops while he himself breathed his last. Then a loud
uproar arose there made up of leonine shouts and blare of conchs and the
beat of drums and cymbals. The Kauravas indeed, beholding the illusion of
the Rakshasa destroyed and the Rakshasa himself slain uttered loud shouts
of joy. Then Karna, worshipped by the Kurus as Sakra had been by the
Maruts upon the slaughter of Vritra, ascended behind the car of thy son,
and becoming the observed of all, entered the Kuru host.’”