“Sanjaya said, ‘When the weapon called Narayana was invoked, violent
winds began to blow with showers of rain, and peals of thunder were heard
although the sky was cloudless. The earth trembled, and the seas swelled
up in agitation. The rivers began to run in a contrary course. The
summits of mountains, O Bharata, began to split. Diverse animals began to
pass by the left side of the Pandavas.[260] Darkness set in, the sun
became obscure. Diverse kinds of carnivorous creatures began to alight on
the field in joy. The gods, the Danavas, and the Gandharvas, O monarch,
all became inspired with fear. Beholding that tremendous agitation (in
nature), all began to ask one another loudly about its cause. Indeed,
seeing that fierce and terrible weapon invoked by Drona’s son, all the
kings, inspired with fear, felt great pain.’
“Dhritarashtra said, ‘Tell me, O Sanjaya, what counsel was adopted by the
Pandavas for the protection of Dhrishtadyumna when they saw the Kauravas
once more advance to battle, rallied by Drona’s son who was scorched by
grief and unable to brook the slaughter of his sire?’
“Sanjaya continued, ‘Having behold before the Dhartarashtras fly away,
Yudhishthira, seeing them once more prepared for furious battle,
addressed Arjuna, saying, “After the preceptor Drona had been slain in
battle by Dhrishtadyumna, like the mighty Asura, Vritra, by the wielder
of the thunderbolt, (the Kurus), O Dhananjaya, becoming cheerless, gave
up all hopes of victory. Desirous of saving themselves, all of them fled
away from battle. Some kings fled, riding on cars borne along irregular
course without Parshni drivers, and divested of standards and banners and
umbrellas, and with their Kuvaras and boxes broken, and all their
equipments displaced. Others, struck with panic and deprived of their
senses, themselves striking the steeds of their cars with their feet,
fled precipitately. Others, riding on cars with broken yokes and wheels
and Akshas, fled afflicted with fear. Others on horseback were carried
away, their bodies half displaced from their saddles. Others, dislodged
from their seats, and pinned by shafts to the necks of elephants, were
quickly carried away by those animals. Others were trodden to death all
around by elephants, afflicted and mangled with arrows. Others, deprived
of weapons and divested of armour, fell from their vehicles and animals
down upon the earth. Others were cut by car-wheels, or crushed by steeds
and elephants. Others loudly calling after their sires and sons, fled
away in fear, without recognising one another, deprived of all energy by
grief. Some, placing their sons and sires and friends and brothers (on
vehicles) and taking off their armour, were seen washing them with water.
After the slaughter of Drona, (the Kuru) army, fallen into such a plight,
fled away precipitously. By whom then hath it been rallied? Tell me, if
thou knowest. The sound of neighing steeds and trumpeting elephants,
mingled with the clatter of car-wheels, is heard loud. These sounds, so
fierce, occuring in the Kuru ocean, are repeatedly swelling up and
causing my troops to tremble. This terrific uproar, making the hair stand
on end, that is now heard, would, it seems, swallow the three worlds with
Indra at their head. I think this terrible uproar is uttered by the
wielder of the thunderbolt himself. It is evident that upon the fall of
Drona, Vasava himself is approaching (against us) for the sake of the
Kauravas. Our hairs have stood on their ends, our foremost of
car-warriors are all afflicted with anxiety. O Dhananjaya, hearing this
loud and terrible noise, I ask thee who is that mighty car-warrior, like
the lord of the celestials himself, that rallying this terrible and
swelling host, is causing it to return?”
“‘Arjuna said, “He, relying upon whose energy the Kauravas, having
addressed themselves to the accomplishment of fierce feats, are blowing
their conchs and staying with patience, he about whom thou hast thy
doubts, O king, as to who he may be that is roaring so loud, having
rallied the Dhartarashtras after the fall of the disarmed preceptor, he,
who is endued with modesty, possessed of mighty arms, has the tread of an
infuriated elephant, owns a face like that of a tiger, always achieves
fierce feats, and dispels the fears of the Kurus, he upon whose birth
Drona gave away a thousand kine unto Brahmanas of high worth, he O king,
that is roaring so loud, is Aswatthaman. As soon as he was born, that
hero neighed like Indra’s steed and caused the three worlds to tremble at
that sound. Hearing that sound, an invisible being, O lord, (speaking
audibly) bestowed upon him the name of Aswatthaman (the horse-voiced).
That hero, O son of Pandu, is roaring today. Prishata’s son, by an
exceedingly cruel act, assailed Drona and took his life as if the latter
was without a preceptor. Yonder stayeth the preceptor of that Drona.
Since the prince of the Panchalas seized my preceptor by the hair,
Aswatthaman, confident of his own prowess, will never forgive him. Thou,
O monarch, hath told thy preceptor a falsehood for the sake of kingdom!
Although thou art acquainted with the dictates of righteousness, thou
hast yet perpetrated a very sinful act. Thy ill fame, in consequence of
the slaughter of Drona, will be eternal in the three worlds with their
mobile and immobile creatures, like Rama’s in consequence of the
slaughter of Bali![261] About thyself, Drona had thought, ‘The son of
Pandu is possessed of every virtue; he is, besides, my disciple. He will
never speak an untruth to me.’ Thinking so, he gave credence to what thou
hadst said. Although in speaking of Aswatthaman’s death thou hadst added
the word elephant, yet thy answer to the preceptor was, after all, an
untruth in the garb of truth. Thus told by thee, the puissant Drona laid
aside his weapons and, as thou sawest, became indifferent (to
everything), exceedingly agitated, and almost deprived of his senses. It
was even a disciple who, abandoning all morality, thus slew his own
preceptor, full of affection for his son, while, indeed, that preceptor
was filled with grief and unwilling to fight. Having caused him, who had
laid his weapons to be unrighteously slain, protect the son of Prishata
if thou canst, with all thy counsellors. All of us, uniting together,
shall not be able to protect Prishata’s son today, who will be assailed
by the preceptor’s son in wrath and grief. That superhuman being who is
in that habit of displaying his friendship for all creatures, that hero,
hearing of the seizure of his sire’s locks, will certainly consume us all
in battle today. Although I cried repeatedly at the top of my voice for
saving the preceptor’s life, yet, disregarding my cries and abandoning
mortality, a disciple took the life of that preceptor. All of us have
passed the greater part of our lives. The days that remain to us are
limited. This exceedingly unrighteous act that we have perpetrated has
stained that remnant. In consequence of the affection he bore to us, he
was a sire unto us. According to the dictates of the scriptures also, he
was a sire unto us. Yet he, that preceptor of ours, has been slain by us
for the sake of short-lived sovereignty. Dhritarashtra, O king, had given
unto Bhishma and Drona the whole earth, and what was still more valuable,
all his children. Though honoured by our foe thus, and though he had
obtained such wealth from him, the preceptor still loved us as his own
children. Of unfading energy and prowess, the preceptor has been slain,
only because, induced by thy words he had laid aside his weapons. While
engaged in fight he was incapable of being slain by Indra himself. The
preceptor was venerable in years and always devoted to our welfare. Yet
unrighteous that we are, and stained with a levity of behaviour, we
scrupled not to injure him. Alas, exceedingly cruel and very heinous has
been the sin that we have committed, for, moved by the desire of enjoying
the pleasures of sovereignty, we have slain that Drona. My preceptor had
all along been under the impression that in consequence of my love for
him, I could, (for his sake) abandon all,--sire, brother, children, wife
and life itself. And yet moved by the desire of sovereignty, I interfered
not when he was about to be slain. For this fault, O king, I have, O
lord, already sunk into hell, overcome with shame. Having, for the sake
of kingdom, caused the slaughter of one who was a Brahmana, who was
venerable in years, who was my preceptor, who had laid aside his weapons,
and who was then devoted, like a great ascetic, to Yoga, death has become
preferable to me to life!”’”