Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (25 page)

‘“Yudhishthira said, ‘O preceptor! Listen to my words. Alas! I have to ask you this.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “Having spoken these words, the king was dejected, and bereft of his senses, fell silent. But having divined what he wished to say, Goutama replied.
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‘O lord of the earth! I am incapable of being slain. Fight and be victorious. O lord of men! I am pleased that you have come. I will arise every day and pray for your victory. I am telling you this truthfully.’ O great king! Having heard these words of Goutama, the king took Kripa’s permission and went to where the king of Madra was. Having honoured Shalya, he circumambulated him. The king spoke these beneficial words to the invincible one. ‘O revered one!
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I seek your permission to fight with you, without incurring any sin. O great king! If I obtain your permission, I will defeat the enemies.’

‘“Shalya replied, ‘O great king! Having decided to fight, if you had not come to me, I would have cursed you for your defeat in battle. I am pleased with the honour you have shown me. Let it be as you desire. I grant you permission. Fight and be victorious. O brave one! Tell me anything else that you want. What can I give you? A man is the servant of wealth. But wealth is never anyone’s servant. O great king! This is the truth. I am tied to the Kouravas because of wealth. O nephew!
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I will do what you wish for and act according to your desires. I am speaking to you like a eunuch.
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Other than battle, what else do you want?’

‘“Yudhishthira said, ‘O great king! Always counsel me about my supreme welfare. If you desire, fight for the enemy’s cause. That is the boon I desire.’

‘“Shalya replied, ‘O supreme among kings! In the present case, tell me what I can do to help. I wish to fight in the enemy’s cause. I am tied to the Kouravas because of wealth.’

‘“Yudhishthira said, ‘This was truly the boon I had asked for when the preparations were being made. When the son of the suta fights, you should act so as to diminish his energy.’

‘“Shalya replied, ‘O son of Kunti! This desire of yours will be satisfied. Go and fight as you please. I will try for your victory.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “Having taken leave of his maternal uncle, the lord of Madra, Kounteya, surrounded by his brothers, emerged from that large army. In that field of battle, Vasudeva went to Radheya.
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For the sake of the Pandavas, Gada’s elder brother spoke to him.
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‘O Karna! I have heard that out of enmity towards Bhishma, you will not fight. O Radheya! Until Bhishma has been killed, come over to our side. O Radheya! If you perceive both sides to be equal, after Bhishma has been killed, go and fight again and help Dhritarashtra’s son.’

‘“Karna replied, ‘O Keshava! I will not do anything that causes displeasure to Dhritarashtra’s son. Know that I am engaged in Duryodhana’s welfare and have given up my life for him.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having heard these words, Krishna refrained. He then returned to the Pandavas, who had Yudhishthira in the forefront. In the midst of the soldiers, the eldest Pandava loudly said, ‘He who chooses us, will be regarded by us as an aide.’ Yuyutsu
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glanced towards them and with a delighted mind, spoke to Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, Kunti’s son. ‘O great king! O unblemished one! If you accept me, in this battle, I will fight for your cause and against the sons of Dhritarashtra.’ Yudhishthira replied, ‘Come. All of us will fight with your ignorant brothers. O Yuyutsu! O mighty-armed one! Vasudeva and all of us accept that you will fight in our cause. O prince! O immensely radiant one! It seems that you will be the sole strand and the only one to offer funeral cakes
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in Dhritarashtra’s lineage. Accept us. We accept you. Dhritarashtra’s evil-minded and intolerant son will cease to exist.’ Your son Yuyutsu then abandoned the Kouravyas. Accompanied by the sound of drums, he went to the army of the sons of Pandu. Together with his younger brothers, King Yudhishthira happily donned his armour again, as resplendent as gold. All those bulls among men ascended their chariots. They arranged themselves in battle formations, as they had earlier. They instructed that hundreds of drums and smaller drums
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be played. In different ways, those bulls among men roared like lions. On seeing the Pandavas, tigers among men, stationed on their chariots, all the kings, together with Dhrishtadyumna, were delighted and roared again. They had witnessed the magnanimity of the sons of Pandu, who honoured those who should be shown honour. All the lords of the earth applauded this. The kings spoke about the friendship, compassion and kindness those great-souled ones displayed towards their relatives, on the appropriate occasions. ‘Excellent’, ‘superb’—these words of praise
were heard everywhere. There were auspicious chants about their deeds, attracting the mind and the heart.
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All the mlecchas and aryas who were there, and saw or heard about the conduct of the sons of Pandu, wept, their voices choking with tears. The spirited ones instructed hundreds of giant drums, pushkaras and conch shells, as white as milk, to be sounded.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “My soldiers, and those of the others, were arranged in battle formations. Who was the first to strike, the Kurus or the Pandavas?”

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! Your son Duryodhana advanced with his brothers,
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placing Bhishma at the forefront of the army. Delighted in their minds and wishing to fight with Bhishma, so did the Pandavas, with Bhimasena at the forefront. There were clamorous sounds in both the armies, with krakachas, trumpets made out of the horns of cows, drums, kettledrums, tambourines and the roars of horses and elephants. O king! With a tumultuous sound, they rushed at us and we at them. In that great encounter and confrontation, the giant armies of the Pandavas and the sons of Dhritarashtra trembled, like a forest stirred by the wind. The loud roar of those masses of kings, elephants, horses and chariots, dashing against each other at that inauspicious hour, was like that of the ocean agitated by a storm. When that tumultuous sound arose and made the body hair stand up, the mighty-armed Bhimasena roared like a bull. Bhimasena’s roars transcended the sounds of conch shells and drums, the trumpeting of elephants and the lion-like roars of the soldiers. Bhimasena’s loud
roar surpassed the neighing of thousands of horses in both the armies. On hearing the roar of that brave one, which was like the sound of the clouds or the sound of Shakra’s thunder, your soldiers were frightened. All the animals excreted urine and dung, like animals do at the sound of a lion. He showed himself in a terrible form and roared like a giant cloud. He terrified the soldiers of your sons and attacked them. O king! When that mighty archer attacked them, he was surrounded by all the brothers who are your sons—Duryodhana, Durmukha, Duhsaha, Shala, atiratha Duhshasana, Durmarshana, Vivimshati, Chitrasena, maharatha Vikarna, Purumitra, Jaya, Bhoja and Somadatta’s valorous son.
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They showered him with arrows, like clouds enveloping the sun. They brandished their giant bows, which were like clouds tinged with lightning. They unleashed sharp arrows that were like virulent serpents.

‘“At that, Droupadi’s sons, Subhadra’s maharatha son,
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Nakula, Sahadeva and Parshata Dhrishtadyumna repulsed the sons of Dhritarashtra and pierced them with sharp arrows. They shattered them, like summits with the great force of thunder. In that first encounter, with the terrible sound of bows twanging against arm-guards, neither your side, nor that of the other, retreated. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I witnessed the dexterity of Drona’s disciples. O king! They shot many arrows, which always found their mark. The roar of the bows did not cease, even for an instant. The flaming arrows were like stars in the sky. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the other kings were spectators, witnessing the spectacular encounter between relatives. O king! Remembering the injuries they had suffered from each other, the maharathas were enraged and challenged and strove. With elephants, horses and chariots, the armies of the Kurus and the Pandavas were extremely beautiful on the field of battle, like figures on a painting. Then all the kings grasped their bows. Instructed by your son, they advanced with their armies. Thousands of kings were instructed by Yudhishthira. They roared and attacked your son’s army. The encounter between
the soldiers of both the armies was terrible. Because of the dust raised by the soldiers, the sun disappeared. They advanced. They retreated. They advanced again. One could not detect any difference between ours and those of the enemy. An extremely fearful and tumultuous battle raged. But your father
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surpassed all the other soldiers.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O lord of the earth! In the forenoon, there was an extremely fearful and terrible battle that destroyed the bodies of kings. Desiring victory in that battle, the Kurus and the Pandavas roared like lions, resounding in the sky and earth. There was a roar, the slapping of palms and the sound of conch shells. The brave ones roared at each other, like lions. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The bows twanged against arm-guards. There were the footfalls of the infantry and the loud roars of horses. Staffs and goads
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descended. Weapons resounded. As the elephants dashed towards each other, bells jingled. There was a tremendous roar that made the body hair stand up. There was the roar of chariots, like the sound of the clouds. Cruel in their intentions and prepared to give up their lives, all of them
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raised their standards and advanced against the Pandavas.

‘“O king! Grasping a terrible bow, like the staff of death, Shantanu’s son himself advanced against Dhananjaya. Arjuna grasped the bow Gandiva, famous in the world. In the forefront of that battle, the spirited one advanced against Ganga’s son. Those two tigers of the Kuru lineage wished to kill each other. Ganga’s son pierced Partha in that battle, but he did not waver. O king! Pandava did the same to Bhishma, but could not make him waver. The great archer Satyaki
dashed against Kritavarma. There was a tumultuous encounter between the two and it made the body hair stand up. Roaring and using sharp arrows, Satyaki pierced Kritavarma and Kritavarma Satyaki. They oppressed each other. With arrows in their bodies, those immensely strong ones were as resplendent as flowering kimshukas,
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blossoming in the spring. The great archer Abhimanyu fought with Brihadbala.
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O lord of the earth! In that battle, the king of Kosala sliced down the standard of Subhadra’s son and brought down his charioteer. When his charioteer was brought down from the chariot, Subhadra’s son was enraged. O great king! He pierced Brihadbala with nine arrows. With a sharp and yellow arrow, he sliced off his standard. With another he brought down his
parshni
.
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With yet another, he brought down his charioteer. O king! They were angry and continued to weaken each other with sharp arrows. In that battle, Bhimasena fought with your proud maharatha son Duryodhana, who had been the cause of the enmity. Both of those tigers among men were immensely strong and were foremost among the Kurus. In that field of battle, they enveloped each other with showers of arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing the wonderful ways those great-souled and skilled ones fought, all the beings were astounded. Duhshasana advanced against maharatha Nakula and pierced his innermost organs with many sharp arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Smiling, Madri’s son used sharp arrows to slice down his
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standard, bow and arrows. He then pierced him with twenty-five small arrows. Your son is unassailable. In that great battle, he pierced and brought down Nakula’s horses, arrows and standard. Durmukha attacked the immensely strong Sahadeva. He fought him in that great battle and pierced him with a shower of arrows. In that great battle, the brave
Sahadeva used an extremely sharp arrow to bring down Durmukha’s charioteer. Both of them were invincible in battle and attacked each other. Desiring to repulse each other, they used terrible arrows to create fright. King Yudhishthira himself advanced against the king of Madra. The king of Madra sliced the revered one’s
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bow into two. When his bow was sliced, Yudhishthira, Kunti’s son, took up another bow that was stronger and more forceful. Angered, the king told the lord of Madra, ‘Wait’ and covered him with straight-tufted arrows.

‘“O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that battle, Dhrishtadyumna attacked Drona with a firm bow that was capable of destroying enemies. Thus angered, Drona sliced it into three and unleashed an extremely terrible arrow that was like the staff of death. Thus despatched in that battle, it penetrated his
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body. Taking up another bow and fourteen arrows, Drupada’s son pierced Drona in that encounter. O great king! In that battle, the violent Shankha
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attacked Somadatta’s son
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, who was also a violent warrior. Exclaiming ‘Wait’, ‘Wait’, the brave one pierced him
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in the right arm in the battle. Somadatta’s son then pierced Shankha in the shoulder. O lord of the earth! The bout between those two proud ones was as terrible as that between Vritra and Vasava. O lord of the earth! Enraged in that battle, maharatha Dhrishtaketu,
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immeasurable in his soul, attacked Bahlika, who was also the embodiment of anger. O king! In that battle, Bahlika roared like a lion and oppressed the intolerant Dhrishtaketu with many arrows. The king of Chedi was angered and in that encounter, swiftly pierced Bahlika with nine arrows. It was like one mad elephant against another. They angrily attacked each other in that encounter and roared repeatedly. They fought in great rage, like Angaraka and Budha.
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The rakshasa
Ghatotkacha was terrible in deeds. He attacked Alambusha, the performer of cruel deeds, like Shakra against Bala.
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O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Ghatotkacha wounded the enraged and extremely strong rakshasa with ninety sharp arrows. In that encounter, Alambusha pierced Bhimasena’s extremely strong son in many places with straight-tufted arrows. Wounded by arrows in that battle, they looked like the immensely strong Bala and Shakra in the battle between the gods and the asuras.