Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (42 page)

‘“While all the soldiers looked on, Varshneya Chekitana enveloped Goutama, supreme among charioteers, with arrows. In that encounter, Kripa, Sharadvat’s son, countered all those arrows. O king! Fighting with care in that battle, he pierced Chekitana with arrows. O venerable one! He used another broad-headed arrow to slice down his bow. Displaying his lighteness of hand in that encounter, he brought down his charioteer. O king! He killed his horses and the two charioteers who protected his flanks.
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Satvata
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swiftly leapt down from his chariot and grabbed a club. With that club, capable of killing heroes, that supreme among wielders of clubs killed Goutama’s horses and brought down his charioteer. Goutama stood on the ground and shot sixteen arrows at him. Those arrows pierced Satvata and entered the ground. Chekitana became angry. Wishing to kill Goutama, like Purandara against Vritra, he again hurled his club. That polished and great club was as hard as stone. On seeing it descend, Goutama repulsed it with thousands of arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Chekitana drew his sword out from its sheath. With supreme lightness, he attacked Goutama. Goutama discarded his bow and took up an extremely sharp sword. O king! He advanced with great speed towards Chekitana. Both of them were extremely strong and both wielded supreme swords. They began to strike each other with those extremely sharp swords. Those bulls among men were struck with the force of each other’s swords and fell down on the ground, the abode of all beings. Their limbs became unconscious and they were exhausted because of their exertions. Because of his affectionate feelings, Karakarsha, invincible in battle, swiftly rushed to the spot. He saw that Chekitana was in that state and while all the soldiers looked on, took him up on his own chariot. O lord of the earth! The brave Shakuni, your brother-in-law, swiftly took Goutama, supreme among rathas, up on his chariot.

‘“O king! In anger, the immensely strong Dhrishtaketu pierced Somadatta’s son
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in the chest with ninety arrows. O great king! With those arrows on his chest, Somadatta’s son looked resplendent, like the sun with its rays at midday. However, in that battle, Bhurishrava killed maharatha Dhrishtaketu’s horses and charioteers with supreme arrows and he was deprived of his chariot. On seeing that he had been deprived of his chariot and that his horses and his charioteer had been slain in that encounter, he enveloped him with a great shower of arrows. O venerable one! The great-minded Dhrishtaketu then abandoned his chariot and ascended Shatanika’s vehicle.

‘“O king! The rathas Chitrasena, Vikarna and Durmarshana were clad in golden armour and attacked Subhadra’s son. O king!
A terrible encounter commenced between Abhimanyu and those armed ones, like that in the body between
vata
,
pitta
and
kapha
.
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O king! In that great battle, he deprived your sons of their chariots. But remembering Bhima’s pledge, the tiger among men did not kill them.
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Bhishma was unassailable, even to the gods. In that battle, surrounded by many kings and hundreds of elephants, horses and chariots, he swiftly advanced to rescue your sons. On seeing this and on seeing that maharatha Abhimanyu, who was only a child, was alone, Kounteya, the one borne on white steeds, told Vasudeva, ‘O Hrishikesha! Drive the horses to the spot where those numerous chariots are. There are many brave ones there, skilled in the use of weapons and invincible in battle. O Madhava! Drive the horses so that they cannot slay our soldiers.’ Thus urged by the infinitely energetic Kounteya, in that encounter, Varshneya drove the chariot yoked to the white horses there. O venerable one! When Arjuna angrily advanced into battle, a great uproar was created by your troops. Kounteya advanced to the kings who were protecting Bhishma. O king! He spoke these words to Susharma. ‘I know that you are the foremost among warriors and that you bear extreme enmity towards us from earlier times. You will now behold the extremely terrible fruits of that. I will today show you your deceased ancestors.’ Having heard these harsh words spoken by Bibhatsu, the slayer of enemies, Susharma, the leader of a large number of charioteers, did not speak anything in reply, pleasant or unpleasant. But he advanced against the brave Arjuna, surrounded by a large number of kings. O unblemished one! In that battle, Arjuna was surrounded by your sons from every direction, to the front, the rear and the sides. They enveloped him with arrows, like clouds covering the sun. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! An extremely terrible battle commenced between those on your side and the Pandavas and in that encounter, blood flowed like water.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “The powerful Dhananjaya was breathing like a snake that had been trodden on with the foot. He raised his arrows. In that battle, he continuously used arrows to slice down the bows of those maharathas. In that battle, he instantly sliced down the bows of those valiant kings. The great-souled one simultaneously pierced them with arrows, wishing to slay those illustrious ones. O king! Some of those kings fell down on the ground, drenched in blood. They were oppressed by Shakra’s son. Their bodies were mangled and their heads fell down. Some died because their armour and their bodies were penetrated. They were overcome by Partha’s strength and resorted to the ground. They assumed wonderful forms and were simultaneously destroyed. On seeing that those warriors and princes had perished, the king of Trigarta quickly advanced towards Partha. Thirty-two charioteers, who were protecting from the rear, were also with him. They surrounded Partha and drew their bows with a loud noise. They showered him with a great rain of arrows, like clouds pouring down rain on a mountain. In that encounter, Dhananjaya was oppressed by that shower of arrows and anger was engendered in him. He used sixty arrows that had been washed in oil and killed the ones who had been protecting from the rear. Having vanquished the sixty rathas, the illustrious Dhananjaya was delighted.
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Having killed the forces of those kings, Jishnu advanced to slay Bhishma. The king of Trigarta saw that the ranks of his maharatha relatives had been killed. He swiftly advanced to kill Partha in battle, with the lords of the earth following him. On seeing that they were advancing against Dhananjaya, foremost among the wielders of weapons, with Shikhandi at the forefront, they
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advanced to protect Arjuna’s chariot. They raised sharp weapons in their hands. Partha also saw that those brave ones were advancing against him, together with the king of Trigarta. In that battle, he pierced them with sharp arrows shot from the bow Gandiva. The skilled warrior wished to fight with
Bhishma and saw Duryodhana and Saindhava and the other kings. For a brief moment, the brave Jishnu used his strength to counter them. But then the infinitely valorous and greatly energetic one avoided those kings, Jayadratha and the other kings. With a bow and arrow in his hand, the spirited one, terrible in his strength, went to where Gangeya was.

‘“The great-souled Yudhishthira, terrible in his strength, also advanced swiftly, his anger having been excited. In that encounter, he avoided the lord of Madra, whose deeds were infinite and who had been assigned as his share.
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To do battle, with the sons of Madri and Bhimasena, he went to the spot where Bhishma, Shantanu’s son, was stationed. Ganga’s son was wonderful in battle. He was set upon by all the maharathas together. But Shantanu’s great-souled son was not distracted. King Jayadratha was terrible in his valour and spirited. He was a warrior who was unwavering in his aim. He advanced against those maharathas and sliced down their bows with his supreme bow. The great-souled Duryodhana was overcome with the poison of anger. His wrath having been ignited, he used arrows that were like fire to fight with Yudhishthira, Bhimasena, the twins and Partha. They were also pierced with arrows shot by Kripa, Shalya, Shala and the lord Chitrasena and their
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anger increased, like the gods when they confronted the assembled daityas. Shikhandi’s weapon had been sliced down by the king who was Shantanu’s son. On seeing that he was running away in that battle, the great-souled Ajatashatru became wrathful and spoke these words of anger to Shikhandi. ‘You spoke these words to me, in the presence of your father. “Using arrows that are clear and have the complexion of the sun, I will kill Bhishma, who is great in his vows. I say this truthfully.” This was the pledge you took and you are not making it come true. You are not killing Devavrata in battle. O brave one among men! You have become false in your oath. Protect your dharma and the fame of your lineage. Behold. Bhishma is fighting with terrible force. He is tormenting the masses of my soldiers. The net of his arrows is fierce in its energy. Like Death
himself, he is killing everything in an instant. Your bow has been sliced down by the king who is Shantanu’s son. You have been vanquished and are running away from the field of battle. You are abandoning your relatives and your brothers. Where are you going! This is not becoming of you. Bhishma is infinite in his valour. On seeing him, our soldiers are routed and are fleeing. O Drupada’s son! You are certainly frightened. The complexion of your face is distressed. O brave one among men! Honouring his commands, Dhananjaya is engaged in this great battle. O brave one! You are famous on earth! Why are you now frightened of Bhishma?’ Dharmaraja’s words were harsh. But he heard them and perceived them to be full of sound reason. O king! Having honoured these instructions, the great-souled one swiftly set about the task of killing Bhishma.

‘“Shikhandi advanced towards Bhishma with great force. Shalya countered him with weapons that were terrible and extremely difficult to resist. O king! However, Drupada’s son was like Indra in his power. He saw those weapons, which were as powerful as the fire at the destruction of a yuga, and was not confounded at all. The great archer countered those weapons with his own arrows. To counter them, Shikhandi took up another terrible weapon known as Varuna. The gods stationed in the firmament and the sky saw those weapons
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repulsed by this weapon. O king! In that battle, the great-souled and brave Bhishma sliced down the bow and colourful standard of Pandu’s son, King Yudhishthira Ajamidha. On seeing that Yudhishthira was overcome with fear and had cast aside his bow and arrows in that battle, Bhimasena grabbed a club and advanced on foot against Jayadratha. On seeing Bhimasena advance with great speed with the club, Jayadratha pierced him from every direction with five hundred sharp and terrible arrows that were like Yama’s staff. But the swift Vrikodara, his heart full of rage, paid no attention to these arrows. In that battle, he slew the mounts which bore the king of Sindhu in that encounter, ones that had been born in Aratta.
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Your son
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was unrivalled in his prowess and was like the king of the gods. On seeing Bhimasena, he swiftly advanced on his chariot to kill him, with his weapons raised. Bhima suddenly roared. Uttering threats, he rushed towards him with a club. In every direction, the Kurus saw this upraised club, like Yama’s staff. All of them wished to avoid the descent of the terrible club and abandoned your son. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There was a tumultuous and extremely terrible melee and they were all confounded. But despite seeing the great club descend, Chitrasena did not lose his senses. He discarded his chariot and resorted to fighting on foot, grasping a polished sword and shield. He leapt down, like a lion from the peak of a mountain, and resorted to the face of the earth. In that battle, the club descended on the colourful chariot and killed the horses and the charioteer. It then fell down on the ground, like a flaming and giant meteor that has been dislodged from the sky and has fallen down. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On witnessing the extraordinary, extremely great and unrivalled feat accomplished by your son,
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all the soldiers were delighted and honoured him. They uttered a roar in every direction.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “On seeing that the spirited Chitrasena was without a chariot, your son, Vikarna, picked him up on his own chariot. An extremely tumultuous and fierce battle raged there. Bhishma, Shantanu’s son, swiftly attacked Yudhishthira. With their chariots, elephants and horses, the Srinjayas trembled. They thought that Yudhishthira was already inside the mouth of death. However, the lord Kouravya Yudhishthira, together with the twins, attacked the great archer and tiger among men, Bhishma, Shantanu’s son. In that
battle, Pandava shot thousands of arrows. They enveloped Bhishma, like clouds covering the sky. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Gangeya received a net of innumerable arrows, in hundreds and thousands. O venerable one! Bhishma also released a net of arrows. It looked like a swarm travelling through the sky. In that battle, in an instant, Bhishma, Shantanu’s son, made Kounteya invisible in the encounter through the net of arrows he shot in groups. King Yudhishthira was enraged and despatched an iron arrow at the great-souled Kouravya. It was like a virulent serpent. O king! But before it could reach him in that encounter, maharatha Bhishma used a kshurapra arrow to slice down the weapon released from the bow. Having destroyed the iron arrow in battle, which was like death, Bhishma killed the horses, decorated with gold, of the Indra among Kouravas. With the horses slain, Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son, abandoned the chariot and swiftly ascended the chariot of the great-souled Nakula. Bhishma, the destroyer of enemy cities, was extremely enraged in that battle. He attacked the twins and covered them with arrows. O great king! On seeing that they were oppressed by Bhishma’s arrows, he
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desired Bhishma’s death and anxiously thought about the means.

‘“Yudhishthira addressed all the kings and well-wishers who were following him. ‘All of you unite and kill Bhishma, Shantanu’s son.’ All the kings heard the words that Partha had addressed and they surrounded the grandfather with a large number of chariots. Your father, Devavrata, was surrounded in every direction. O king! He seemed to be playing with his bow and brought down those maharathas. While all the Parthas looked on, Kourava strode around on that field of battle, like a lion cub in the forest amidst a herd of deer. He roared in the battle and frightened the brave ones with his arrows. O great king! They were frightened on seeing him, like a herd of deer at a lion. The kshatriyas saw the movements of that lion among the Bharata lineage in that battle. He was like a fire consuming dry wood, aided by the wind. In that encounter, Bhishma brought down the heads of the rathas, like a skilled man bringing
down ripe fruit from a palm tree. O great king! As those heads fell down on the ground, there was a tremendous sound, like that of stones falling down. There was a tumultuous and extremely terrible battle. There was great and extreme confusion among all those soldiers. The vyuhas of the kshatriyas were thus shattered. In that battle, they challenged one another to a fight. Shikhandi forcefully approached the grandfather of the Bharatas, asking him to wait. But Bhishma avoided Shikhandi in that battle, remembering Shikhandi’s feminine nature.
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Instead, he angrily attacked the Srinjayas. On seeing maharatha Bhishma, the Srinjayas were delighted. They roared like lions and uttered many other shouts. These mingled with the sound of conch shells. O lord! This was a time when the sun was stationed on the other side of the directions.
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A battle with chariots and elephants commenced.