Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (65 page)

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! When the night had passed, Bharadvaja’s maharatha son spoke to King Suyodhana. ‘I have made arrangements for the masses of samshaptakas to be engaged with Partha.’ When Partha had left to battle with the samshaptakas and kill them, Drona and his battle formation advanced against the great army of the Pandavas. O best of the Bharata lineage! He advanced, wishing to capture Dharmaraja. On seeing that Bharadvaja’s son had arranged his vyuha in the form of a Garuda,
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Yudhishthira created a counter-vyuha that was in the form of a half-circle. Bharadvaja’s maharatha son was himself stationed in the mouth of the Suparna. King Duryodhana was at the head, with his brothers and followers. Kritavarma and the supremely radiant Goutama
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were the eyes. Bhutavarma, Kshemasharma, the valiant Karakarsha, Kalingas, Simhalas, those from the east, brave Abhiras, Dasherakas, Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Hamsapadas, Shurasenas, Daradas, Madras and Kekayas, with hundreds and thousands of elephants, horses, chariots and infantry, were stationed at the neck. Bhurishrava, Shala, Shalya, Somadatta and Bahlika—these brave ones were surrounded by one akshouhini and resorted to the right flank. Vinda and Anuvinda from Avanti and Sudakshina from Kamboja were stationed on the left flank, with Drona’s son stationed at the forefront. Kalingas,
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Ambashthas, Magadhas, Poundras, Madrakas, Gandharas, Shakunis, those from the eastern regions,
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those from the mountainous regions and the Vastayas were at the rear. Vaikartana Karna, with his sons, kin and relatives, was at the tail, surrounded by a large army that raised many different kinds of standards. Jayadratha, Bhimaratha, Samyati, Triksabha, Jaya, Bhuminjaya, Vrisha, Kratha and the immensely strong Naishadha were surrounded by a large army and placed the world of Brahma as the objective.
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O king! They were
skilled in war and placed themselves in the centre of the vyuha. The vyuha constructed by Drona had foot soldiers, horses, chariots and elephants. It was seen to be as turbulent as an ocean lashed by a storm. Those wishing to do battle emerged from its flanks and its sides. They were like clouds tinged with lightning, emerging in all the directions during summer. O king! Pragjyotisha
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was resplendent in the midst, astride an elephant that had been properly prepared. He looked like the rising sun. The king was adorned with garlands and a white umbrella was above his head. He looked like the full moon, in conjunction with Krittika.
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The elephant was blind with madness and was like a gigantic mountain, on which giant clouds were showering down. It looked like a mass of collyrium. He
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was surrounded by many brave kings from the mountainous regions, adorned with diverse weapons, and was like Shakra, surrounded by masses of gods.

‘“Yudhishthira saw that superhuman vyuha, incapable of being vanquished by enemies in battle. He spoke these words to Parshata. ‘O lord! Your horses have the complexion of pigeons.
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Determine a policy so that I am not captured today by the brahmana.’ Dhrishtadyumna replied, ‘O one who is excellent in vows! No matter how hard Drona tries, he will not be able to bring you under his control. I will check Drona today, together with his followers. O Kouravya! As long as I am alive, you should not be anxious. Drona will never be able to defeat me in battle.’ Having said this, Drupada’s powerful son, with horses that had the hue of pigeons, released arrows and himself attacked Drona. On seeing the evil omen of Dhrishtadyumna stationed before him,
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Drona instantly became distressed. On seeing this, your son Durmukha, the destroyer of enemies, wished to do that which would bring pleasure to Drona and countered Dhrishtadyumna. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A terrible battle raged between the brave Parshata
and Durmukha and they were each other’s equal. Parshata swiftly enveloped Durmukha with a net of arrows and countered Bharadvaja’s son with a great shower of arrows. On seeing that Drona had been sorely countered, your son confounded Parshata with a shower of many different kinds of arrows. While the one from Panchala and the foremost among the Kurus were thus engaged in battle, Drona killed many of Yudhishthira’s soldiers with arrows. They were routed in diverse directions, like clouds by the wind. Partha’s soldiers were thus scattered.

‘“For a short while, the encounter seemed to be pleasant. O king! But it then became violent and no consideration was shown to anyone. O king! As they fought each other, they could not distinguish friend from foe. The battle raged on, on the basis of guessing and signs. The rays of the sun reflected on the gems on headdresses, necklaces, ornaments, swords and shields and they assumed the complexion of the sun. The chariots, elephants and horses streamed banners and seemed to assume the form of clouds, with flocks of cranes in them. Men killed men. Horses fiercely killed horses. Charioteers killed charioteers and elephants killed supreme elephants. In a short instant, there was a terrible and fierce encounter between elephants and other supreme elephants, all bedecked with pennants. As they rubbed their bodies against each other and clashed against each other with their tusks, flames tinged with smoke arose from the friction. Because of the fire generated from the tusks, the standards were brought down. They looked like masses of resplendent clouds in the sky, tinged with lightning. The earth was strewn with elephants that roared as they were brought down, like clouds shrouding the autumn sky. The elephants were slaughtered with showers of arrows and javelins and roared, like clouds during a deluge. Some supreme elephants were struck with arrows and javelins and were terrified. Others shrieked and fled, frightening all beings. Some elephants were wounded by the tusks of other elephants. They roared in tones of woe, like clouds at the time of a terrible calamity. Some elephants were driven back by other supreme elephants. But urged by excellent goads, they returned to the battle. Elephant-riders struck elephant-riders with arrows and javelins. With weapons and goads dislodged, they fell down from
the backs of elephants to the ground. Many elephants were bereft of their riders and wandered in different directions. They fell down when they encountered each other, like scattered clouds. They bore slain drivers and the best of warriors. Those giant elephants wandered in all the directions, as if they were solitary.
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Some elephants were attacked. Others were attacked with javelins, swords and battleaxes. They uttered roars of distress and fell down. Bodies that were like mountains fell down suddenly. The earth was suddenly struck and quaked, and seemed to be shrieking. The earth was strewn in every direction with warriors, elephant-riders, pennants and elephants and was beautiful, as if it was covered with hills. In that battle, elephant-riders on elephants were pierced in their hearts. Charioteers were brought down with broad-headed arrows and lances and goads were strewn around. Other elephants were wounded with iron arrows and shrieked like cranes. They fled in the ten directions, crushing foes and friends. O king! The earth was covered with masses of elephants, horses, charioteers and their bodies and the slush of flesh and blood. Chariots, with wheels and without wheels, and with the maharathas, were uprooted by elephants with the tips of their tusks. Chariots were bereft of charioteers and elephants were bereft of riders. With their riders slain, horses and elephants fled in different directions, afflicted by the arrows. The father killed the son and the son killed the father. In that tumultuous battle, nothing could be distinguished. In that slush of blood, men sank down, up to their ankles. They were as dazzling as giant trees in a conflagration. The garments, armour, umbrellas and standards were all seen to be drenched red in blood. Masses of horses, masses of chariots and masses of men were brought down. They were again crushed into many pieces by the wheels of chariots. The soldiers were like an ocean. The masses of elephants were the mighty currents. The slain men were the moss. The masses of chariots were eddies. Desiring victory and prosperity, warriors immersed themselves in that ocean, using their mounts as large
boats, and sought to confound the others.
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Each of those warriors was covered with a shower of arrows, but did not deviate from the objective. Though they lost their signs,
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they did not lose heart. In that terrible and fearful battle, Drona confounded the enemy and rushed towards Yudhishthira.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “On seeing that Drona was near him, Yudhishthira was not frightened, but received him with a mighty shower of arrows. Sounds of applause arose in Yudhishthira’s army, like that made by a herd of elephants when its leader is attacked by a lion. On seeing that Drona was advancing to capture Yudhishthira, the brave Satyajit, with truth as his valour, attacked the preceptor. The preceptor and Panchala fought against each other. They agitated each other’s soldiers, like Indra and Virochana’s son.
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The preceptor swiftly pierced Satyajit with ten sharp arrows that penetrated the inner organs and severed his bow and arrows. The powerful one quickly grasped another bow and struck Drona with twenty arrows shafted with the feathers of herons. On learning that Satyajit had been grasped by Drona in the battle, Vrika from Panchala oppressed Drona with hundreds of sharp arrows. O king! On seeing that Drona was enveloped by the maharatha in the battle, the Pandavas roared and waved their garments around. O king! Extremely enraged, the powerful Vrika pierced Drona between the breasts with sixty arrows and it was extraordinary. Maharatha Drona dilated his eyes in rage. Using great force, he powerfully shrouded them with showers of arrows. Having severed the bows of Satyajit and Vrika, Drona killed Vrika, his charioteer and his horses with six arrows. Satyajit took up another bow that was more powerful and pierced Drona, his horses,
his charioteer and his standard with arrows. Drona could not tolerate this oppression by Panchala in that battle. He released arrows, so as to quickly destroy him. Drona shot thousands of showers of arrows to envelope his horses, his standards, the handle of his bow and his parshni charioteers. Despite his bow being repeatedly severed, Panchala, who knew about supreme weapons, continued to fight the one with the red horses.
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On witnessing Satyajit’s increasing energy in that great battle, the great-souled one sliced off his head with an arrow that was in the shape of a crescent. When the mighty warrior, the Panchala who was a bull among rathas, was slain, Yudhishthira became frightened of Drona and fled on swift horses.

‘“On seeing Drona, the Panchalas, Kekayas, Matsyas, Chedis, Karushas and Kosalas wished to protect Yudhishthira and cheerfully attacked. The preceptor, the destroyer of large numbers of the enemy, wished to capture Yudhishthira. He slew those soldiers, like a fire consuming large masses of cotton. On witnessing that Drona was repeatedly consuming the soldiers, Shatanika, the younger brother of Matsya, attacked him. He severely pierced Drona, his charioteer and his horses with six arrows that were like the rays of the sun and had been polished by artisans, and roared. While he was thus roaring, Drona swiftly sliced off his head, adorned with earrings, from his body with a kshurapra. At this, the Matsyas fled. Having defeated the Matsyas, Bharadvaja’s son repeatedly vanquished the Chedis, Karushas, Kekayas, Panchalas, Srinjayas and Pandus. On beholding the angry one on the golden chariot, consuming the soldiers in his rage, like a fire in a forest, the Srinjayas trembled. The one who was swift in his deeds drew his bowstring and the excellent sound of the twang was heard in all the directions, as he slaughtered the enemy. The terrible arrows released from his hands mangled elephants, horses, infantry, charioteers and elephant-riders. He was like a roaring cloud at the end of winter, mingled with the wind, pouring down a shower of hailstones and the enemy was frightened. The great archer, powerful and brave, the one who protected his enemies from fear, roamed around in all the directions, causing agitation and fright. The
infinitely energetic Drona’s bow was decorated with gold and looked like lightning flashing in the clouds. It was seen in all the directions. Drona caused great carnage among the Pandava soldiers, like that caused by Vishnu, revered by gods and asuras, among the masses of daityas. He was brave and truthful in speech. He was wise and powerful. Truth was his valour. He was noble-minded. He created a terrible river, like the one at the time of destruction, terrifying to cowards. Armour was the waves. Standards were eddies. It flowed and carried away the mortals. Elephants and horses were the giant crocodiles. The swords were fish and it
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was difficult to cross. The bones of brave ones were its terrible stones. Drums and tambourines were the turtles. Shields and armour were the terrible boats. The hair was moss and weeds. Masses of arrows and bows were the current. It was full of serpents in the form of arms.
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It flowed fiercely through the field of battle and bore along the soldiers of the Kurus and the Srinjayas. The heads of men were the boulders. Javelins were the fish and clubs were rafts. The headdresses were the foam on the surface. The disemboweled entrails were the reptiles. It was fierce and bore brave ones away. The flesh and the blood was the mud. The elephants were the crocodiles. The standards were the trees.
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Kshatriyas were submerged in it. It was terrible and congested with bodies. The riders were the sharks and it was difficult to cross. Drona created a river there and it flowed to the world of the dead. It was full of large numbers of carrion-eaters and had tens of thousands of dogs and jackals. In every direction, it was frequented by extremely fierce flesh-eaters.

‘“On seeing that the great ratha was consuming the soldiers, like Death, they attacked Drona from all sides, with Kunti’s son at the forefront. Those on your side, the kings and the princes, raised their weapons and surrounded the brave and great archer. Drona never deviated in his aim and was like an elephant with a shattered temple. He overcame that mass of chariots and brought down Dridhasena. He approached King Kshema, who was fighting fearlessly, and piercing
him with nine arrows, slew and felled him from his chariot. He penetrated the midst of the soldiers and roaming around, repulsed them in every direction. He protected all the others. But he himself had no need for protection. He pierced Shikhandi with twelve and Uttamouja with twenty arrows. With a broad-headed arrow, he sent Vasudana to Yama’s abode. He struck Kshatravarma with eighty arrows and Sudakshina with twenty-six. With a broad-headed arrow, he brought Kshatradeva down from the seat of his chariot. He pierced Yudhamanyu with sixty-four arrows and Satyaki with thirty. The one on the golden chariot then quickly approached Yudhishthira. The deceitful
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Yudhishthira, supreme among kings, swiftly fled on fast horses. Panchala
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attacked him. But Drona struck him, his bow, his horses and his charioteer. Slain, he fell down on the ground from his chariot, like a stellar body dropping down from the sky. When that illustrious prince of Panchala was killed, there was a great and tumultuous sound of ‘Kill Drona! Kill Drona!’ The Panchalas, Matsyas and Kekayas were filled with great rage. However, the powerful Drona crushed the Srinjayas and the Pandavas. Satyaki, Chekitana, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, Vardhakshemi, Chitrasena, Senabindu, Suvarchas—these and many other kings from many different countries were all vanquished in that battle by Drona, who was surrounded by the Kurus. O great king! Those on your side obtained victory in that great battle. As the Pandavas fled in all directions, they were slaughtered in that battle, like the danavas being slaughtered by the great-souled Indra. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The Panchalas, Kekayas and Matsyas trembled.”’