Mahabharata: Volume 7 (20 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “O king! On seeing that your soldiers were being driven away by the Pandavas, your son loudly tried to rally them. In that battle, the flanks, the distant flanks, the even more distant flanks and the right wings of the the Kurus raised their weapons and attacked Bhima. O great king! On seeing that the army of the sons of Dhritarashtra was running away, Karna asked Shalya, the adornment of a battle, to drive towards Vrikodara, on the foremost of horses that possessed the complexion of swans. Those horses reached Bhimasena’s chariot and engaged. On seeing that Karna had approached, Bhima was full of anger. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He made up his mind to destroy Karna. He told brave Satyaki and Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, ‘Protect King Yudhishthira, who has dharma in his soul. In my sight, he escaped from a great calamity. In front of me, for the sake of Duryodhana’s pleasure, the evil-minded Radheya deprived the king of all his
garments.
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O Parshata! Today, I will bring an end to that misery. In the battle, I will kill Karna, or he will kill me. Either will happen in this extremely terrible battle. I am telling you this truthfully. Today, I am handing over the king in trust to you. Do not be anxious. But protect him in every way.’ Having said this, the mighty-armed one headed in the direction of the chariot of Adhiratha’s son. He roared loudly like a lion and this made all the directions resound.

‘ “On seeing that Bhima, who delighted in a battle, was swiftly advancing, the lord who was the king of Madra spoke to the son of the suta. ‘O Karna! Behold the enraged and mighty-armed descendant of the Pandava lineage. He has conquered his wrath for a long time and certainly wishes to release it towards you. O Karna! I have never seen him in such a form earlier, not even when Abhimanyu and rakshasa Ghatotkacha were killed. In his ire, he is capable of resisting the three worlds. The form that he has assumed is like the resplendent fire of destruction.’ O king! While the lord of Madra was speaking these words to Radheya, Vrikodara, flaming in his anger, attacked Karna. On seeing that Bhima, who delighted in fighting, had thus arrived, Radheya laughed and spoke these words to Shalya. ‘O lord of Madra! O lord! There is no doubt that the words that you have spoken to me now about Bhimasena are true. Vrikodara is brave, valiant and angry. He is indifferent towards protecting his body and his life and is superior in strength. When he lived in disguise in the city of Virata, for the sake of bringing pleasure to Droupadi, resorting only to his arms, he secretly killed Kichaka and his followers.
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He is senseless with anger and armoured now. He is stationed in the forefront of this battle. He is roaming around in this battle, like Death with a staff, and wishes to do something. I have also harboured a desire for a long time, that either I will kill Arjuna in a battle, or Dhananjaya will kill me. Now that Bhima has advanced against me, perhaps that wish may come true today. If I kill Bhimasena or deprive him of his chariot, and Partha advances against me, that will be fortunate. Please do whatever needs to done,
quickly.’ On hearing the words of the great-souled Radheya, Shalya spoke these words to the son of the suta. ‘O mighty-armed one! Advance against the immensely strong Bhimasena. If you restrain Bhimasena, you may be able to reach Phalguna. O Karna! The desire that you have harboured in your heart for a long time, may well be accomplished. I am telling you this truthfully.’ Having been thus addressed, Karna again spoke to Shalya. ‘Arjuna will kill me in the battle, or I will kill Dhananjaya. Fix your mind on the battle. Drive. Drive there.’ O lord of the earth! Having been thus instructed, Shalya swiftly drove the chariot to the spot where Bhima, the great archer, was driving away the army. At this, there was the extremely loud noise of trumpets and drums. O Indra among kings! This arose as Karna and Bhima clashed.

‘ “The powerful Bhimasena was extremely angry. He was invincible and drove your soldiers away in different directions, using sharp and sparkling iron arrows. O lord of the earth! O great king! That fierce battle between Karna and Pandava was tumultuous and terrible in form. O Indra among kings! In an instant, Pandava attacked Karna. On seeing that he was descending, Karna Vaikartana Vrisha angrily struck him between the breasts with an iron arrow. The one who was immeasurable in his soul again covered him with a shower of arrows. Having been thus pierced, he enveloped the son of the suta with arrows. He pierced Karna with nine sharp arrows with drooping tufts. Karna used his arrows to sever his bow into two fragments from the middle. When he was deprived of his bow, he struck him between the breasts with extremely sharp iron arrows that were capable of penetrating all armour. O king! Vrikodara picked up another bow and struck the son of the suta with extremely sharp arrows that were capable of penetrating the inner organs. He roared powerfully and made heaven and earth tremble. Karna struck him with twenty-five iron arrows, like a maddened and proud elephant attacked in the forest with flaming torches. With his limbs mangled by the arrows, Pandava became senseless with rage. His eyes were coppery red with anger and intolerance and he wished to kill the son of the suta. His bow was extremely powerful and supreme and capable of bearing a great load. He affixed an arrow that was capable
of shattering mountains. The son of the wind god
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powerfully stretched the bow back, all the way up to his ears. Wishing to kill Karna, the great archer angrily released the arrow. Having been thus released by the powerful one, the arrow, with a sound like that of the vajra or thunder, struck Karna in that battle, with a force like that of the vajra against a mountain. O extender of the Kuru lineage! Thus struck by Bhimasena, the son of the suta, the leader of an army, lost his senses and sank down on the floor of his chariot. On seeing that the son of the suta had lost his senses, the lord of Madra bore Karna, the adornment of a battle, away on the chariot. When Karna was defeated, the large army of the sons of Dhritarashtra was driven away by Bhimasena, like an army of the danavas by Indra.” ’

‘D
hritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! This deed performed by Bhima was extremely difficult to accomplish. He brought down the mighty-armed Karna from the seat of his chariot. There is only one person who can kill the Srinjayas and the Pandavas in the battle and that is Karna. O suta! That is what Duryodhana has repeatedly told me. On seeing that Radheya had been defeated by Bhima in the battle, what did my son, Duryodhana, do next?”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! On seeing that Radheya, the son of the suta, was beaten back in that great battle, he
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addressed the large army of his brothers. ‘O fortunate ones! Swiftly go and protect Radheya. He confronts a hardship and has been submerged in the fathomless ocean that is Bhimasena.’ Having been thus instructed by the king, they wished to kill Bhimasena and attacked him in great anger, like insects heading towards a flame. Shrutayudha, Durdhara, Kratha, Vivitsu, Vikata, Soma, Nishangi, Kavachi, Pashi, Nanda,
Upanandaka, Dushpradharsha, Subahu, Vatavega, Suvarchasa, Dhanurgraha, Durmada, Satva and Soma
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—these were valiant and extremely powerful. They attacked Bhimasena with chariots and surrounded him from every direction. They released a storm of arrows, of many different forms, from every direction. O lord of men! Your sons quickly descended on the immensely strong Bhimasena and attacked him. He killed five hundred rathas and fifty other rathas who advanced against him. He angrily severed Vivitsu’s head with a broad-headed arrow. It had earrings and a helmet and was like the full moon. O great king! Severed by Bhima, it fell down on the ground. O lord! On seeing that their brave brother had been killed, in that battle, all of them attacked Bhima, who was terrible in his valour, from all directions. In that great battle, Bhima, terrible in his valour, used other broad-headed arrows to rob the lives of two more of your sons in the encounter. O king! They fell down on the ground, like trees that had been uprooted by a tempest. They were Vikata and Soma, who were like ones born from the wombs of the gods. Swiftly, Bhima used an extremely sharp iron arrow to convey Kratha to Yama’s eternal abode. Slain, he fell down on the ground. O lord of men! Fierce sounds of lamentation arose there. O king! Your archer sons were being slain there. Agitating your soldiers in the battle, the immensely strong Bhimasena conveyed Nanda and Upananda
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to Yama’s abode. Your sons were terrified and lost their senses. On seeing Bhimsena in that battle, like Yama the Destroyer, they fled.

‘ “On seeing that your sons had been killed, the great-minded son of the suta again went to the spot where Pandava was, on horses that possessed the complexion of swans. O great king! The king of Madra swiftly drove those horses towards Bhimasena’s chariot and powerfully engaged with him. O lord of men! O great king! The clash that ensued between Karna and Pandava was fierce. It
was tumultuous and terrible in form. O great king! On seeing those two maharathas clash against each other, my mind was certainly anxious to know what would transpire today. O Indra among kings! However, Karna laughed and didn’t have to make a great effort. In a short instant, he deprived Bhima, whose deeds were terrible, of his chariot. O best of the Bharatas! Despite being deprived of his chariot, the one who was like the wind god, laughed. The mighty-armed one descended from his supreme chariot, with a club in his hand. O king! Bhima, the striker and scorcher of enemies, assumed a terrible form and violently killed seven hundred elephants. He knew about the inner organs and struck them at the base of their tusks, their eyes, their temples and their loins. Having severely struck them in their inner organs and killed them, he roared. They fled in fear, but were again rallied back by the riders. They surrounded him, like clouds around the sun. However, using his club, he killed and brought down seven hundred elephants on the ground, with their riders, weapons and flags, like a mass of clouds driven away by the wind. There were extremely strong elephants that belonged to Subala’s son.
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In the battle, Kounteya again brought down five hundred and two of these. He fiercely crushed one hundred chariots and a hundred foot soldiers that belonged to the enemy. They were killed by Pandava in the battle, while your army looked on. They were scorched by the sun and by the great-souled Bhima. Your soldiers began to shrink, like a strip of leather held above a fire. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Those on your side were terrified because of their fear of Bhima. In that encounter, they were driven away by Bhima in the ten directions. There were five hundred other rathas. With shields and armour, they cheerfully and swiftly attacked Bhima, showering him with arrows from every direction. With his club, Bhima brought down all those rathas and charioteers, with their flags, standards and weapons, like Vishnu against the asuras. On Shakuni’s instructions, three thousand riders who prided themselves on their bravery, advanced against Bhima, with lances, swords and spears in their hands. He was the destroyer of enemy heroes and
spiritedly counter-attacked those horse riders. He roamed around in diverse motions and killed and brought them down. When they were thus oppressed by him, a great and tumultuous sound arose in every direction. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It was as if a clump of reeds was being severed with a sword. Having slain three thousand supreme horses that belonged to Subala’s son, he ascended a chariot and angrily attacked Radheya.

‘ “O king! In that battle, Karna enveloped Dharma’s son, the scorcher of enemies, with arrows and brought down his charioteer. On seeing that he
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was fleeing from the encounter on his chariot, the maharatha pursued him and released swift arrows that were shafted with the feathers of herons. When the fleeing king was thus enveloped with arrows, the son of the wind god angrily covered heaven and earth with his net of arrows. Radheya, the destroyer of enemies, swiftly repulsed him. In every direction, he enveloped Bhima with sharp arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Karna was in front of Bhimasena’s chariot. Satyaki, whose soul was immeasurable, placed himself at the side and attacked Karna, severely afflicting him with arrows. Those two bulls among archers
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clashed against each other and spiritedly released colourful and dazzling arrows. O Indra among kings! Those terrible nets of arrows released by them could be seen to fiercely stretch out in the sky, like the red backs of cranes. Because of the thousands of arrows released by them, we could not see the radiance of the sun, the sky, the directions, or the sub-directions. O king! It was midday and the great radiance of the sun was scorching. But all that seemed to be dispelled by the storm of arrows that Karna and Madhava
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shot.

‘ “On seeing that Soubala, Kritavarma, Drona’s son, Adhiratha’s son and Kripa were engaged with the Pandavas, the Kurus returned again. O lord of the earth! When they descended, a fierce sound arose. It was like the terrible sound made by oceans during the rainy season. On beholding each other in that great battle, both armies were
anxious. But they were also extremely delighted at having engaged with each other. When the sun attained its midpoint, the battle commenced. Nothing like this has been seen earlier, nor heard of. A large army violently clashed against another large army in that battle. It was as if a large store of water was heading powerfully towards the ocean. There was an extremely loud roar as those two armies clashed against each other. It was as if the waters in the ocean were roaring loudly. Thus, those two armies powerfully clashed against each other. They became one, like two rivers meeting each other. O lord of the earth! A battle that was fierce in form commenced. The Kurus and the Pandavas engaged, desiring extremely great fame. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The Kurus roared out loudly to each other there and many different kinds of noises were heard. In that encounter, the warriors were heard to revile the fathers, the mothers, the deeds and the conduct of their adversaries. In the battle, they were seen to censure each other. O king! I formed the view that their lifespans had run out. On seeing the angry forms of those immensely energetic ones, I was overcome by a great fear about what would transpire. O king! The Pandava and Kourava maharathas began to wound and kill each other with sharp arrows.” ’