Mahabharata: Volume 7 (30 page)

‘D
hritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! When the soldiers were shattered by Bhimasena in the battle, what did Duryodhana and Soubala say? What about Karna, foremost among victorious
warriors, Kripa, Kritavarma, Drona’s son, Duhshasana and other warriors on my side? I think that Pandaveya’s valour was extremely wonderful. Did Radheya Karna, the destroyer of enemies, act towards all the Kuru warriors in accordance with his vow? O Sanjaya! On seeing that the army had been routed by the infinitely energetic Kounteya, Radheya, Adhiratha’s son, remained the prosperity, the armour, the base and the hope of remaining alive. What did the warrior Karna do? What about my sons and the invincible maharatha kings? O Sanjaya! You are skilled in narrating. Tell me everything about all this.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O great king! In the afternoon, while Bhimasena looked on, the powerful son of a suta began to strike all the Somakas. The extremely strong Bhima also began to uproot all the soldiers of the sons of Dhritarashtra. On seeing that the intelligent Bhimasena was driving away the army, Karna asked his charioteer to drive him towards the Panchalas. The immensely strong king of Madra, Shalya, drove the white horses, which were extremely swift, towards the Chedis, the Panchalas and the Karushas. Shalya, the destroyer of enemy troops, penetrated those soldiers. He cheerfully drove the horses to the spot where that foremost one
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wanted him to go. The chariot was like a cloud and was covered in tiger skins. O lord of the earth! On seeing it, the Pandus and the Panchalas were terrified. The loud roar of the chariot could be heard in the great battle. Its roar was like that of a cloud, or of a mountain being shattered.

‘ “Karna drew his bow all the way back to his ear and slew hundreds and thousands of Pandava soldiers with hundreds of sharp arrows. While he was performing that superhuman deed in the encounter, the great archers, the Pandava maharathas, surrounded him. Shikhandi, Bhima, Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, Nakula, Sahadeva, Droupadi’s sons and Satyaki surrounded him and showered down arrows, wishing to kill Radheya. In the battle, the brave Satyaki, supreme among men, pierced Karna with twenty sharp arrows in his shoulder joints. Shikhandi pierced Karna with twenty-five arrows, Dhrishtadyumna with five, Droupadi’s sons with
sixty-four, Sahadeva with seven and Nakula with one hundred. In that encounter, the immensely strong and angry Bhimasena pierced him in the shoulder joints with ninety arrows with drooping tufts. Adhiratha’s immensely strong son laughed. He drew back his supreme bow and released sharp arrows, afflicting them. Radheya pierced each of them back with five arrows each. The bull among men severed Satyaki’s bow and standard and struck him between the breasts with nine arrows. The scorcher of enemies wrathfully pierced Bhimasena with thirty arrows and struck his charioteer with three arrows. In the twinkling of an eye, the bull among men deprived Droupadi’s sons of their chariots and it was extraordinary. With straight-tufted arrows, he made all of them retreat. He killed the brave maharathas from Panchala and Chedi. O lord of the earth! In that battle, the Chedis and the Matysas were slaughtered. They rushed against Karna, who was single-handed, and struck him with torrents of arrows. The maharatha son of a suta struck those down with his sharp arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I witnessed this extraordinary deed performed by Karna. In the battle, the brave and powerful son of a suta was single-handed. O great king! However, despite those enemy warriors striving to their utmost in the encounter, he restrained the Pandaveyas with his arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the gods, siddhas and supreme rishis were satisfied at the dexterity shown by the great-souled Karna. The great archers, the sons of Dhritarashtra, applauded that best of men. Karna was best among supreme rathas. He was foremost among all archers. O great king! Karna consumed the army of the enemy, just as a large and flaming fire burns down dead wood during the summer. Thus slaughtered by Karna and witnessing Karna’s great strength, the Pandaveyas were terrified in the battle and fled here and there. In the great encounter, loud lamentations arose among the Panchalas, since they were slaughtered by the sharp arrows that were released from Karna’s bow. The large army of the Pandavas was frightened at the sound. In the battle there, the enemies thought that Karna was the only warrior. Thus Radheya, the afflicter of enemies, accomplished that supremely wonderful deed. He single-handedly countered all the Pandavas and no one was capable of glancing towards him. They were like
a large mass of water that dashes against a supreme mountain and is driven back. In that way, the Pandava soldiers clashed against Karna and were shattered. O king! In the battle, Karna blazed like a fire without smoke. The mighty-armed one burnt down the large army of the Pandavas. O great king! With great agility and his light arrows, the brave Karna severed the heads, with earrings, and the arms of the valiant ones. There were swords with handles of ivory. There were standards, javelins, horses and elephants. There were the parts of chariots and many kinds of flags and whisks. There were axles, yokes, harnesses and many kinds of wheels. Karna observed his vow of a warrior and shattered these into hundreds of fragments. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Elephants and horses were slain by Karna. Because of the flesh, blood and mire, the earth assumed an impassable form. With destroyed horses, foot soldiers, chariots and elephants, one could no longer distinguish uneven terrain from plain ground. Nor could the warriors distinguish those on their own side from that of the enemy. The arrows generated from Karna’s weapon created a terrible darkness. The arrows released from Radheya’s bow were decorated in gold. O great king! In the battle, the Pandaveya maharathas repeatedly endeavoured, but were shrouded by Karna. O great king! The maharathas endeavoured and were submerged. They were like a herd of deer, driven away by an angry lion in the forest. The warriors who fought against Karna in the battle were greatly illustrious. But those soldiers were slaughtered, like a large number of smaller animals by a wolf.

‘ “Seeing that the Pandava soldiers were retreating, the great archers, the sons of Dhritarashtra, pursued them, emitting fierce roars. O Indra among kings! Duryodhana was filled with great delight. He joyfully instructed that many musical instruments should be sounded in every direction. The great archers among the Panchalas, supreme among men, were shattered. But though shattered, those brave ones returned, preferring death over retreat. O great king! The brave Radheya, scorcher of enemies and bull among men, countered and repelled them in many different kinds of ways. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Twenty rathas among the Panchalas were slain there by Karna and so were one hundred angry enemy riders from
among the Chedis. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He emptied the seats of chariots and the backs of horses. He brought down men from the necks of elephants. He drove away the infantry. The scorcher of enemies was like the sun at midday and was impossible to look at. The son of a suta assumed as cruel a form as Yama and roamed around. O great king! In this fashion, the great archer Karna, the destroyer of large numbers of the enemy, killed men, horses, rathas and elephants and was stationed there. The immensely strong one was stationed there like the Destroyer after slaying large numbers of beings. The single-handed maharatha was stationed there, after having slain the Somakas. However, we beheld the wonderful valour of the Panchalas. Though they were slaughtered by Karna, they did not forsake the field of battle. The king,
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Duhshasana, Sharadvata Kripa, Ashvatthama, Kritavarma and Shakuni Soubala slew the Pandava soldiers in hundreds and thousands. O Indra among kings! The brothers who were Karna’s sons were also true in their valour. Those powerful ones easily fought with the Panchalas, here and there. They created a cruel and great destruction among the horses there. Despite this, the brave Pandavas, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi and Droupadi’s sons were enraged and attacked those on your side. In this fashion, there was destruction among the Pandavas there and also amongst those on your side, when they clashed against the immensely strong Bhima in the battle.” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “O great king! Meanwhile, in that great battle, Arjuna divided up the enemy and glanced at the enraged son of a suta. He generated a large river of blood that bore along flesh, marrow and bones. The bull among men spoke these words to Vasudeva. ‘O Krishna! The standard of the son of a suta can be seen there. Bhimasena and the other maharathas are fighting there.
O Janardana! Terrified of Karna, the Panchalas are being driven away. The radiant and white umbrella of King Duryodhana is there. Karna looks extremely beautiful as he is routing the Panchalas. Kripa, Kritavarma and Drona’s immensely strong son are protecting the king and are protected by the son of a suta. Those on our side are unable to kill them, but they are slaying the Somakas. Shalya is stationed on his chariot, skilled in handling the reins. O Krishna! He looks extremely beautiful as he guides the horses of the chariot of the son of a suta. My wish is that you should drive my chariot to that maharatha. Without killing Karna in the battle, I will not retreat. O Janardana! Otherwise, while we look on in this battle, Radheya will exterminate the maharatha Parthas and Srinjayas.’ Having been thus instructed, Keshava quickly drove the chariot towards your army, so that there might be a duel between Karna, the great archer, and Savyasachi. On Pandava’s instructions, the mighty-armed Hari departed, thus providing assurance to the Pandava soldiers in every direction. O venerable one! There was the loud clatter of Pandaveya’s chariot in the battle. It was like the sound of Vasava’s vajra or a giant flood. There was a great roar from the chariot of Pandava, who was unwavering in his valour. Vijaya, immeasurable in his soul, advanced against your army.

‘ “On seeing the white horses advance, with Krishna as the charioteer, the king of Madra spoke to Karna. ‘Behold the standard of the great-souled one. The chariot is coming here, with white horses and with Krishna as the charioteer. O Karna! He is slaying the enemies in the battle. He is the one about whom you had enquired. Kounteya is stationed there, touching Gandiva bow. If you can kill him today, that will be greatly beneficial for us. The army of the sons of Dhritarashtra is being routed in every direction. It is terrified of Arjuna, who is swiftly slaying large numbers of the enemy. Abandoning all the soldiers, Dhananjaya is hastening here. His body swelling with anger, I think he is coming for your sake. I do not think Partha is interested in fighting with anyone else other than you. He is blazing with anger because you have worsted Vrikodara. He has seen that you deprived Dharmaraja of his chariot and severely wounded him. Shikhandi, Satyaki, Parshata Dhrishtadyumna, Droupadi’s
sons, Yudhamanyu, Uttamouja and the two brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva, are looking on. O scorcher of enemies! Partha is advancing violently, alone on a chariot. His eyes are red with anger. In his rage, he wishes to kill all the archers. There is no doubt that he has abandoned all the other soldiers and is spiritedly advancing towards us. O Karna! Advance and repulse him. There is no other archer who can. I do not see any other archer in this world who is like you and can counter the angry Arjuna in a battle, like a shoreline. I do not see anyone protecting him, at the rear, or along the flanks. Behold. He is advancing alone towards you, with thoughts of success in his mind. In the battle, you are the only one who can withstand the two Krishnas in an encounter. O Radheya! It is your burden that you must fight against Dhananjaya. You are as accomplished as Bhishma, Drona, Drona’s son and Kripa. Drive your chariot against Savyasachi and counter Pandava. He is like a snake with a flickering tongue. He is roaring like a bull. O Karna! He is bent on destruction, like a tiger. Slay Dhananjaya. The maharatha sons of Dhritarashtra have been driven away in the battle. In their fear of Arjuna, the kings are quickly glancing at him. There is no man other than you who can dispel the fear of the warriors who are running away in terror. O descendant of the suta lineage! There is no one other than you. In this battle, you are an island of refuge to all the Kurus. O tiger among men! They are stationed here, desiring assurance from you. You have advanced against and defeated in battle those who are invincible, those from Videha, Ambashtha, Kamboja, Nagnajit and Gandhara. O Radheya! Exert yourself now and counter Pandava and Varshneya Vasudeva, loved by Kiriti.’

‘ “Karna replied, ‘O Shalya! You seem to be in your natural state now and amicable towards me. O mighty-armed one! It is evident that you are frightened of Dhananjaya. Behold the strength of my arms today. Behold my learning. I will single-handedly slay the large army of the Pandavas and the two Krishnas, tigers among men. I tell you this truthfully. Without killing those two brave warriors, I will not retreat. Or I will be slain by them and will lie down. Victory in a battle is uncertain. But I will be successful in my objective, whether I kill them, or whether I am killed. It is said that no one like him
has been born in this world. He is supreme among rathas. That is what we have heard. I will fight against the Partha who is like that. Behold my manliness in the great battle. The foremost among rathas is advancing on his chariot. The Kourava prince is borne on swift horses. Perhaps he will convey me towards a calamity today and perhaps with Karna’s death, all of this will end. This prince’s hands do not sweat. They are thick and large and marks have been created on them.
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He is firm and accomplished in the use of weapons. He is light in the use of his hands. There is no warrior who is Pandaveya’s equal. He grasps many arrows tufted with the feathers of herons. He shoots them as if they were but one. They descend at the distance of one krosha and do not deviate from their aim. Where is the warrior on earth who is his equal? With Krishna as his second, the spirited atiratha Pandaveya satisfied the fire.
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The great-souled Krishna obtained the chakra there and Pandava Savyasachi the bow Gandiva. The mighty-armed one, whose spirit does not wane, also obtained the chariot, with a fierce and loud roar. It is yoked to white horses. He obtained giant quivers that are divine in form and are inexhaustible. The bearer of oblations
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also gave him celestial weapons. He slew the daityas in Indra’s world and destroyed all the
kalakeya
s in a battle.
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He obtained the conch shell Devadatta there. Who possesses greater fame than him on earth? He faced the immensely generous Mahadeva himself in a battle and satisfied him.
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He thus obtained the extremely terrible pashupata, the great weapon that can destroy the three worlds. The various guardians of the world assembled and gave him weapons that have no measure. The lion among men swiftly slew in battle the assembled
kalakhanja
asuras. In Virata’s city, alone on a chariot, he defeated all of us who were assembled there. He retrieved the wealth of cattle from us and robbed the maharathas of
their garments. He possesses these qualities of a valiant one and the revered Krishna is his second in the battle. Keshava is infinite in his valour. He is Narayana himself in disguise and protects him. Even if all the worlds assembled together and tried for ten thousand years, they would be incapable of describing his
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qualities. The great-souled one possesses a conch shell, a chakra and a sword in his hands. He is Vishnu and Jishnu and the son of Vasudeva.
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On seeing the two Krishnas together on a single chariot, both fear and valour are generated in my heart. Both of them are brave and accomplished, firm in the use of weapons. They are maharathas who can withstand anything. Phalguna and Vasudeva are like this. O Shalya! Which other person is capable of advancing against them? I will bring them down in the battle, or the two Krishnas will kill me today.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “Having spoken these words to Shalya, Karna, the slayer of enemies, roared like a cloud in that battle. He approached your son and honoured him. He then spoke these words to the foremost among the Kurus who had assembled—the mighty-armed Kripa and the lord from Bhoja,
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the king of Gandhara and his son, the son of the preceptor,
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his younger brothers, the foot soldiers and the other horse riders and elephant riders. ‘Swiftly advance against Achyuta and Arjuna from every direction and restrain them, so that they are exhausted. O kings! Then those two lords will be severely wounded and I will be able to kill them cheerfully today.’ Those spirited ones agreed. Wishing to kill Arjuna, the best of the brave ones attacked, like rivers and streams full of water dashing towards the great ocean. Arjuna received them there in the battle. The enemies could not discern when he affixed supreme arrows and released them. They were oppressed by Dhananjaya’s arrows. Men, horses and elephants were slain and fell down. He was as radiant as the energetic sun that arises at the end of a yuga. Gandiva was like a circular disc and the
arrows were like rays. The Kouravas were incapable of glancing towards Jaya. He was like a sun that hurts the eyes of people. Kripa, Bhoja and your son himself attacked him and shot arrows. They wished to kill him and were skilled. They shot supreme arrows in that great battle, making the best of efforts. Pandava swiftly severed those arrows and pierced each of his foes in the chest with three arrows each. Arjuna drew Gandiva back to a full circle and scorched them like the radiant sun. The arrows were like fierce rays and he was like the solar disc when it is midway between Shuchi and Shukra.
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‘ “Drona’s son pierced Dhananjaya with ten supreme arrows and then struck Achyuta with three. He struck the four horses with four and released many supreme arrows at the ape.
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While he was extending his bow to its complete extent, Dhananjaya used three arrows to sever it and sliced down his charioteer’s head with a kshurapra arrow. Dhananjaya struck the four horses of Drona’s son with four arrows, his standard with three and brought him down from his chariot. He
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became angry and picked up another bow that was ornamented with diamonds and other precious stones. It had excellent joints and was as radiant as the great and supreme serpent Takshaka, resting on a mountain. The great personage placed his other weapons on the ground and strung the bow himself. Drona’s son then afflicted those unvanquished and supreme men
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with supreme arrows and pierced them from a close distance. Kripa, Bhoja and your son showered down torrents of arrows on the one who was like a sun.
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Partha used his arrows to sever Kripa’s bow, with an arrow fixed to it, and struck his horses, standard and charioteer with arrows. He enveloped your son with arrows and severing his bow and standard, roared. The powerful one slew Kritavarma’s horses and severed his sparkling standard. He also slaughtered horses and charioteers, and
destroyed supreme elephants, horses, chariots and their standards. Your large army was shattered, like an embankment devastated by water. Dhananjaya then swiftly advanced, like Shatakratu for Vritra’s death. He was followed by other chariots that raised their standards again, prepared well and ready to fight with the enemy. Maharathas Shikhandi, Shini’s descendant and the twins followed Dhananjaya’s chariot, countering the enemy with sharp arrows, shattering them and roaring fiercely. The brave Kurus and Srinjayas killed each other in great rage, shooting extremely energetic arrows. They were like supreme gods and asuras
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in ancient times. They desired victory or heaven. O scorcher of enemies! Elephants, horses and chariots fell down. They roared loudly and struck each other separately with arrows that were released well. In the great battle, the supreme warriors fought with each other. The great-souled ones created darkness because of the arrows. O king! The ten directions and the sky could not be discerned. The sun’s radiance was covered in darkness.” ’