Mahabharata: Volume 7 (33 page)

‘S
anjaya said, “On seeing that Vrishasena had been killed, Karna was overcome by anger and rage. Sudden tears of sorrow flowed down from Vrisha’s eyes. On his chariot, he spiritedly advanced towards the enemy. His eyes were coppery red with rage and he challenged Dhananjaya to a fight. Those two chariots were as radiant as the sun and were covered with tiger skins. When they encountered each other, it was as if two suns had clashed against each other. Those two men, scorchers of enemies, were like suns and were borne by white horses. Those two great-souled ones were as radiant as the sun and the moon in the sky. O venerable one! On seeing them, all the beings were astounded. They looked like Indra and Virochana’s son,
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embarking on a conquest of the three worlds. There was the clatter of chariots, the twang of bowstrings, the slapping of palms, the whizzing of arrows and the blare of conch shells. As they advanced on their chariots, all the lords of the earth looked on. As they clashed against each other, the standards generated great wonder. Karna’s had the housing of an elephant and Kiriti’s the ape. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As the two chariots clashed against each other, the kings looked on. They emitted roars like lions and voiced loud words of applause. On hearing about the duel between them, the warriors gathered around there. They slapped their arms powerfully and forcefully waved their garments around. The Kurus assembled there. Wishing to cheer Karna, they blew loudly on their conch shells and instructed that musical instruments
should be played. All the Pandavas also cheered Dhananjaya. They caused trumpets and conch shells to be sounded in all the directions. The roars generated a tumultuous sound everywhere. As Karna and Arjuna clashed, the brave ones slapped their arms. They saw that those two tigers among men, supreme among rathas, were stationed on their chariots. They grasped their giant bows, arrows, javelins, clubs and other weapons. They were armoured and had girded their swords. They were borne on white horses that were as beautiful as conch shells. Both of them possessed the best of quivers and were handsome. They were smeared with red sandalwood paste on their limbs and were as crazy as bulls. They were like venomous serpents and like Yama, the Destroyer, in their rage. They were as wrathful as Indra and Vritra and as resplendent as the sun and the moon. They were as cruel as mighty planets that clash at the end of a yuga. They were born from gods. They were the equals of the gods. They were like the gods in their beauty. Those two tigers among men, Karna and Dhananjaya, clashed and it was a sight worth seeing. Both of them possessed the best of weapons and both of them were exhausted from fighting. Both of them made the sky resound with the slapping of their arms. Both of them were famous for their deeds, their manliness and their strength. In a battle, both of them were the equals of Shambara and the king of the immortals. In an encounter, both of them were the equals of Kartavirya
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and Dasharatha’s son. Both of them possessed valour that was like Vishnu’s bravery and both were Bhava’s
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equal in a fight. O king! Both were borne on white horses and on supreme chariots. The charioteers of those immensely strong ones were the best. O great king! On seeing those two blazing maharathas, there was great amazement among the large numbers of siddhas and charanas. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The sons of Dhritarashtra quickly surrounded Karna, the ornament of a battle, with their army. In similar fashion, with Dhrishtadyumna at the forefront, the Pandavas joyfully surrounded the great-souled Partha, who was unmatched in a battle. O lord of the earth! For those
on your side, Karna became the stake in the battle. In that way, for the Pandaveyas, Partha became the stake in the battle. The troops on both sides, and those who had assembled, were eager to witness the encounter. The stakes were determined and it was certain that there would be victory, or there would be defeat. Stationed on the field of battle, the gambling match between us and the Pandavas commenced, with the objective of victory, or its reverse. O great king! Those two, who were skilled in fighting, were stationed in the encounter. They were extremely angry towards each other and wished to defeat each other. Like Indra and Vritra, they wished to kill each other. They assumed fearful forms, like planets trailing a lot of smoke.

‘ “O bull among the Bharata lineage! As they took sides between Karna and Arjuna, there were differences, debates, dissension and arguments among those in the sky and among all beings. O venerable one! The directions and all the worlds also adopted different sides. When Karna and Arjuna clashed, the gods, the danavas, the gandharvas, the pishachas, the serpents and the rakshasas adopted different sides. O lord of the earth! The sky and the nakshatras became anxious on Karna’s account.
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O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The extensive earth was anxious on Partha’s account, like a mother for her son.
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O supreme among men! The rivers, the oceans, the mountains, the trees and the herbs took Kiriti’s side. O scorcher of enemies! The asuras, the
yatudhana
s, the
guhyaka
s, crows and others who travelled through the sky were on Karna’s side. The stores of all gems, the Vedas and accounts as the fifth,
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the minor Vedas, the Upanishads, with collections of their commentaries, Vasuki, Chitrasena, Takshaka, Upatakshaka, all the mountains, Kadru’s offspring and immensely wrathful and virulent serpents were on Arjuna’s side.
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Airavata’s
offspring, the offspring of Surabhi and Vaishali and the serpents were on Arjuna’s side.
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The smaller snakes were on Karna’s side. O king! The wolves, jackals and all the auspicious animals and birds were on Partha’s side, wishing for his victory. The Vasus, the Maruts, the Sadhyas, the Rudras, the Vishvas,
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the Ashvins, Agni, Indra, the moon god, the wind god and the ten directions were on Dhananjaya’s side, while the Adityas were on Karna’s side.
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The gods, together with the large number of ancestors, were on Arjuna’s side. Yama, Vaishravana
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and Varuna were also with Arjuna. The gods, the brahmanas, the kings and the large number of rishis were with Pandava. O king! The gandharvas, with Tumburu at the head, were with Arjuna. The descendants of Prava and Muni, the large numbers of gandharvas and apsaras,
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wolves, predatory beasts, animals, birds, large numbers of chariots, different forms of clouds and winds, and sages assembled there to witness the clash between Karna and Arjuna. O great king! The gods, the danavas, the
gandharvas, the nagas, the yakshas, birds, maharshis learned in the Vedas, the ancestors who thrive on
svadha
oblations,
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austerities, learning and the herbs, in many different forms and attires, took up their places in the firmament and this created a great noise. Brahma, with the
brahmarshi
s and the Prajapatis
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and Bhava,
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on his celestial chariot, also arrived at the spot.

‘ “On seeing that Prajapati,
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the self-creating one, had arrived, the gods spoke to him. ‘O god! Let this struggle for victory between these two lions among men be pacified.’ Hearing this, Maghavan
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prostrated himself before the grandfather and said, ‘Let the entire universe not be destroyed because of Karna and Arjuna. O self-creating one! You had earlier said that Vijaya and the other one
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are identical. O illustrious one! I am bowing down before you. Be pacified and let that be true.’ Brahma and Ishana
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spoke these words to the lord of the thirty gods. ‘The victory of the great-souled Vijaya is certain. He is spirited, powerful and brave. He is skilled in the use of weapons and is rich in austerities. Great energy is manifested in him, especially in dhanurveda. Through his greatness, he is capable of overcoming destiny. He is capable of controlling and overcoming the worlds. When the two Krishnas are angered, no one is capable of standing before them. Those two bulls among men are truly the creators of the universe. They are the ancient and supreme rishis Nara and
Narayana.
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Those two scorchers of enemies control everything and cannot be controlled by anyone. Karna, foremost in the worlds, is a bull among men. Vaikartana is brave and valiant. But let the two Krishnas be victorious. With Drona and Bhishma, let him
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obtain the great world of heaven and the worlds of the Vasus and the Maruts.’ Having heard the words spoken by those two gods of the gods and abiding by the instructions of Brahma and Ishana, the one with the one thousand eyes spoke these words to all the beings. ‘You have heard what the two illustrious ones have said for the welfare of the universe. It must happen that way and cannot be countered. Therefore, do not be anxious.’ O venerable one! O king! Having heard Indra’s words, all the beings were astounded and honoured him. The gods showered down many kinds of fragrant flowers from the sky and sounded divine trumpets. To witness the unmatched duel between those two lions among men, all the gods, danavas and gandharvas waited.

‘ “The two chariots were yoked to white horses. They possessed standards and made a loud noise. The brave ones from the world assembled and separately blew on their conch shells. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! So did the brave Vasudeva and Arjuna and Karna and Shalya. The battle that generated terror among cowards commenced. They rivalled each other in their valour, like Shakra and Shambara. The two clear and radiant standards were fixed to the chariots. As they angrily prepared to fight each other, they
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were thick. Karna’s resplendent one was marked with an elephant’s housing. It was bejewelled and firm, like Purandara’s bow, and like a venomous serpent. The best of apes opened its terrible and gaping mouth on Partha’s. It was extremely fierce and difficult to look at, like the sun. Stationed on the standard of the wielder of Gandiva, it desired a fight. It roared loudly and flung itself on Karna’s standard. Having descended with great force, the ape used its nails and its teeth to destroy the elephant’s housing, like Garuda
against serpents. The elephant’s housing was well decorated with bells. It was like Yama’s noose and was hard as iron. It angrily attacked the giant ape. As those two excellent ones challenged each other to a duel, the standards began to fight each other, wishing to destroy each other.

‘ “Pundarikaksha pierced Shalya with the arrows of his sight and he also glanced back at Pundarikaksha in a similar way. Using the arrows of his sight, Vasudeva defeated Shalya. Kunti’s son, Dhananjaya, also glanced at Karna with his sight and vanquished him. At this, the son of a suta smiled and told Shalya, ‘O friend! If through some means, Partha slays me in the battle today, what will you do after that? Tell me truthfully.’ Shalya replied, ‘O Karna! If the one with the white horses kills you in the battle today, I will slay both Madhava and Pandava.’ In that way, Arjuna also asked Govinda. However, Krishna laughed and spoke these supreme words to Partha. ‘The sun may fall down from its place. The earth may shatter into many fragments. The fire may become cold. But Karna will not be able to kill Dhananjaya. However, if this does happen, the world will be destroyed. Using my arms in the battle, I will kill Karna and Shalya.’ Having heard Krishna’s words, the one with the ape on his banner laughed. Arjuna told Krishna, the performer of undecaying deeds, ‘O Janardana! Karna and Shalya together are not sufficient for me. In the battle today, you will see Karna severed into many fragments with my arrows, with Karna’s flags and standard, with Shalya, the chariot and the horses, with his umbrella and armour, and with his javelins, arrows and bow. In earlier times, he laughed at Krishna.
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Today, you will see Karna uprooted by me, like a flowering tree brought down by a maddened elephant. O Madhusudana! After that, you will hear pleasant words today. Today, you will be able to comfort Abhimanyu’s mother and repay her debt. O Janardana! Kunti, your father’s sister, will be delighted. O Madhava! The tears on Krishna’s
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face will be comforted today. You will be able to speak immortal words to Dharmaraja Yudhishthira.’” ’

‘S
anjaya said, “With nagas, asuras, large numbers of siddhas, gandharvas, yakshas, large numbers of apsaras, brahmarshis, rajarshis and groups of birds, the sky was beautiful in form. There were pleasant sounds of musical instruments. There were sounds of praise. There was singing and dancing. All those in the sky, and men, were spectators. The sky assumed a beautiful form. Cheerfully, the warriors on the Kuru and Pandava sides made the earth and the directions resound with their musical instruments, the sounds of arrows and weapons and leonine roars. With that sound, they began to slaughter their enemies. The field of battle had many horses, elephants and chariots and it was extremely difficult to withstand, because of the descent of supreme swords, javelins and scimitars. As they attacked, bodies were slain and it was red and beautiful because of the blood. As the battle commenced, Dhananjaya and Adhiratha’s son, supreme among wielders of weapons, used their sharp and swift arrows against the soldiers in all directions. They were armoured and showered these towards each other.
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Because of the darkness that was created by the arrows, those on one’s own side could not be distinguished from that of the enemy. Since they
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were terrified, they sought refuge with those two rathas, who were like the extending rays of the sun at the end of darkness. Those two countered each other’s weapons with their own, like the east wind clashing against the west wind. They were as radiant as two suns, dispelling the thick darkness after the sun has arisen. Each encouraged those on his side to take a stand against the enemy. The two maharathas were surrounded in every direction, like the gods and the asuras around Vasava and Shambara. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Drums, smaller drums and battle drums were sounded. There was the blare of conch shells. This mingled with roars like lions. Those two supreme among men were dazzling, like the sun and the moon amidst a thick mass of clouds. Both of them possessed large bows
drawn into circles, like radiant solar discs, with thousands of arrows as the rays. They were extremely unassailable in battle and were like two suns that had arisen at the end of a yuga to destroy all mobile and immobile objects in the universe. They were both invincible and capable of destroying ill-wishers. They were accomplished and wished to kill each other. In the great battle, Karna and Pandava, supreme among brave ones, clashed, like Indra and Jambha. Those two great archers released great weapons and terrible arrows. As they sought to kill each other with supreme arrows, they slaughtered large numbers of men, horses and elephants. Terrified and afflicted again by those arrows, the Kurus and Pandavas sought refuge with those two supreme among men. Elephants, foot soldiers, horses and chariots fled in various directions, like residents of a forest out of fear for a lion.

‘ “Duryodhana, Bhoja, Soubala, Kripa and Sharadvata’s son— these five maharathas attacked Dhananjaya and Achyuta with arrows that could destroy the body. Dhananjaya used his arrows to destroy their bows, arrows, horses, standards, chariots and charioteers. Having countered and defeated them, he struck the son of a suta with twelve supreme arrows. At this, one hundred chariots, one hundred elephants, riders from Shakas, Tukharas and Yavanas and the best of Kambojas attacked Arjuna, desiring to kill him. However, Dhananjaya used razor-sharp arrows to swiftly sever the supreme weapons in their hands, heads, horses, elephants and chariots of the large numbers of the enemy who were fighting against him. The assembled gods in the sky were delighted and applauded by sounding their trumpets. Showers of beautiful and fragrant flowers were rained down. Auspicious winds began to blow. O king! Gods, men and beings who witnessed that wonderful sight were amazed. However, your son and the son of a suta certainly felt neither pain, nor wonder. Drona’s son grasped your son’s hand in his own hand and comforted him. He said, ‘O Duryodhana! Be pacified. Make peace with the Pandavas. There is no need for dissension. Shame on war. Your preceptor
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was Brahma’s equal and knew about great weapons. He
has been killed and so have bulls among men, with Bhishma as the foremost. I cannot be killed and neither can my maternal uncle.
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Together with the Pandavas, enjoy the kingdom for a long time. Restrained by me, Dhananjaya will withdraw. Janardana does not desire a conflict either. Yudhishthira is always engaged in the welfare of beings. Vrikodara is obedient to him and so are the twins. If there is peace between you and Partha,
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all the subjects will be fortunate and that seems to be your desire too. Let the remaining kings return to their own cities. Let the soldiers refrain from hostilities. O lord of men! If you do not listen to my words, you are certain to be slain by the enemies in the battle and will repent. This universe, and you, has seen what the one with the diadem and the garland
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has single-handedly accomplished. This has not been accomplished by the destroyer of Bala,
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Yama, the illustrious Prachetas
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and the king of the yakshas.
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There are many other qualities that Dhananjaya possesses. He will not transgress my words. He will act so as to follow you. O king! For the benefit of the world, be pacified. You have always shown me great honour and I have reciprocated. I am your great well-wisher and that is the reason I am speaking these words. If you are inclined towards affection, I will restrain Karna too. Those who are learned say that there are four kinds of friends—those who are natural friends, those who are made such through conciliation, those who are earned through riches and those who are subjugated through power. Towards you, the Pandavas are all four. O brave one! They are naturally your relatives. Make them that through conciliation. O Indra among kings! If they are pacified and become friends towards you, it is certain that you should also act in that
way.’ Having heard the beneficial words spoken by his well-wisher, he
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thought for some time. He sighed and, distressed in his mind, replied, ‘O friend! It is as you have said. However, listen to the words that I will tell you. Vrikodara is evil-minded. He slew Duhshasana like a tiger, and laughing, spoke many words. Those are still lodged in my heart. They were uttered in your presence. How can there be peace? O son of my preceptor! O unblemished one! You should not speak to Karna and try to restrain him. Phalguna is overcome by great exhaustion. Karna will kill him in a short while.’ Humbly and respectfully, your son repeatedly spoke these words and instructed his soldiers, ‘Attack and kill those who seek to injure us. Why is the sound of arrows not heard and why is everything quiet?’” ’