Mahabharata: Volume 4 (15 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘At these words, Virata’s son carefully reined the horses. He used the reins to restrain them from where the bulls among the Kurus were. He goaded the mounts in the direction towards which Duryodhana had gone. Ignoring the assembled chariots, Shvetavahana left. Drona got to know his intentions and spoke these words. “Bibhatsu does not wish to station himself here, when the king is far away. He is advancing swiftly. Let us attack his flanks. When he is enraged, no one can fight him single-handedly in battle, other than the god with the thousand eyes
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and Devaki’s son Krishna. What will we do with these cattle and these great riches, if Duryodhana sinks like a boat in Partha’s water?” Meanwhile, Bibhatsu went on and announced his name himself. He swiftly covered the soldiers with arrows that were like locusts. Because of the mass of arrows unleashed by Partha, the warriors were dispersed. They could not see the earth or the sky, because they were enveloped with arrows. They had no inclination to fight. But nor did they have an inclination to run away. In their minds, they honoured Partha’s swiftness. He then blew the conch shell that makes the body hair of enemies stand up. He drew his excellent bow and incited the beings on his flag. At the sound of the conch shell and the roar of the chariot’s wheels, and those of the inhuman beings who resided on the flag, the cattle raised their tails up and wailed on all the sides. They returned towards the southern direction.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having routed the enemy’s soldiers and having conquered the cattle, Arjuna, the supreme of archers, in a desire to do that which brought him pleasure, advanced in Duryodhana’s direction. The cattle ran away towards the Matsyas. Thinking that Kiriti had been successful and seeing him advance towards Duryodhana, the foremost among the Kurus swiftly descended on him. Beholding their many soldiers, arranged in deep battle formations, with many flags, the destroyer of enemies spoke these words to Matsya Virata’s son. “Use these golden reins to swiftly drive these white horses in that direction. Endeavour to quickly take me to where that mass of lion-like warriors is gathered. That evil-minded son of the suta wishes to fight me, like an elephant against another elephant. O prince! Duryodhana’s favours have made him insolent. Take me to him.” Using the golden reins and driving the large horses that were as swift as the wind, Virata’s son broke through that army of charioteers and bore Pandava to the middle. On seeing this, maharatha Chitrasena, Samgramajit, Shatrusaha and Jaya advanced to help Karna and countered the advancing Bharata
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with their arrows and spears. With the flames of his bow and the scorching force of his arrows, that foremost among men burnt down the chariots of those bulls among the Kurus, like a fire consuming a forest. A terrible battle ensued.
Atiratha
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Vikarna, foremost among the Kurus, fiercely attacked Partha, Bhima’s junior, from a chariot and showered down arrows on him. He
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drew the firmly stringed bow that was embellished with the best of gold and routed Vikarna. He shattered the standard that was on his chariot. With his standard destroyed, he
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fled. Unable to control his anger, wishing to accomplish superhuman deeds and seeing the oppression of the mass of soldiers, Shatrumtapa showered down arrows on the scorcher of enemies.
He hurled the nail of a tortoise
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at Partha. Pierced by that atiratha king and immersed amidst the flags of the Kurus, he pierced Shatrumtapa with five swift arrows and killed his charioteer with ten. Having been pierced by that bull among the Bharatas, with an arrow that sliced through the armour on his body, the king
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fell down dead on the ground, like a tree
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dislodged from the peak of a mountain by the wind. Those brave bulls among charioteers were shattered in that battle by a braver bull among charioteers. They trembled, like a gigantic forest that shivers at the time when a gale strikes it. Those foremost young ones among men were killed by Partha. In their fine garments, they seemed to be asleep on the ground. They were the granters of riches and were like Vasava in their valour. But they were vanquished by Vasava’s son in battle. They were like grown elephants from the Himalayas, clad in armour made out of iron and gold. Thus slaying the enemies on the field of battle, the wielder of the Gandiva, foremost among men, began to roam around in that battlefield in different directions. He was like a forest fire at the end of the summer. At the time of spring, the wind that blows in the sky scatters the leaves. Like that, Kiriti scattered his enemies and the atiratha roamed around on the battlefield on his chariot. Vaikartana’s younger brother, spirited Samgramajit, drove red horses and he killed those steeds. With a single arrow, he sliced off his crowned head. On seeing his brother slain, Vaikartana, the suta’s son, exhibited his valour, like a king of elephants displaying his tusks, or like a tiger attacking a large buffalo. Vaikartana attacked Pandava with twelve arrows. He pierced the bodies of all the horses and that of Virata’s son with those arrows. It was like a king among elephants being struck by an elephant. He
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took out sharp arrows from his quiver and stretching the string of the bow right up to his ear, pierced
the body of the suta’s son with his arrows. With arrows unleashed like lightning from his bow, the destroyer of enemies pierced him in battle, in the arms, the thighs, the head, the forehead, the neck and in all the parts of the chariot. Thus wounded by the arrows shot by Partha, and scorched by Pandava’s arrows, like a swift elephant that has been defeated by another elephant, Vaikartana fled from the forefront of the battle.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘After Radheya fled, the others, with Duryodhana in the lead, attacked with their respective armies and showered Pandava with arrows. On seeing those many soldiers, arranged in battle formations, attacking him with arrows, Virata’s son said, “What is your intention? O Jishnu! You are stationed on this beautiful chariot and I am your charioteer. Towards which part of the army will I advance next? I will go where you ask me to.”

‘Arjuna replied, “O Uttara! You can see the red-eyed one clad in the skin of a tiger. He is unhurt. He is stationed on a chariot with a blue flag. That is Kripa and those are his chariots and soldiers. Take me to him. I will show that firm-bowed one my dexterity in use of weapons. The one with the pure and golden water pot on his flag is the preceptor Drona himself, supreme among those who have knowledge of all weapons. O brave one! Circumambulate him cheerfully, without obstructing him in any way. That is the eternal dharma. If Drona strikes at my body first and I strike him back in return, he will not be angered. There is one who can be seen not far from him, with a bow on the top of his standard. That is the preceptor’s son, maharatha Ashvatthama. I have always honoured him, and so have all the wielders of weapons. When you encounter his chariot, restrain again and again. There is one in that mass of chariots, clad in golden armour. He is stationed, surrounded by one-third of the army.
An elephant on a golden flag can be seen at the top of his standard. That is Dhritarashtra’s son, the illustrious King Suyodhana. O brave one! Take this chariot before him. He can destroy the chariots of enemies. The king is indomitable in energy and is irrepressible in battle. In swiftness in the use of weapons, he is regarded as the foremost among Drona’s pupils. But I will show him many times what it means to be swift in use of weapons in battle. The one who has a beautiful elephant’s enclosure embellished on his standard is Vaikartana Karna, whom you have known earlier.
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When you approach the chariot of that evil-souled Radheya, be careful, because he always challenges me in a battle. There is one whose flag is blue and is decorated with five stars. The brave one is stationed on his chariot, his hands encased in guards. He has a large bow. He is stationed on his chariot and his supreme flag is decorated with stars and the sun. A white and unblemished umbrella is held aloft his head. He is at the head of a great mass of chariots, with many flags and pennants. He is like the sun stationed before a mass of clouds. His golden armour can be seen, like the moon and the sun. His golden helmet seems to trouble me. This is Shantanu’s son Bhishma, a grandfather to all of us. He is blessed with royal prosperity, but obeys Duryodhana’s instructions. You should approach him last, so that he does not cause an obstruction for me. When I fight with him, control the horses carefully.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O king! Virata’s son carefully drove Savyasachi to Kripa, who was ready to engage with Dhananjaya.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘The army of the Kurus could be seen, with the foremost among archers. It moved like clouds stirred by
gentle winds at the end of the summer. The horses were nearby, mounted by armed warriors. There were elephants that were terrible in form, goaded by clubs and hooks. O king! Then Shakra arrived, riding handsomely, and with the masses of gods—together with the Vishvadevas, the Ashvins and the masses of Maruts. Crowded with gods, yakshas, gandharvas and giant serpents, the cloudless sky was dazzling, as if with the planets. They had come to witness the power of their weapons, when used by humans and the terrible and great fight that was imminent between Bhishma and Arjuna. The
vimana
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of the king of the gods had one hundred thousand golden pillars. It possessed other gems and jewels that held up the palace. It was divine and was capable of travelling anywhere at will. It was decorated with all kinds of jewels. It was radiant in the sky. Together with Vasava, there were thirty-three gods there and gandharvas, rakshasas, snakes, ancestors and maharshis. There were the kings Vasumana, Balaksha, Supratardana, Ashtaka, Shibi, Yayati, Nahusha, Gaya, Manu, Kshupa, Raghu, Bhanu, Krishashva, Sagara and Shala. They were extremely resplendent and could be seen on the vimana of the king of the gods. Agni, Isha, Soma, Varuna, Prajapati, Dhata, Vidhata, Kubera, Yama, Alambusha, Ugrasena and the gandharva Tumburu were there, each in the place appointed for him and each in his vimana. All the classes of gods, the Siddhas and the supreme rishis arrived to witness the fight between Arjuna and the Kurus. The sacred fragrance of all the divine garlands was everywhere, like flowers in the forests at the beginning of spring. The red and red-tinged umbrellas of the gods could be seen while they stood there, and their garments, garlands and fans. All the dust of the earth subsided and it was permeated by rays. Carrying the divine fragrance, the wind gratified the warriors. The sky seemed to be colourfully decorated and ornamented by the vimanas that had already arrived and those that were arriving. These were decorated with many gems and were colourful and wonderful, brought by the supreme gods.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘The great-spirited Kripa was supreme among wielders of weapons. He was immensely valorous and powerful. Meanwhile, in a desire to fight with Arjuna, that maharatha arrived. Those two immensely powerful charioteers, like the sun, got ready to fight. They stationed themselves, looking like two clouds in the autumn. Partha was famous in the world. Drawing the supreme weapon of Gandiva, he discharged many iron arrows that were capable of piercing the heart. But using sharp arrows and iron arrows that drank blood, Kripa sliced Partha’s arrows into hundreds of thousands of pieces, before they could reach him. At that, maharatha Partha was enraged, and exhibiting many circular movements, enveloped the directions with a shower of arrows. The lord Partha, whose soul was infinite, covered the sky with arrows and unleashed hundreds of them on Kripa. He was hit by sharp arrows that were like the crests of fire and enraged, released one thousand arrows on the infinitely energetic Partha. The great-souled Kripa roared on the field of battle. Then the brave Arjuna released four swift arrows, golden at the tips and with straight shafts, from Gandiva and pierced his
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horses. The four horses were pierced with those excellent arrows. Struck by those sharp arrows that were like flaming serpents, all the horses suddenly reared up and Kripa was dislodged from his place. When the descendant of the Kuru lineage
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saw that Goutama
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had been dislodged from his place, the destroyer of enemy warriors did not pierce him, with a desire to preserve his honour. Having regained his position, Goutama swiftly pierced Savyasachi with ten arrows that were shafted with the feathers of herons. Then Partha sliced his bow with a sharp arrow and made it fall down from his hand. He broke off the armour with other sharp
arrows that pierced the heart. However, Partha did not pierce the body. Freed of the armour, his body was radiant, like a snake shedding its skin at the right time. When one bow had been cut down by Partha, Goutama grasped another and strung it. It was extraordinary. Kunti’s son cut that down too, with arrows that had smooth shafts. In this way, Sharadvat’s son took up many other bows in his hand. But Pandava, the destroyer of enemy warriors, cut them all down. With all his arrows shattered, the powerful charioteer picked up a javelin and hurled it at Pandu’s son, like flaming lightning. That javelin was embellished with gold and descended from the sky, like a giant meteor. But Arjuna cut it down with ten arrows. When it was brought down onto the ground by the intelligent Partha, it shattered into ten pieces. In between, Kripa grasped arrows and a bow and swiftly pierced Partha with ten sharp arrows. The greatly energetic Partha was angered in battle. He retaliated with thirteen arrows that had been sharpened on stone, as energetic as the fire. He struck down the yoke with one and used four arrows to kill the four horses. Using a sixth, he sliced off the charioteer’s head from the body. In that battle, the immensely strong one cut down the bamboo poles with three and the axles of the wheels with two. With a twelfth arrow, he sliced down the standard. Then smilingly, Phalguna, smote Kripa on the chest with a thirteenth arrow that was like the vajra. His bow was shattered. He was bereft of his chariot. His horses were slain. His charioteer was dead. Kripa quickly jumped down with a club in his hand and hurled a club. But that heavy and decorated club was repulsed by Arjuna with his arrows. To save the intolerant Sharadvat in that field of battle, all the warriors then showered Partha with arrows from all sides. Virata’s son, the charioteer, then turned the horses to the left, executing a
yamaka
turn,
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so as to restrain those fighters. Extremely swiftly, those bulls among men then took Kripa, who was without a chariot, away from Kunti’s son Dhananjaya.’