Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (63 page)

‘Sanjaya said, “I will describe everything to you, exactly as I saw it, about how Drona was made to sit down and was brought down by the Pandus and the Srinjayas. Having been appointed the commander, in the midst of all the soldiers, Bharadvaja’s maharatha son spoke these words to your son. ‘O king! You have shown me great honour by appointing me the commander today, after that bull among the Kouravas, the son of the one who goes to the ocean. O king! You will obtain fruits that are commensurate with your action. What desire of yours can I satisfy today? Tell me what you desire.’ At this, Duryodhana thought and consulted Karna, Duhshasana and the others. He told the invincible preceptor, foremost among victorious ones, ‘If you wish, grant me the boon that you will capture
Yudhishthira, foremost among charioteers, alive and bring him before me.’ On hearing your son’s words, the preceptor of the Kurus, spoke these words, bringing delight to all the soldiers. ‘The king, Kunti’s son, whom you wish to be captured, is fortunate. O extremely invincible one! You have only asked for the boon that he should be captured, not that he should be killed. O tiger among men! Why did you not desire that he should be killed? O Duryodhana! There is no doubt that you know about what should be done. It is wonderful that Dharma’s son should not have an enmity like that towards you. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! If you wish to remain alive and protect your own lineage, then after vanquishing the Pandavas in battle, give them a share of the kingdom and act according to fraternal relations. The king who is Kunti’s son is fortunate. The intelligent one has been born auspiciously. He is truly Ajatashatru.
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Even you are affectionate towards him.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus addressed by Drona, your son suddenly displayed the sentiments that always course through him. Even someone like Brihaspati is incapable of controlling his countenance. O king! Therefore, your son joyfully spoke these words. ‘O preceptor! If Kunti’s son is killed by you, I will not be able to obtain victory. If Yudhishthira is slain, there is no doubt that the Parthas will slaughter all of us. They are incapable of being killed in battle, even by all the immortals. The one among them who is left, will destroy us. But he
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is truthful in his pledges. When he is brought here, we will defeat him again in a gambling match. The Kounteyas will follow him again to the forest. Thus my victory will manifest itself for a long time to come. That is the reason I do not desire Dharmaraja’s death.’ Drona was intelligent and was knowledgeable about artha. Having ascertained his crooked intention, he thought about this for some time and then granted him the boon.

‘“Drona replied, ‘If Yudhishthira is not protected by the brave Arjuna in battle, you can think that the eldest Pandava has already
been brought under your control. O son!
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But Partha is incapable of being repulsed in battle, even by Indra and the gods and the asuras. That is the reason I cannot advance against him. In the knowledge of weapons, there is no doubt that he has been my disciple earlier. He is young and has accomplished many deeds. He is single-minded in purpose. He has obtained many weapons from Indra and Rudra. O king! You have also incensed him and I cannot advance against him. Let Partha be removed from the field of battle, by whatever means that are possible, and Dharmaraja will be vanquished. O bull among men! Once he has been captured, you think that victory will be yours. Think of means, so that his capture is beyond doubt. I will capture the king, who is devoted to truth and dharma. O king! There is no doubt that I will bring him under your control today, as long as he is stationed in the battle before me, even for an instant. But let Dhananjaya, Kunti’s son and tiger among men, be removed. With Phalguna present, Partha Yudhishthira is incapable of being captured in battle, even by Indra and the gods and the asuras.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “After Drona promised the king’s capture, your extremely foolish sons thought that he had been already captured. Your son knew that Drona was partial towards the Pandavas. Therefore, to make him stick to the pledge, he made the counsel generally known. O destroyer of enemies! Duryodhana proclaimed among all the soldiers that Pandava would be captured.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “The soldiers heard that Yudhishthira would be captured. They roared like lions and this mingled with the sounds of their arrows and their conch shells. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Dharmaraja got to know everything about this through his spies, and about what Bharadvaja’s son desired to do.
He summoned all his brothers and all the soldiers. Dharmaraja spoke these words to Dhananjaya. ‘O tiger among men! You have heard about what Drona wishes to do today. Let all appropriate measures be taken accordingly. O destroyer of enemies! It is true that Drona has taken a pledge. But it is not infallible and everything depends on you. O mighty-armed one! Therefore, fight near me today, so that Duryodhana cannot obtain what he desires from Drona.’

‘“Arjuna replied, ‘O king! Just as I can never act so as to bring about the preceptor’s death, I will never forsake you. O Pandava! I would rather give up my life than fight against my preceptor and kill him. O king! Dhritarashtra’s son wishes to capture you in the battle. He will never accomplish his desire in the world of the living. As long as I am alive, Drona will never be able to capture you. Even if the wielder of the vajra himself, together with the gods and the daityas, were to try to capture you in battle, they will fail. O Indra among kings! As long as I am alive, you should not be frightened. Drona is foremost among wielders of weapons and among those who wield all weapons. I do not remember having ever uttered a falsehood. I do not remember ever having been vanquished. I do not remember having not fulfilled a pledge I have made, even partially.’”

‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! Conch shells, drums, cymbals and tambourines were then sounded in the residence of the Pandavas. The great-souled Pandavas roared like lions. The fearful twang of bowstrings and the slapping of palms rose up into heaven. On hearing the conch shells sounded by the great-souled Pandavas, your army also caused musical instruments to be played. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The arrays and divisions, on your side and theirs, slowly advanced towards each other, wishing to fight in the battle. A tumultuous battle commenced between the Pandavas and the Kurus and Drona and the Panchalas, and it made the body hair stand up. O king! Though they made every endeavour, the Srinjayas were unable to drive back Drona’s army, because it was protected by Drona himself. The armed and mighty rathas of your son were unable to drive back the Pandava soldiers, because they were protected by Kiriti. Protected thus, the respective soldiers seemed
to be subdued, like blossoms that are asleep in the forests in the night. O king! He
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was on a golden chariot, as radiant as the sun. He shattered the divisions and roamed around, amidst the ranks. He was on a single chariot. But he acted so quickly in that battle, that the terrified Pandus and Srinjayas thought there were several of him. He released terrible arrows that travelled in every direction. O great king! There was fright in the army of the Pandaveyas. He seemed to be like the sun when it has attained midday, radiating a hundred rays and quickly drawing out sweat. That is what Drona looked like then. O venerable one! The Pandaveyas were incapable of glancing towards him in that battle, like the danavas towards the great Indra, when enraged. Bharadvaja’s powerful son confounded the soldiers. He swiftly pierced Dhrishtadyumna’s army with his sharp arrows. He seemed to cover and obstruct all the directions and the sky with his arrows. He crushed the army of the Pandus, even where Parshata was.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “There was great confusion in the army of the Pandavas. Drona roamed amidst the Pandavas, like a fire consuming deadwood. He burnt those soldiers, as if Agni himself had arisen. On seeing him on the golden chariot in that battle, the Srinjayas trembled. He was swift in continuously stretching the bow. The twang of his bow could be heard, like the clap of thunder. Rathas, riders, elephants, horses and foot soldiers were mangled through the terrible arrows released by his hands. His arrows were like roaring clouds at the end of the summer, assisted by the wind. They were like a hailstorm and created terror among the enemy. O king! The lord roamed amidst the soldiers, agitating and terrifying them. He increased the fear that humans have for the foe. His bow,
decorated with gold, was like clouds tinged with lightning. It was repeatedly seen, as he roamed around on a chariot that was like dense clouds. The brave one was truthful, wise, always devoted to dharma and extremely terrible. He was like the controller at the end of a yuga, creating a terrible river. Its currents resulted from the power of his intolerance. It was full of large numbers of predators and overflowed with masses of soldiers. The heroes were trees along the banks, which were being eaten away. The blood was the water. The chariots were eddies. Elephants and horses were the banks. Armour constituted rafts, the flesh was the mud. The foam was formed out of fat, marrow, bones and excellent headdresses. The battle seemed to be completely covered by a cloud. It was infested with fish in the form of javelins. Men, elephants and horses flowed along, driven by the force of the arrows. The bodies were like the tops of trees, the arms were like snakes. The heads were like tender fruit. The swords were like fish. The chariots and elephants were like lakes and it was decorated with many ornaments. The maharathas were hundreds of whirlpools. The dust of the earth was like garlands. In that battle, it was possible for the greatly valiant ones to cross it. But cowards found it difficult to cross. Brave ones were strewn around like snakes. The ones who were alive were like aquatic birds. Torn umbrellas were like gigantic swans. The crowns were like smaller birds. The chakras were tortoises, the clubs were crocodiles, the arrows were smaller fish. It was populated by large numbers of terrible wild crows, vultures and jackals. In that battle, the powerful Drona killed beings with his arrows. O supreme among kings! Hundreds of them were conveyed to the world of the ancestors. Hundreds of bodies caused obstructions. The hair constituted moss and weeds. O king! Such was the terrible river that began to flow there and it increased one’s fear. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus was their army defeated by those on your side.

‘“With Yudhishthira at the forefront, all of them attacked Drona from every direction. On seeing them advance, the brave ones on your side wielded firm bows and attacked them back on every side. The battle that commenced made the body hair stand up. Shakuni was conversant with a hundred different kinds of maya and attacked
Sahadeva, piercing his charioteer, standard and chariot with sharp arrows. However, Madri’s son wasn’t greatly enraged. He pierced his standard, bow, charioteer and horses with arrows and then pierced his maternal uncle with sixty. At this, Soubala grasped a club and jumped down from his supreme chariot. O king! With that club, he brought down his
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charioteer from his chariot. O king! Thus bereft of his chariot, the immensely strong one grasped a club in his hands. The brave ones began to sport in that battle, like two mountains with peaks. Drona pierced the king of Panchala with ten arrows, was himself pierced back in turn by many arrows and pierced back again with more than a hundred arrows. Bhimasena pierced Vivimshati with twenty sharp arrows. Though he was pierced, the brave one did not tremble and it was extraordinary. O great king! Vivimshati suddenly deprived Bhima of his horses, standard, bow and arrows and all the soldiers honoured this feat. But the brave one
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could not tolerate the victory of the enemy in battle. With his club, he brought down his charioteer and all his horses. The brave Shalya seemed to be smiling. As if to anger him, he pierced Nakula, the beloved son of his sister, with arrows. In the battle, the powerful Nakula brought down his horses, umbrella, standard, charioteer and bow and blew on his conch shell. Dhrishtaketu severed the many kinds of arrows Kripa released towards him. He then pierced Kripa with seventy arrows and then used three more to bring down the sign on his standard. Kripa countered him with a great shower of arrows. In this fashion, in that battle, the brahmana
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countered Dhrishtaketu and fought with him. Satyaki pierced Kritavarma between the breasts with an iron arrow. Having pierced him, he smiled and pierced him with seventy arrows, piercing him again with others. But Bhoja
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pierced him with seventy-seven sharp arrows. However, Shini’s descendant did not waver, like a mountain before a swift wind. Senapati quickly struck Susharma in his inner organs and he
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struck him back in the shoulder joint
with a lance. With the immensely valiant Matsyas, Virata attacked Vaikartana in the battle and it was extraordinary. This was terrible manliness on the part of the son of the suta. He countered the soldiers with his straight-tufted arrows. Drupada himself confronted King Bhagadatta. O great king! The battle between the two, skilled in the use of weapons, was wonderful and created terror among beings. O king! In the battle, the valiant Bhurishrava enveloped Yajnasena’s maharatha son
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with a shower of arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O lord of the earth! Shikhandi was enraged at this and pierced Somadatta’s son with ninety arrows, making him tremble. The rakshasas, Hidimba’s son and Alambusa, fought an extraordinary battle against each other, wishing to kill each other. They proudly created a hundred different kinds of maya and used maya against each other. They disappeared as they wandered around, giving rise to great wonder. Chekitana fought a terrible battle with Anuvinda, like that between Bala and the immensely strong Shakra, when the gods and the asuras fought. O king! Lakshmana fought fiercely with Kshatradeva, like Vishnu in ancient times, when he fought against Hiranyaksha.
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‘“Pourava was on swift horses and his chariot was stocked with every implement. O king! He roared and attacked Subhadra’s son. The immensely strong one swiftly attacked, desiring to fight. Abhimanyu, the destroyer of enemies, fought a great battle with him. Pourava enveloped Subhadra’s son with a storm of arrows. Arjuna’s son brought down his standard, umbrella and bow on the ground. Subhadra’s son pierced Pourava with seven swift arrows. He then pierced his horses and charioteer with five arrows. The soldiers were delighted at this and he roared repeatedly like a lion. Arjuna’s son then quickly affixed an arrow that was certain to kill Pourava. But Hardikya
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used two arrows to slice down his bow and arrow. Subhadra’s son, the destroyer of enemy heroes, cast aside that shattered bow. He grasped a sharp sword and a shield. He exhibited
his own valour and whirled it, as he moved around. He whirled it in front of him and brandished it in the air. He leapt up and shook it. O king! No difference could be distinguished between the sword and the shield. He leapt onto the shaft of Pourava’s chariot and suddenly roared. Having ascended onto Pourava’s chariot, he grasped him by the side of the hair. He killed the charioteer with a kick and sliced down the standard with his sword. He raised him up, like Tarkshya
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agitating the water of the ocean and raising up a snake from it. All the kings saw him with his disheveled hair. He looked like an unconscious bull, when it has been brought down by a lion. Jayadratha could not tolerate the sight of Pourava having been brought down, afflicted and without a protector, and in the control of Arjuna’s son. He grasped a shield marked with the giant wings of a peacock and decorated with a hundred bells, and a sword. He roared and jumped down from his chariot. On seeing Saindhava, Krishna’s son
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let go of Pourava. He swiftly leapt down from the chariot, like a hawk alighting. Spears, lances and swords were hurled towards him by the enemy. But Krishna’s son sliced them down with his sword or countered them with his shield. He displayed the strength of his own arms to the soldiers. The strong one again raised his giant sword and shield. The brave one advanced against Vriddhakshatra’s heir,
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who was a sworn enemy of his father’s. It was like a tiger advancing against an elephant. They cheerfully advanced and attacked each other, using swords as weapons, like a tiger and a lion using teeth and claws to fight. No one could distinguish any difference between those lions among men and the motions of the sword and the shield.
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When they whirled their swords and brought them down, or when they fended off each other’s blows, no special difference could be seen between the weapons. They roamed around in excellent motions, advancing and
retreating. The great-souled ones looked like mountains with wings. As he extended his sword to strike, Jayadratha struck the shield of Subhadra’s illustrious son. The sword stuck in the radiant shield, which had plates made out of gold and the great sword snapped when the king of Sindhu tried to extract it forcefully. On seeing that the sword had been shattered, Jayadratha was instantly seen to retreat six steps and climb onto his chariot again. In the battle, Krishna’s son resorted to his supreme chariot and all the kings surrounded him from every direction. Arjuna’s immensely strong heir raised his shield and sword and roared, glancing towards Jayadratha. Subhadra’s son, the destroyer of enemy heroes, then abandoned the king of Sindhu and tormented the soldiers, like the sun on the earth. In the encounter, Shalya hurled a terrible javelin at him. It was made completely out of iron and was decorated with gold. It was as radiant as the flames of a fire. As it descended, Krishna’s son leapt up and caught it, like Vinata’s son grasping a supreme serpent that has fallen from above. He then unsheathed his sword. On witnessing the dexterity and spirit of that infinitely energetic one, all the kings roared like lions. Subhadra’s son, the destroyer of enemy heroes, then used the valour of his arms to hurl the javelin, radiant with lapis lazuli, back at Shalya. It was like a snake that had just cast off its skin. It reached Shalya’s chariot and slew his charioteer and brought him down from the chariot. Virata, Drupada, Dhrishtaketu, Yudhishthira, Satyaki, the Kekayas, Bhima, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, the twins and Droupadi’s sons uttered sounds of acclamation. There were many different kinds of sounds from arrows and diverse roars like lions. They arose and delighted Subhadra’s son, who had not retreated. But your sons could not tolerate those signs of victory on the part of the enemy. O great king! They suddenly surrounded him and enveloped him with sharp arrows, like clouds pouring down on a mountain. Artayani,
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the slayer of enemies, wished to do what would bring pleasure to your sons and was enraged because of the overthrow of his charioteer. He attacked Subhadra’s son.”’