Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (7 page)

‘“At this, Rama was overcome by anger and took up another bow. He showered down sharp arrows, with golden shafts, on me. There were many terrible arrows, capable of piercing the heart. They were extremely fast and made me tremble. They were like flames, or the poison of snakes. I again summoned my patience in that battle. Enraged in that battle, I unleashed one hundred arrows at Rama. They were sharp and were like the fire or the sun, or like the venom of snakes. Struck by these, Rama seemed to lose his consciousness. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I was overcome by compassion and censured myself. ‘Shame on battles and on kshatriyas!’ O king! I was overcome by sorrow and repeatedly said, ‘I am evil. I have committed a sin by acting like a kshatriya. My preceptor is a brahmana. He has dharma in his soul. He has been oppressed by my arrows.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I did not strike Jamadagni’s son any more. Having heated the earth, once the day was over, the one with the thousand rays
⁴¹
departed and the fight was over.”’

‘Bhishma said, “O lord of the earth! My charioteer was revered for his skill in these matters. He removed the shafts from himself, from the horses and from me. The horses were bathed and rolled around on the ground. They obtained water and were refreshed. When the sun arose in the morning, the battle resumed. On seeing me swiftly approach, stationed and armoured on my chariot, the powerful Rama ensured that his chariot was also completely ready. When I saw that Rama was desirous of doing battle, I cast aside my excellent bow and swiftly descended from my chariot. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As earlier, I showed him homage and then mounted my chariot again. Without any fear and ready to fight, I stood before Jamadagni’s son. He enveloped
me with a great shower of arrows. I also covered him with a shower of arrows. O king! Enraged, Jamadagni’s son again released arrows at me and they were like snakes with flaming mouths. O king! Swiftly, I repeatedly sliced them down in the sky with hundreds and thousands of sharp bhallas.

‘“O mighty-armed one! At this, Jamadagni’s powerful son released divine weapons at me and I repulsed them with my weapons. I wished to perform the superior deeds. In every direction, a great roar could be heard in the firmament. I used the
vayavya
⁴²
weapon against Jamadagni’s son. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Rama countered this with his
guhyaka
weapon.
⁴³
I invoked the mantra and released the
agneya
weapon.
⁴⁴
The lord Rama countered this with a
varuna
weapon.
⁴⁵
In this fashion, I countered Rama’s celestial weapons and Rama, the destroyer of enemies and knowledgeable in divine weapons, repulsed mine. O king! Rama, supreme among brahmanas and Jamadagni’s immensely strong son, then suddenly turned to the left and enraged, struck me in the chest. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! I fainted and fell down on that supreme chariot. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! On seeing me in that miserable state and oppressed by Rama’s arrows, my charioteer quickly carried me away to the distance of one
goruta
.
⁴⁶
All of Rama’s followers, Akritavrana and the others, were extremely delighted when they saw that I had fallen down pierced, having lost my consciousness. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They cheered, and so did the maiden from Kashi.

‘“When I had regained consciousness and got to know what had happened, I told my charioteer, ‘O charioteer! Go where Rama is. I have regained my senses and my pain has gone.’ O Kouravya! The
extremely beautiful horses seemed to be dancing. They were as fleet as the wind. The charioteer bore me back on them. O Kourava! On having reached Rama, wishing to vanquish him, I was angry and covered the raging one with a net of arrows. Those arrows flew straight. But in that battle, Rama sliced them down with his own arrows, shooting three arrows for each one that I did. All my arrows were extremely sharp. However, in that great battle, all of them were sliced into two by hundreds of Rama’s arrows. Wishing to kill Rama, Jamadagni’s son, I again unleashed a flaming arrow that was extremely radiant and was like time itself. He was struck deeply and pierced by that arrow. Rama swiftly lost consciousness and fell down on the ground. When Rama fell down on the ground, a lamentation arose everywhere. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The world was anxious, as if the sun had fallen down. Extremely anxious and overcome by grief, all the ascetics and the maiden from Kashi rushed towards the descendant of the Bhrigu lineage. They embraced him and comforted him gently, with cool water in their hands. O Kourava! They pronounced benedictions for his victory.

‘“Rama arose. Though he was confused, he spoke these words to me. ‘O Bhishma! Stand there. You are dead.’ He affixed an arrow to his bow and released it. In that great battle, the swift arrow struck me on my left side. I was extremely agitated, like a tree whirled by the wind. O king! In that great battle, he killed my horses with swift weapons. His dexterity with arrows was such that he could carry away a single one of my body hair. To counter him in that battle, I also used swift weapons. O mighty-armed one! I unleashed an arrow that could not be countered and all those arrows, Rama’s and mine, remained in the air
⁴⁷
and swiftly covered the sky in every direction. The sun was covered in this net of arrows and no longer provided any heat. The wind could not pass through them, as if it had been restrained by clouds. The wind trembled and dashed against the sun’s rays. From this friction, a fire was created in the sky. The arrows blazed, because of the colourful fire that had
been created by them. O king! Everything on the ground was then reduced to ashes. O Kourava! Rama was angry and shot hundreds, thousands, millions,
⁴⁸
one hundred millions, ten thousands, ten trillions and billions of swift arrows at me. But in that battle, I sliced them down with my own arrows, which were like the poison of snakes. O king! I shattered them and made them fall down on the ground, like serpents. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Thus did the battle continue then. When twilight had passed, my preceptor withdrew.”’

‘Bhishma said, “O supreme among the Bharata lineage! When I encountered Rama the next day, there was again a terrible and tumultuous battle. From one day to the next, the brave lord, who has dharma in his soul and knows about the use of divine weapons, released many celestial weapons. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! But, in that terrible battle where one is ready to give up one’s precious life, I repulsed them with weapons that could be used for countering. When many weapons were thus destroyed, the immensely energetic Bhargava became wrathful. He fought, ready to give up his own life. Having been restrained by weapons, Jamadagni’s great-souled son grasped a spear that was terrible in form. It was like a flaming meteor that had been created by time itself. It blazed at the tip and covered the world with its energy. It flamed towards me, like the sun at the time of destruction. With my fiery arrows, I sliced it into three and it fell down on the ground. At that, a breeze with a sacred fragrance began to blow. When this was sliced down, Rama’s anger was ignited. He hurled twelve
other terrible spears at me. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I am incapable of describing their forms, their energy and their speed. But I watched them in confusion. They advanced from all the directions, like giant meteors, or the fire. They had many forms and energy and flamed at the tips. They were like twelve suns, at the time of the destruction of the world. O king! When I saw that net of arrows
⁴⁹
extending, I sliced them down with my net of arrows. In that battle, I shot twelve arrows and countered those spears, terrible in form. Jamadagni’s great-souled son then hurled another terrible spear at me. It possessed a golden shaft and was colourful, with a golden tassel. It was like a giant meteor and was flaming. O Indra among men! I repulsed it with my sword and shield and it fell down. In that battle, I used divine arrows against Jamadagni’s son and showered his celestial horses and his charioteer. On seeing that his colourful spear, which had the form of an unleashed snake, had been repelled, the great-souled one, the oppressor of the Haihaya,
⁵⁰
was overcome by anger and grasped a divine weapon. A mass of flaming arrows, without tufts,
⁵¹
manifested itself, like a terrible swarm of locusts. They pierced and completely overwhelmed my body, my horses, my chariot and my charioteer. My chariot was covered everywhere with those arrows. O king! And so were my mounts and my charioteer. The yoke of the chariot, the wheels and the axle were shattered through those arrows. When that shower of arrows was exhausted, I also showered arrows on my preceptor in return. Bhargava’s body, and his mass of brahmana energy, were pierced by those arrows and began to discharge a lot of blood. Rama was tormented by my net of arrows. I was also suffering from many deep wounds. When the sun headed for the mountain behind which it sets, the fighting ended in the afternoon.”’

‘Bhishma said, “O Indra among kings! The unblemished sun arose in the morning and Bhargava’s battle with me resumed again. Rama, supreme among those who wield weapons, stationed on a fast-moving chariot, showered a net of arrows on me, like Shakra at a mountain. My charioteer, my well-wisher, was hurt by that shower of arrows and fell down from the chariot. I was dejected. Being greatly struck by the force of those arrows, my charioteer became deeply unconscious and fell down on the ground. Oppressed by Rama’s arrows, my charioteer gave up his life. O Indra among kings! For an instant, I was also overcome by fear. O king! When my charioteer was killed and my mind was agitated, Rama hurled deadly arrows at me. While I was still overwhelmed on account of the charioteer, Bhargava powerfully drew his firm bow and pierced me with an arrow. O king! It was an arrow that drank blood. It struck me on the clavicle. O Indra among kings! When I fell down, it fell down with me on the ground. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Rama then thought that I was dead. He repeatedly roared in delight, thundering like a cloud. O king! When I fell down, Rama rejoiced. Together with his followers, he emitted a loud roar. The Kurus were at my side and there were others who had come to witness the fight. When I fell down, they were supremely distressed.

‘“O lion among kings! When I fell down, I saw eight brahmanas. They possessed the radiance of the sun and the fire. They surrounded me from every direction and in that field of battle, supported me with their arms. Supported by those brahmanas, I did not actually touch the ground. I was held up in the air by them, as if they were relatives. It was as if I was asleep in the air and they sprinkled drops of water on me. O king! The brahmanas who were supporting me spoke to me. ‘Do not be scared. Everything will be fine.’ Sustained by those words, I suddenly arose and saw my mother, foremost among rivers, stationed on my chariot. O Indra among Kouravas!
I saw that the great river was controlling and steering my horses. I touched my mother’s feet and those of Arshtishena
⁵²
and ascended my chariot. She had protected my chariots, my horses and my implements. I joined my hands in salutation and asked her to leave. I then myself controlled those horses, which were as fleet as the wind. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I fought with Jamadagni’s son, until the day was over. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! In that battle, I shot an arrow at Rama. It was fast and extremely powerful. It pierced him in the heart. Oppressed by that arrow, Rama lost his senses. He let go of his bow and sank down on the ground on his knees. When Rama, the one who gave away thousands,
⁵³
fell down, clouds covered the sky and showered copious quantities of blood. Meteors fell down in hundreds. There were storms and earthquakes. Suddenly, Svarbhanu
⁵⁴
swallowed up the blazing sun. Harsh winds began to blow. The earth trembled. Vultures, crows and cranes were delighted and circled around. The directions blazed. A jackal repeatedly howled in a terrible voice. Drums sounded in horrible tones, though they had not been struck. When the great-souled Rama became unconscious and fell down on the ground, there were all these terrible and fearful portents. The soft rays of the sun were covered. Enveloped in dust, it prepared to set. Night arrived, with a cool and pleasant breeze. Both of us withdrew from the fight. O king! In this way, there was a ceasefire then. When day dawned, it started again. From one day to another, it thus went on for twenty-three days.”’

‘Bhishma said, “O Indra among kings! O lord of the earth! That night, I bowed my head before the brahmanas, the ancestors, all the gods, the beings who roam in the night and to night itself. I retreated to my bed and in private, reflected about this in my mind. ‘This extremely terrible and great battle between Jamadagni’s son and me has been going on for many days. I cannot defeat the immensely valiant brahmana in the field of battle. He is immensely strong. If I am capable of vanquishing Jamadagni’s powerful son, let the gods be favourable and show me the way tonight.’ O Indra among kings! Wounded by arrows, I fell asleep that night. The foremost among brahmanas had raised me when I had fallen down from the chariot. They had held me and comforted me, asking me not to be afraid. O great king! When it was almost dawn, on my right side, they appeared in a dream. O extender of the Kuru linage! Listen. They surrounded me and spoke these words. ‘O Gangeya! Arise and do not be frightened. You have nothing to be scared of. O tiger among men! We are protecting you, because you have sprung from our own bodies. There is no way in which Rama, Jamadagni’s son, can defeat you in battle. O bull among the Bharata lineage! But you will vanquish Rama in battle. You will recognize this beloved weapon of yours. When you were in an earlier body, you used to be familiar with it. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! This was created by Vishvakarma. It is Prajapatya and is known by the name of
prasvapan
.
⁵⁵
Rama does not know about this, nor does any other man on earth. O mighty-armed one! O Indra among kings! Remember it and use it with force. O lord of men! Rama will not be killed with this weapon. O one who shows honours! Therefore, there will be no sin if you use it. Oppressed by the force of your arrow, Jamadagni’s son will fall asleep. O Bhishma! Having thus defeated him, you will
then make him rise up again, with this beloved weapon of yours, named
sambodhana
.
⁵⁶
O Kouravya! When you are stationed on your chariot in the morning, act as we have asked you to. Whether one is asleep, or whether one is dead, we regard the two as equal. O king! Rama will never become mortal. Therefore, when it arrives before you,
⁵⁷
use prasvapan.’ O king! Having said this, all those supreme among brahmanas disappeared. All those eight were similar in form. All of them were radiant, like the sun personified.”’