SECTION XLVI
Sanjaya said,--"O king, I will now describe to you the combats of
hundreds and thousands of foot-soldiers. O Bharata, in utter
forgetfulness of all consideration due to others. There the son
recognised not the sire, the sire (recognised not) the son of his loins,
the brother (recognised not) the brother, the sister's son (recognised
not) the maternal uncle. The maternal uncle (recognised not) the sister's
son, the friend not the friend. The Pandavas and the Kurus fought as if
they were possessed by demons. Some tigers among men, fell with cars into
pieces. And the shafts of cars broke clashing against shafts, and the
spikes of car-yokes against spikes of car-yokes. And some (warriors)
united together encountered others that were united together, all
desirous of taking one another's life-And some cars, obstructed by cars,
were unable to move. And huge-bodied elephants with rent temples, falling
upon huge elephants, angrily tore one another in many places with their
tusks. Others, O king, encountering impetuous and huge ones of their
species with arched edifices and standards (on their backs) and trained
to the fight struck with their tusks, shrieked in great agony.[329]
Disciplined by training and urged on by pikes and hooks, elephants not in
rut rushed straight against those that were in rut.[330] And some huge
elephants, encountering compeers in rut, ran, uttering cries like those
of cranes, in all directions. And many huge elephants, well-trained, and
with juice trickling down from rent temples and mouth, mangle with
swords, lances, and arrows, and pierced in their vital parts, shrieked
aloud and falling down expired. And some, uttering frightful cries, ran
in all directions. The foot-soldiers that protected the elephants, endued
with broad chests, and capable of smiting effectually, with wrath
excited, and armed with pikes and bows, and bright battle-axes, and with
maces and clubs, and short arrows, and lances, and with shafts, and stout
bludgeons mounted with iron spikes and swords, well-grasped of the
brightest polish, ran hither and thither, O king, and seemed resolved to
take one another's life. And the sabres of brave combatants rushing
against one another steeped in human blood, seemed to shine brightly. And
the whiz of swords whirled and made to descend by heroic arms and falling
upon the vital parts (of the bodies) of foes, became very loud. And the
heart-ending wails of combatants in multitudinous hosts, crushed with
maces and clubs, and cut off with well-tempered swords, and pierced with
the tusks of elephants, and grained by tuskers, calling upon one another,
were heard, O Bharata, to resemble the wails of those that are doomed to
hell. And horsemen, on chargers of exceeding speed and furnished with
outstretched tails resembling (the Plumes of) swans, rushed against one
another. And hurled by them, long-bearded darts adorned with pure gold,
fleet, and polished, and sharp-pointed, fell like snakes.[331] And some
heroic horsemen, on coursers of speed, leaping high, cut off the heads of
car-warriors from their cars.[332] And (here and there) a car-warrior,
getting bodies of cavalry within shooting distance, slew many with
straight shafts furnished with heads. And many infuriate elephants
adorned with trapping of gold, and looking like newly-risen clouds,
throwing down steed, crushed them with their own legs. And some elephants
struck on their frontal globes and flanks, and mangled by means of
lances, shrieked aloud in great agony. And many huge elephants, in the
bewildering of the melee, crushing steeds with their riders, threw them
down. And some elephants, overthrowing with the points of their tusks,
steeds with their riders, wandered, crushing cars with their standards.
And some huge male elephants, from excess of energy and with the temporal
juice gushing down in large quantities, slew steeds along with their
riders by means of their trunks and legs. Fleet arrows polished and
sharp-pointed and resembling snakes fell upon the heads, the temples, the
flanks, and the limbs of elephants. And polished javelins of terrible
mien, and looking like large meteoric flashes, hurled by heroic arms,
felt hither and thither, O king, piercing through the bodies of men and
horses, and cutting through coats of mail. And many taking out their
polished sabres from sheaths made of the skins of leopards and tigers,
slew the combatants opposed to them in battle. And many warriors, though
themselves attacked and had the flanks of their bodies cut open, yet
angrily fell upon (their foes) with swords, shields and battle-axes. And
some elephants dragging down and overthrowing cars with their steeds by
means of their trunks, began to wander in all directions, guided by the
cries of those behind them. And hither and thither some pierced by
javelins, and some cut asunder by battle-axes, and some crushed by
elephants and others trod down by horses, and some cut by car-wheels, and
some by axes, loudly called upon their kinsmen, O king. And some called
upon their sons, and some upon their sires, and some upon brother and
kinsmen. And some called upon their maternal uncles, and some upon their
sister's sons. And some called upon others, on the field of battle. And a
very large number of combatants, O Bharata, lost their weapons, or had
their thighs broken. And other with arms torn off or sides pierced or cut
open, were seen to wail aloud, from desire of life. And some, endued with
little strength, tortured by thirst, O king, and lying on the field of
battle on the bare ground, asked for water. And some, weltering in pools
of blood and excessively weakened, O Bharata, greatly censured themselves
and your sons assembled together for battle. And there were brave
Kshatriyas, who having injured one another, did not abandon their weapons
or set up any wails, O sire, On the other hand, lying in those places
where they lay, roared with joyful hearts, and biting from wrath with
their teeth their own lips, looked at one another with faces rendered
fierce in consequence of the contraction of their eyebrows. And others
endued with great strength and tenacity in great pain, afflicted by
arrows and smarting under their wounds, remained perfectly silent. And
other heroic car-warriors, deprived, in the encounter, of their own cars
and thrown down and wounded by huge elephants, asked to be taken up on
the cars of others. And many, O king, looked beautiful in their wounds
like blossoming Kinsukas. And in all the divisions were heard terrific
cries, countless in number. And in that awful combat destructive of
heroes, the sire slew the son, the son slew the sire, the sister's son
slew the maternal uncle, the maternal uncle slew the sister's son, friend
slew friend, and relatives slew kinsmen. Even thus the slaughter took
place in that encounter of the Kurus with the Pandavas. And in that
frightful and terrible battle in which no consideration was shown (by
anybody for anybody), the divisions of the Pandavas, approaching Bhishma,
began to waver. And, O bull of Bharata's race, the mighty-armed Bhishma,
O king, with his standard which was made of silver and graced with the
device of the palmyra with five stars, setting upon his great car, shone
like the lunar orb under the peak of Meru."
--------------------END OF PARVA 6 : UPA-PARVA 46 ---------------------
