SECTION LII
Dhritarashtra said, "When mine and the hostile hosts were thus formed
into battle array, how did the foremost of smiters begin to strike?"
Sanjaya said, "When all the divisions were thus arrayed, the combatants
waited, each cased in mail, and with their beautiful standards all
upraised. And beholding the (Kuru) host that resembled the limitless
ocean, your son Duryodhana, O king, stationed within it, said unto all the
combatants on your side, 'Cased in mail (as the are), begin the the fight'.
The combatants then, entertaining cruel intentions, and abandoning their
very lives, all rushed against the Pandavas, with standards upraised. The
battle that took place then was fierce and made the hair stand on end.
And the cars and elephants all got mixed together. And shafts with
beautiful feathers, and endued with great energy and sharp points, shot
by car-warriors fell upon elephants and horses. And when the battle began
in this way, the venerable Kuru grandsire, the mighty-armed Bhishma of
terrible prowess, cased in mail, taking up his bow, and approaching them,
showered an arrowy downpour on the heroic son of Subhadra, and the mighty
car-warrior Arjuna, and the ruler of the Kekayas and Virata, and
Dhrishtadyumna of Prishata's race, as also upon the Chedi and the Matsya
warriors. And that mighty array (of the Pandavas) wavered at the onset of
that hero. And terrific was the encounter that took place between all the
combatants. And horse-men and car-warriors and foremost of steeds fell
fast. And the car-divisions of the Pandavas began to fly away. Then that
tiger among men, Arjuna, beholding that mighty car-warrior Bhishma,
angrily said unto him of Vrishni's race. 'Proceed to the place where the
grandsire is. O you of Vrishni's race, it is evident that this Bhishma,
with wrath excited, will annihilate for Duryodhana's benefit my host. And
this Drona, and Kripa and Salya and Vikarna, O Janardana, united with
Dhritarashtra's sons headed by Duryodhana, and protected by this firm
bowman, will slaughter the Panchalas. Even I, therefore, shall stay
Bhishma for the sake of my troops, O Janardana.' Unto him Vasudeva then
said, 'Be careful, O Dhananjaya, for I will soon take thee, O hero,
towards the grandsire's car.' Having said this, O king, Saurin took that
car, which was celebrated over the world, before the car of Bhishma. With
numerous banners all waving, with steeds looking handsome like a flight
of (white) cranes, with standard upraised on which was the ape roaring
fiercely, upon his large car of solar effulgence and whose rattle
resembled roar of the clouds, slaughtering the Kaurava divisions and the
Surasenas also, the son of Pandu, that enhancer of the joys of friends
speedily came to the encounter. Him (thus) rushing impetuously like an
infuriate elephant and (thus) frightening in a battle brave combatants
and felling them with his shafts, Bhishma the son of Santanu, protected
by the warriors headed by Saindhava and by the combatants of the East and
the Sauviras and the Kekayas, encountered with great impetuosity. Who
else save the Kuru grandsire and those car-warriors, viz., Drona and
Vikartana's son (Karna), are capable of advancing in battle against the
bearer of the bow called Gandiva? Then, O great king, Bhishma, the
grandsire of the Kauravas, struck Arjuna with seventy-seven arrows and
Drona (struck him) with five and twenty, and Kripa with fifty, and
Duryodhana with four and sixty, and Salya with nine arrows; and Drona's
son, that tiger among men, with sixty, and Vikarna with three arrows; and
Saindhava with nine and Sakuni with five. And Artayani O king, pierced
Pandu's son with three broad-headed arrows. And (though) pierced on all
sides by them with sharp arrows, that great bowman,[361] that
mighty-armed (warrior), wavered not like mountain that is pierced (with
arrows). Thereupon he, the diadem-decked, of immeasurable soul, O bull of
Bharata's race, in return pierced Bhishma with five and twenty, and Kripa
with nine arrows, and Drona with sixty, O tiger among men, and Vikarna
with three arrows; and Artayani with three arrows, and the king
(Duryodhana) also with five. And then Satyaki, and Virata and
Dhrishtadyumna of Prishata's race, and the sons of Draupadi, and
Abhimanyu, all surrounded him, (proceeding to his support). Then the
prince of the Panchalas, supported by the Somakas, advanced towards the
great bowman Drona who was engaged in seeking the welfare of Ganga's son.
Then Bhishma, that foremost of car-warriors, speedily pierced the son of
Pandu with eighty sharp arrows, upon which the combatants on your side
were much gratified. Hearing the shouts of those lions among
car-warriors, Dhananjaya, endued with great prowess, then cheerfully
entered into the midst of those lions among car-warriors and sported with
his bow, O king, (successively) aiming those mighty car-warriors. Then
that ruler of men, king Duryodhana, said unto Bhishma, beholding his own
troops (thus) afflicted in battle by the son of Pritha. 'This mighty son
of Pandu, O sire, accompanied by Krishna, felling all our troops, cutteth
down our roots, even though thou, O son of Ganga, and that foremost of
car-warriors, Drona, are alive. O monarch, it is for you only that this
Karna, laying aside his weapons, doth not fight with the sons of Pritha
in battle (though) he is ever a well-wisher of mine, Do, therefore, that,
O son of Ganga by which Phalguni may be slain. 'Thus addressed, O king,
thy sire Devavrata, saying, 'Fie to Kshatriya usage', then proceeded
towards Partha's car. And all the kings, O monarch, seeing both those
warriors with white steeds yoked unto their cars stationed (for battle),
set up loud leonine roars, and also blew their conches, O sire. And
Drona's son and Duryodhana, and your son Vikarna, surrounding Bhishma in
that combat, stood, O sire, for battle. And so all the Pandavas,
surrounding Dhananjaya, stood for fierce conflict. And the battle then
commenced. And the son of Ganga pierced Partha in that combat with nine
shafts. And Arjuna pierced him in return with ten shafts penetrating into
the very vitals. Then, with a thousand arrows, well shot, Pandu's son
Arjuna, famed for his skill in battle, shrouded Bhishma on all sides.
That arrowy net, however, of Partha, O king, Bhishma the son of Santanu
baffled with an arrowy net (of his own). And both well-pleased, and both
delighting in battle, fought with each other without each gaining any
advantage over the other, and each desirous of counteracting the other's
feats. And the successive flights of arrows shot from Bhishma's bow were
seen to be dispersed by the shafts of Arjuna. And so the flights of
arrows shot by Arjuna, cut off by the arrows of Ganga's son, all fell
down on the ground. And Arjuna pierced Bhishma with five and twenty
arrows of sharp points. And Bhishma, too, in that combat, pierced Partha
in return with nine arrows. And those two mighty warriors, those
chastisers of foes, piercing each other's steeds, and also the shafts and
the wheels of each other's cars, began to sport. Then, O king, Bhishma,
that foremost of smiters, struck Vasudeva between his two breasts with
three arrows. And the slayer of Madhu, struck with those shafts shot from
Bhishma's bow, shone in that battle, O king, like a flowering Kinsuka.
Then Arjuna, indignant at seeing Madhava, pierced in that combat the
charioteer of Ganga's son with three arrows. And both heroes, striving
with each other against each other's car, succeeded not in taking aim at
each other in the combat. And in consequence of the ability and dexterity
of the charioteers of both those warriors, both displayed, O king,
beautiful circles and advancings and retreatings in respect of their
moving cars. And, O monarch, seeing the opportunity to strike, they
frequently changed positions, O king, for obtaining what they sought. And
both the heroes blew their conches, mingling that blare with their
leonine roars. And those mighty car-warriors twang their bows, both in
the same manner. And with the blare of their conches and the rattle of
their car-wheels, the very Earth was suddenly rent. And it began to
tremble and produce subterranean noises. And nobody, O bull of Bharata's
race, could detect any latches in either of them. Both of them was
possessed of great might and great courage in battle, each was other's
match. And by (the sight of) his standard alone, the Kauravas could
approach him (for aid). And so the Pandavas approached Pritha's son (for
aid), guided by his standard only. And beholding, O king, prowess thus
displayed by those two foremost of men, O Bharata, all creatures
(present) in that battle were filled with wonder. And none, O Bharata,
observed any difference between the two, just as none finds any
transgression in a person observant of morality. And both of them (at
times) became perfectly invisible in consequence of clouds of arrows. And
soon enough both of them in that battle became visible. And the gods with
Gandharvas and the Charanas, and the great Rishis beholding their
prowess, said unto one another. These mighty car-warriors when excited
with rage, are incapable of ever being vanquished in battle by all the
worlds with the gods, the Asuras and the Gandharvas. This highly
wonderful battle would be wonderful in all the worlds. Indeed, a battle
such as this will never take place again. Bhishma is incapable of being
conquered in combat by Pritha's son of great intelligence, showering his
arrows in battle, with bow and car and steeds. So also that great bowman,
the son of Pandu, incapable of being vanquished in battle by the very
gods, Bhishma is not competent to conquer in combat. As long as the world
itself will last, so long will this battle continue equally. We heard
these words, O king, fraught with the praise of Ganga's son and Arjuna in
battle bruited about there. And while those two were engaged in
displaying their prowess, other warriors of your side and of the Pandavas,
O Bharata, slew one another in battle, with sharp-edged scimitars, and
polished battle-axes, and innumerable arrows, and diverse kinds of
weapons. And the brave combatants of both armies cut one another down,
while that terrible and murderous conflict lasted. And the encounter
also, O king, that took place between Drona and the prince of the
Panchalas, was awful."
--------------------END OF PARVA 6 : UPA-PARVA 52 ---------------------
