SECTION LIV
Dhritarashtra said, "How did the ruler of the Kalingas, that commander of
a large division, urged by my son, and supported by his troops, fight in
battle with the mighty Bhimasena of wonderful feats, that hero wandering
over the field of battle with his mace like Death himself club in hand?"
Sanjaya said, "Thus urged by your son, O great king, the mighty king of
the Kalingas, accompanied by a large army advanced towards Bhima's car.
And Bhimasena, then, O Bharata, supported by the Chedis, rushed towards
that large and mighty army of the Kalingas, abounding with cars, steeds,
and elephants, and armed with mighty weapons, and advancing towards him
with Ketumat, the son of the king of the Nishadas. And Srutayus also,
excited with wrath, accoutred in mail, followed by his troops in
battle-array, and, accompanied by king Ketumat, came before Bhima in
battle. And the ruler of the Kalingas with many thousands of cars, and
Ketumat with ten thousand elephants and the Nishadas, surrounded
Bhimasena, O king, on all sides. Then the Chedis, the Matsyas, and
Karushas, with Bhimasena at their head, with many kings impetuously
rushed against the Nishadas. And then commenced the battle, fierce and
terrible, between the warriors rushing at one another from desire of
slaughter. And terrific was the battle that suddenly took place between
Bhima and his foes, resembling the battle, O great king, between Indra
and the mighty host of Diti's sons. And loud became the uproar, O
Bharata, of that mighty army struggling in battle, that resembled the
sound of the roaring ocean. And the combatants, O king, cutting one
another, made the whole field resemble a crematorium strewn with flesh
and blood. And combatants, impelled by the desire of slaughter could not
distinguish friend from foe. And those brave warriors, incapable of being
easily defeated in battle, even began to strike down their own friend.
And terrific was the collision that took place between the few and many,
between the Chedis (on the one side) and the Kalingas and the Nishadas, O
king, (on the other). Displaying their manliness to the best of their
power, the mighty Chedis, abandoning Bhimasena, turned back, and when the
Chedis ceased to follow him, the son of Pandu, encountering all the
Kalingas, did not turn back, depending upon the might of his own arms.
Indeed, the mighty Bhimasena moved not, but from the terrace of his car
covered the division of the Kalingas with showers of sharp arrows. Then
that mighty bowman, the king of the Kalingas, and that car-warrior, his
son known by the name of Sakradeva, both began to strike the son of Pandu
with their shafts. And the mighty-armed Bhima, shaking his beautiful bow,
and depending on the might of his own arms, fought with Kalinga, and
Sakradeva, shooting in that battle innumerable arrows, slew Bhimasena's
steeds with them. And beholding that chastiser of foes Bhimasena deprived
of his car, Sakradeva rushed at him, shooting sharp arrows. And upon
Bhimasena, O great king, the mighty Sakradeva showered arrowy downpours
like the clouds after summer is gone. But the mighty Bhimasena, staying
on his car whose steeds had been slain, hurled at Sakradeva a mace made
of the hardest iron. And slain by that mace, O king, the son of the ruler
of the Kalingas, from his car, fell down on the ground, with his standard
and charioteer. Then that mighty car-warrior, the king of the Kalingas
beholding his own son slain, surrounded Bhima on all sides with many
thousands of cars. Then the mighty-armed Bhima endued with great
strength, abandoning mace, took up a scimitar, desirous of achieving a
fierce feat. And that bull among men also took up, O king, crescents made
of gold. And the ruler of the Kalingas also, excited with wrath, and
rubbing his bowstring, and taking up a terrible arrow (deadly) as poison
of the snake, shot it at Bhimasena, desirous at that monarch was of
slaying (the Pandava). That sharp arrow, thus shot and coursing
impetuously, Bhimasena, O king, cut in twain with his huge sword. And
filled with delight he set up a loud shout, terrifying the troops. And
the ruler of the Kalingas, excited with rage in that combat with
Bhimasena, quickly hurled at him fourteen bearded darts whetted on stone.
The mighty-armed son of Pandu, however, with that best of scimitars,
fearlessly cut into fragments in a trice, O king, those darts while
coursing through the welkin and before they could reach him. And having
in that battle (thus) cut off those fourteen darts Bhima, that bull among
men, beholding Bhanumat, rushed at him. Bhanumat then covered Bhima with
a shower of arrows, and set up a loud shout, making the welkin resound
with it. Bhima, however, in that fierce battle, could not bear that
leonine shout. Himself endued with a loud voice, he also shouted very
loudly. And at these shouts of his, the army of the Kalingas became
filled with fear. In that battle they no longer regarded Bhima, O bull
among men, as a human being. Then, O great king, having uttered a loud
shout, Bhima, sword in hand impetuously jumping on (Bhanumat's) excellent
elephant aided by the latter's tusks, gained, O sire, the back of that
prince of tuskers, and with his huge sword cut Bhanumat, dividing him in
the middle. That chastiser of foes, then, having (thus) slain in battle
the prince of the Kalingas, next[363] made his sword which was capable of
bearing a great strain, to descend upon the neck of that elephant. His
head cut off, that prince of elephants fell down with a loud roar, like a
crested mountain (whose base is) eaten away by the impetuous (surges of
the) sea. And jumping down, O Bharata, from that failing elephant, the
prince of Bharata's race, of undepressed soul, stood on the ground, sword
in hand and accoutred in mail (as before). And felling numerous elephants
on all sides, he wandered (over the field), making many paths (for
himself). And then he seemed to be like a moving wheel of fire
slaughtering whole divisions of cavalry, of elephants, and cars, and
large bodies of infantry. And that lord among men, the mighty Bhima, was
seen to move over the field with the activity of the hawk, quickly
cutting off in that battle, with his sharp-edged sword, their bodies and
heads, as also those of the combatants on elephant. And combatant on
foot, excited with rage, all alone, and like Yama at the season of
universal dissolution, he struck terror into his foes and confounded
those brave warriors. Only they that were senseless rushed with loud
shouts at him wandering in that great battle with impetuosity, sword in
hand. And that grinder of foes, endued with great strength, cutting off
the shafts and yokes of warriors on their cars, slew those warriors also.
And Bhimasena was seen, O Bharata, to display diverse kinds of motions
there. He wheeled about, and whirled about on high, and, made
side-thrusts, and jumped forward, and ran above, and leapt high. And, O
Bharata, he was also seen to rush forward and rush upward. And some
mangled by the high-souled son of Pandu by means of his excellent sword,
shrieked aloud, struck at their vitals or fell down deprived of life. And
many elephants, O Bharata, some with trunks and the extremities of their
tusks cut off, and others having their temporal globes cut open, deprived
of riders, slew their own ranks and fell down uttering loud cries. And
broken lances, O king, and the head of elephant drivers, and beautiful
housings of elephants, and chords resplendent with gold, and collars, and
darts and mallets and quivers, diverse kinds of machines, and beautiful
bows, short arrows with polished heads, with hooks and iron crows for
guiding elephants, bells of diverse shape, and hilts decked with gold,
were seen by us falling down or (already) fallen along with riders of
steeds. And with elephants (lying down) having the fore parts and hind
parts of their bodies and their trunks cut off, or entirely slain, the
field seemed to be strewn with fallen cliffs. That bull among men, having
thus crushed the huge elephants, next crushed the steeds also. And, O
Bharata, that hero also felled the foremost of cavalry soldiers. And the
battle, O sire, that took place between him and them was fierce in the
extreme. And hilts and traces, and saddle girths resplendent with gold,
and covers for the back of steeds, and bearded darts, and costly swords,
and coats of mail, and shields, and beautiful ornaments, were seen by us
strewn over the ground in that great battle. And he caused the earth to
be strewn over (with blood) as if it were variegated with lilies. And the
mighty son of Pandu, jumping high and dragging some car-warriors down
with his sword felled them along with (their) standards. Frequently
jumping up or rushing on all sides, that hero endued with great activity,
wandering along many routes, caused the combatants to be amazed. And some
he slew by his legs, and dragging down others he pressed them down under
the earth. And others he cut off with his sword, and others he frightened
with his roars. And others he threw down on the ground by the force of
his thighs (as he ran). And others, beholding him, fled away in terror.
It was thus that that vast force of the Kalingas endued with great
activity, surrounding the terrible Bhimasena in battle, rushed at him.
Then, O bull of Bharata's race, beholding Srutayush at the head of
Kalinga troops, Bhimasena rushed at him. And seeing him advancing the
ruler of the Kalingas, of immeasurable soul, pierced Bhimasena between
his breasts with nine arrows. Struck with those shafts shot by the ruler
of the Kalingas, like an elephant pierced with the hook, Bhimasena blazed
up with wrath like fire fed with fuel. Then Asoka, that best of
charioteers, bringing a car decked with gold, caused Bhima to mount on
it. And thereupon that slayer of foes, the son of Kunti, speedily mounted
on that car. And then he rushed at the ruler of the Kalingas,
saying,--'Wait, Wait'. And then the mighty Srutayush excited with wrath,
shot at Bhima many sharp arrows, displaying his lightness of hand, and
that mighty warrior, Bhima, forcibly struck with those nine sharp arrows
shot by Kalinga from his excellent bow, yielded to great wrath, O king,
like a snake struck with a rod. Then that foremost of mighty men, Bhima,
the son of Pritha, excited with rage and drawing his bow with great
strength, slew the ruler of the Kalingas with seven shafts made wholly of
iron. And with two shafts he slew the two mighty protectors of the
car-wheels of Kalinga. And he also despatched Satyadeva and Satya to the
abode of Yama. Of immeasurable soul, Bhima also, with many sharp arrows
and long shafts, caused Ketumat to repair unto Yama's abode. Then the
Kshatriyas of the Kalinga country, excited with rage and supported by
many thousands of combatants, encountered the wrathful Bhimasena in
battle. And armed with darts and maces and scimitars and lances and
swords and battle-axes, the Kalingas, O king, hundreds upon hundreds
surrounded Bhimasena. Baffling that risen shower of arrows, that mighty
warrior then took up his mace and jumped down (from his car) with great
speed.[364] And Bhima then despatched seven hundred heroes to Yama's
abode. And that grinder of foes despatched, in addition, two thousand
Kalingas to the region of death. And that feat seemed highly wonderful.
And it was thus that the heroic Bhima of terrible prowess repeatedly
felled in battle large bands of the Kalingas. And elephants deprived by
Pandu's son, in that battle, of their riders, and afflicted with arrows
wandered on the field, treading down their own ranks and uttering loud
roars like masses of clouds driven by the wind. Then the mighty-armed
Bhima, scimitar in hand, and filled with delight, blew his conch of
terrible loudness. And with that blare he caused the hearts of all the
Kalinga troops to quake with fear. And, O chastiser of foes, all the
Kalingas seemed at the same time to be deprived of their senses. And all
the combatants and all the animals shook with terror. And in consequence
of Bhimasena wandering in that battle through many paths or rushing on
all sides like a prince of elephants, or frequently jumping up, a trance
seemed to be engendered there that deprived his foes of their senses. And
the whole (Kalinga) army shook with terror of Bhimasena, like a large
lake agitated by an alligator. And struck with panic in consequence of
Bhima of wonderful achievements, all the Kalinga combatants fled away in
all directions. When, however, they were rallied again, the commander of
the Pandava army (Dhrishtadyumna), O Bharata, ordered his own troops,
saying,--'Fight'. Hearing the words of their commander, many leaders (of
the Pandava army) headed by Sikhandin approached Bhima, supported by many
car-divisions accomplished in smiting. And Pandu's son, king Yudhishthira
the just, followed all of them with a large elephant force of the colour
of the clouds. And thus urging all his divisions, the son of Prishata,
surrounded by many excellent warriors, took upon himself the protection
of one of the wings of Bhimasena.[365] There exists nobody on earth, save
Bhima and Satyaki, who to the prince of the Panchalas is dearer than his
very life. That slayer of hostile heroes, the son of Prishata, beheld the
mighty-armed Bhimasena, that slayer of foes, wandering among the
Kalingas. He set up many shouts, O king, and was filled with delight, O
chastiser of foes. Indeed, he blew his conch in battle and uttered a
leonine roar. And Bhimasena also, beholding the red standard of
Dhrishtadyumna on his car decked with gold and unto which were yoked
steeds white as pigeons, became comforted.[366] And Dhrishtadyumna of
immeasurable soul, beholding Bhimasena encountered by the Kalingas rushed
to the battle for his rescue. And both those heroes. Dhrishtadyumna and
Vrikodara, endued with great energy, beholding Satyaki at a distance,
furiously encountered the Kalingas in battle. And that bull among men,
the grand son of Sini, that foremost of victorious warriors, quickly
advancing to the spot took up the wing of both Bhima and Prishata's son.
Bow in hand creating a great havoc there and making himself fierce in the
extreme, he began to slay the enemy in battle. And Bhima caused a river
to flow there of bloody current, mingled with the blood and flesh of the
warriors born in Kalinga. And beholding Bhimasena then, the troops cried
aloud, O king, saying. 'This is Death himself that is fighting in Bhima's
shape with the Kalingas.' Then Santanu's son Bhishma, hearing those cries
in battle, quickly proceeded towards Bhima, himself surrounded on all
sides with combatants in army. Thereupon, Satyaki and Bhimasena and
Dhrishtadyumna of Prishata's race, rushed towards that car of Bhima
decked with gold. And all of them quickly surrounding Ganga's son in
battle, pierced Bhishma, each with three terrible shafts, without losing
a moment. Thy sire Devavrata, however, in return pierced each of those
mighty bowmen striving (in battle) with three straight shafts. And
checking those mighty car-warriors, with thousands of arrows he Slew with
his shafts the steeds of Bhima decked with golden armour. Bhima, however,
endued with great energy, staying on that car whose steeds had been
slain, with great impetuosity hurled a dart at Bhishma's car. Thy sire
Devavrata then, in that battle, cut off that dart in twain before it
could reach him, and thereupon it fell down on the earth. Then that bull
among men, Bhimasena, taking up a heavy and mighty mace made of Saikya
iron speedily jumped down from his car. And Dhrishtadyumna quickly taking
up that foremost of car-warriors on his own car, took away, in the very
sight of all the combatants, that renowned warrior. And Satyaki then from
desire of doing what was agreeable to Bhima, felled with his shaft the
charioteer of the reverend Kuru grand-sire. Upon his charioteer being
slain, that foremost of car-warriors, Bhishma, was borne away from the
field of battle by his steeds with the speed of the wind. And when that
mighty car-warrior was (thus) taken away from the field, Bhimasena then,
O monarch, blazed up like a mighty fire while consuming dry grass. And
slaying all the Kalingas, he stayed in the midst of the troops, and none,
O bull of Bharata's race, of your side ventured to withstand him. And
worshipped by the Panchalas and the Matsyas, O bull of Bharata's race, he
embraced Dhrishtadyumna and then approached Satyaki. And Satyaki, the
tiger among the Yadus, of prowess incapable of being baffled, then
gladdening Bhimasena, said unto him, in the presence of Dhrishtadyumna,
(these words). 'By good luck the king of the Kalingas, and Ketumat, the
prince of the Kalingas, and Sakradeva also of that country and all the
Kalingas, have been slain in battle. With the might and prowess of thy
arms, by you alone, hath been crushed the very large division of the
Kalingas that abounded with elephants and steeds and cars, and with noble
warriors, and heroic combatants.' Having said this, the long-armed
grandson of Sini, that chastiser of foes, quickly getting upon his car,
embraced the son of Pandu. And then that mighty car-warrior, coming back
to his own car, began to slay your troops excited with rage and
strengthening (the hands of) Bhima.
--------------------END OF PARVA 6 : UPA-PARVA 54 ---------------------
