SECTION LXII
Dhritarashtra said,--"I regard destiny to be superior to exertion, O
Sanjaya, inasmuch as the army of my son is continually slaughtered by the
army of the Pandavas. Thou always speakest, O suta, of my troops as being
slaughtered, and you always speakest of the Pandavas as both unslain and
cheerful. Indeed, O Sanjaya, you speakest of mine as deprived of
manliness, felled and falling, and slaughtered, although they are
battling to the best of their powers and striving hard for victory. Thou
always speakest to me of the Pandavas as obtaining victory and mine as
becoming weaker and weaker. O child, I am incessantly hearing of
countless cause of unbearable and poignant grief on account of
Duryodhana's doing. I do not see, O Sanjaya, the means by which the
Pandavas, may be weakened and sons of mine may obtain the victory in
battle.
Sanjaya said, "This mighty evil hath proceeded from thee, O king. Listen
now with patience to the great slaughter of men, elephants, steeds and
car-warriors. Dhrishtadyumna, afflicted by Salya with nine shafts,
afflicted in return the ruler of Madras with many shafts made of steel.
And then we beheld the prowess of Prishata's son to be highly wonderful
inasmuch as he speedily checked Salya that ornament of assemblies. The
battle between them lasted for only a short space of time. While angrily
engaged in combat, none beheld even a moment's rest taken by any of them.
Then, O king, Salya in that battle cut off Dhrishtadyumna's bow with a
broad-headed shaft of sharp edge and excellent temper. And he also
covered him, O Bharata, with a shower of arrows like rain charged clouds
pouring their drops on the mountain breast during the season of rains.
And while Dhrishtadyumna was being thus afflicted, Abhimanyu, excited
with wrath, rushed impetuously towards the car of the ruler of the
Madras. Then the wrathful son of Krishna, of immeasurable soul, obtaining
the car of the ruler of the Madras (within shooting distance), pierced
Artayani with three sharp shafts.[379] Then the warriors of your army, O
king, desirous of opposing the son of Arjuna in battle, speedily
surrounded the car of the ruler of Madras. And Duryodhana, and Vikarna,
and Dussasana, and Vivinsati and Durmarshana, and Dussala, and
Chitrasena, and Durmukha, and Satyabrata, blessed be thou, and Purumitra,
O Bharata,--these, protecting the car of the ruler of the Madras,
stationed themselves there. Then Bhimasena, excited with wrath, and
Dhrishtadyumna. of Prishata's race, and the five sons of Draupadi, and
Abhimanyu, and the twin sons of Madri and Pandu,--these ten opposed those
ten warriors of the Dhritarashtra army shooting, O king, diverse kinds of
weapons. And they approached and encountered one another in battle
desirous of slaying one another, in consequence, O king, of your wicked
policy. And when those ten car-warriors, excited with wrath, engaged with
the ten others in that awful battle, the other car-warriors of both thy
army and of the foe all stood as spectators. And those mighty
car-warriors, shooting diverse kinds of weapons and roaring at one
another, smote one another fiercely. With wrath engendered in their
breasts, desirous of slaying one another, they uttered fierce shouts,
challenging one another. And jealous of one another, O king, those
kinsfolk united together, encountered one another wrathfully, shooting
mighty weapons. And wonderful to say, Duryodhana, excited with rage,
pierced Dhrishtadyumna in that battle with four sharp shafts. And
Durmarshana pierced him with twenty, and Chitrasena with five, and
Durmukha with nine, and Dussaha with seven, and Vivinsati with five, and
Dussasana with three shafts. Then, O great king, that scorcher of foes,
viz., Prishata's son, pierced each of them in return with five and twenty
shafts, displaying his lightness of hand. And Abhimanyu, O Bharata,
pierced Satyavrata and Purumitra each with ten shafts. Then the son of
Madri, those delighters of their mother, covered their uncle with showers
of sharp arrows. And all this seemed wonderful. Then, O monarch, Salya
covered his nephews, those two foremost of car-warriors desirous of
counteracting their uncle's feats, with arrows, but the sons of Madri
wavered not. Then the mighty Bhimasena, the son of Pandu, beholding
Duryodhana and desirous of ending the strife, took up his mace. And
beholding the mighty-armed Bhimasena with upraised mace and looking like
the crested Kailasa mount, your sons fled away in terror. Duryodhana,
however, excited with wrath, urged the Magadha division consisting of ten
thousand elephants of great activity. Accompanied by that elephant
division and placing the ruler of Magadha before him, king Duryodhana
advanced towards Bhimasena. Beholding that elephant division advancing
towards him, Vrikodara, mace in hand, jumped down from his car, uttering
a loud roar like that of a lion. And armed with that mighty mace which
was endued with great weight and strength of adamant, he rushed towards
that elephant division, like the Destroyer himself with wide open mouth.
And the mighty-armed Bhimasena endued with great strength, slaying
elephants with his mace, wandered over the field, like the slayer of
Vritra among the Danava host. And with the loud shouts of the roaring
Bhima, shouts that made the mind and the heart to tremble with fear, the
elephants, crouching close, lost all power of motion. Then the sons of
Draupadi, and that mighty car-warrior, the son of Subhadra, and Nakula
and Sahadeva, and Dhrishtadyumna of Prishata's race, protecting Bhima's
rear, rushed behind him, checking all by scattering their arrowy showers
like the very clouds pouring rain on the mountain breast. And those
Pandava warriors struck off the heads of their foes battling from the
backs of elephants, with well-tempered and keen-edged shafts of diverse
forms.[380] And the heads (of elephant-riders), and arms decked with
ornaments, and hands with iron-hooks in grasp, falling fast, resembled a
stony shower. And the headless trunk of elephant-riders on the necks of
the beasts they rode, looked like headless trees on mountain summits. And
we beheld mighty elephants felled and falling, slain by Dhrishtadyumna,
the high-souled son of Prishata. Then the ruler of the Magadhas, in that
battle, urged his elephant resembling Airavata himself, towards the car
of Subhadra's son. Beholding that mighty elephant advancing towards him,
that slayer of hostile heroes, the brave son of Subhadra, slew it with a
single shaft. And when the ruler of the Magadhas was thus deprived of his
elephant, that conqueror of hostile cities viz., the son of Krishna, then
struck off that king's head with a broad-headed shaft with silver wings.
And Bhimasena, the son of Pandu, having penetrated that elephant
division, began to wander over the field, crushing those beasts around
him like Indra himself crushing the mountains. And we beheld elephants
slain in that battle by Bhimasena, each with only one stroke (of his
mace), like hills riven by thunder. And many elephants, huge as hills,
were slain there, having their tusks broken or temples, or bones, or
backs, or frontal globes. And others, O king, deprived of life, lay there
with foaming mouths. And many mighty elephants, with frontal globes
completely smashed, vomited large quantities of blood. And some, from
fear, laid themselves down on the ground like (so many) hillocks. And
smeared with the fat and blood (of elephants) and almost bathed in their
marrow, Bhima wandered over the field like the Destroyer himself, club in
hand. And Vrikodara, whirling that mace of his which was wet with the
blood of elephants, became terrible and awful to behold, like the wielder
of Pinaka armed with Pinaka.[381] And those huge tuskers, while (thus)
crushed by the angry Bhima, suddenly fled away, afflicted, crushing thy
own ranks. And these mighty bowmen and car-warriors, headed by Subhadra's
son (all the while) protected that battling hero whirling his gory
mace[382] wet with the blood of elephants, like the celestials protecting
the wielder of the thunder-bolt. Of terrible soul, Bhimasena then looked
like the Destroyer. himself. Indeed, O Bharata, putting forth his
strength on all sides, mace in arms, we beheld Bhimasena then to resemble
Sankara himself dancing (at the end of the Yuga), and his fierce, heavy,
and sounding mace to resemble the club of Yama and possessed of the sound
of Indra's bolt. And that gory mace of his, smeared with marrow and hair,
resembled (also) the angry Rudra's Pinaka while he is engaged in
destroying all creatures. As a herdsman chastises his herd of cattle with
a goad, so did Bhima smite that elephant division with that mace of his.
And while thus slaughtered by Bhima with his mace and with shafts (by
those that protected his rear), the elephants ran on all sides, crushing
the cars of your own army. Then driving away those elephants from the
field like a mighty wind driving away masses of clouds, Bhima stood there
like wielder of the trident on a crematorium."
--------------------END OF PARVA 6 : UPA-PARVA 62 ---------------------
