SECTION CVII
Sanjaya said, "Then your sire, excited with wrath, began to strike the
Parthas and their troops all round, with excellent shafts of great
sharpness. And he pierced Bhima with twelve shafts, and Satyaki with
nine. And having pierced Nakula with three shafts, he pierced Sahadeva
with seven. And he pierced Yudhishthira in the arms and the chest with
twelve shafts. And piercing Dhrishtadyumna also, that mighty warrior
uttered a loud roar. Him Nakula pierced (in return) with twelve shafts,
and Satyaki with three. And Dhrishtadyumna pierced him with seventy
shafts, and Bhimasena with seven. And Yudhishthira pierced the grandsire
in return with twelve shafts. Drona (on the other hand), having pierced
Satyaki, pierced Bhimasena next. And he pierced each of them with five
sharp shafts, each of which resembled the rod of Death. Each of those
two, however, pierced Drona, that bull among Brahmanas, in return, with
three straight shafts. The Sauviras, the Kitavas, the Easterners, the
Westerners, the Northerners, the Malavas, the Abhishahas, the Surasenas,
the Sivis, and the Vasatis, did not avoid Bhishma in battle although they
were incessantly slaughtered by him with sharp shafts. And similarly
kings coming from diverse countries and armed with diverse weapons,
approached the Pandavas (without seeking to avoid them in battle). And
the Pandavas, O king, surrounded the grandsire on all sides. Surrounded
on all sides, yet unvanquished by that large body of cars, Bhishma blazed
up like a fire in the midst of a forest, and consumed his foes. His car
was his fire-chamber; his bow constituted the (flames of that fire);
swords, darts, and maces, constituted the fuel; his shafts were the
sparks (of that fire); and Bhishma was himself the fire that consumed the
foremost of Kshatriyas. Indeed, with shafts furnished with golden wings
and vulturine feathers and endued with great energy, with barbed arrows,
and nalikas, and long shafts, he covered the hostile host. And he felled
elephants and car-warriors also with his sharp shafts. And he made that
large body of cars resemble a forest of palmyras shorn of their leafy
heads. And that mighty armed warrior, that foremost of all wielders of
weapons, O king, deprived cars and elephants and steeds of their riders
in that conflict. And hearing the twang of his bow-string and the noise
of his palms, loud as the roar of the thunder, all the troops trembled, O
Bharata. The shafts of your sire, O bull of Bharata's race, told on the
foe. Indeed, shot from Bhishma's bow they did not strike the coats of
mail only (but pierced them through). And we beheld, O king, many cars
destitute of their brave riders dragged over the field of battle, O
monarch, by the fleet steeds yoked unto them. Fourteen thousand
car-warriors, belonging to the Chedis, the Kasis, and the Karushas, of
great celebrity and noble parentage, prepared to lay down their lives,
unretreating from the field, and owning excellent standards decked with
gold, having met with Bhishma in battle who resembled the Destroyer
himself with wide-open mouth, all went to the other world along with
their cars, steeds, and elephants. And we beheld there, O king, cars by
hundreds and thousands, some with their axles and bottoms broken, and
some, O Bharata, with broken wheels. And the earth was strewn with cars
broken along with their wooden fences, with the prostrate forms of
car-warriors, with shafts, with beautiful but broken coats of mail, with
axes. O monarch; with maces and short arrows and sharp shafts, with
bottoms of cars, with quivers and broken wheels, O sire, with innumerable
bows and scimitars and heads decked with ear-rings; with leathern fences
and gloves and overthrown standards, and with bows broken in various
parts. And elephants, O king, destitute of riders, and slain horsemen (of
the Pandava army), lay dead. The valiant Pandavas notwithstanding all
their efforts, could not rally those car-warriors, who, afflicted by the
shafts of Bhishma, were flying away from the field. Indeed, O king, that
mighty host while being slaughtered by Bhishma endued with energy equal
to that of Indra himself, broke so completely that no two persons fled
together. With its cars, elephants, and steeds overthrown, and with its
standards laid low in profusion, the army of the sons of Pandu, deprived
of senses, uttered loud exclamations of woe. And at that time, sire slew
son, and son slew sire, and friend smote dear friend, impelled by fate.
And many combatants of the Pandavas army, throwing aside their armour,
were seen flying in all directions with dishevelled hair. Indeed, the
Pandava troops looked like bulls running wild in fear, and no longer
restrained by the yoke. Indeed, loud were the exclamations, we heard of
woe that they uttered.
"Then that delighter of the Yadavas, beholding the Pandava army breaking,
reined the excellent car (that he guided), and addressing Vibhatsu the
son of Pritha, said,--That hour is come, O Partha, which you had hoped
for. Strike now, O tiger among men, or you wilt be deprived of thy
senses. Formerly, O hero, you saidst, O Partha, in that conclave of
kings in Virata's city, in the presence also of Sanjaya, these words:--'I
will slay all the warriors of Dhritarashtra's son, all of them with their
followers, including, Bhishma and Drona, that would fight with me in
battle--O son of Kunti, O chastiser of foes, make those words of thine
true. Remembering the duty of a Kshatriya, fight, without any anxiety.'
Thus addressed by Vasudeva, Arjuna hung down his head and looked askance
at him. And Vibhatsu replied very unwillingly, saying, 'To acquire
sovereignty with hell in the end, having slain those who should not be
slain, or the woes of an exile in the woods,--(these are the
alternatives). Which of these should I achieve? Urge the steeds, O
Hrishikesa, I will do your bidding. I will overthrow the Kuru grandsire
Bhishma, that invincible warrior.'--Thus asked, Madhava urged those
steeds of a silvery hue, to the spot where Bhishma, incapable of being
looked at like the Sun himself, was staying. Then that large host of
Yudhishthira rallied and came again to the fight, beholding the
mighty-armed Partha proceeding for an encounter with Bhishma. Then
Bhishma that foremost one among the Kurus, repeatedly roared like a lion.
And he soon covered Dhananjaya's car with a shower of arrows. Within a
trice that car of his with its steeds and charioteer, became entirely
invisible in consequence of that thick shower of arrows. Vasudeva,
however, without fear, mustering patience, and endued with great
activity, urged those steeds mangled with Bhishma's shafts. Then Partha,
taking up his celestial bow of twang loud as the roar of the clouds,
caused Bhishma's bow to drop from his hands, cutting it (into fragments)
by means of his sharp shafts. Then your sire, the Kuru hero, whose bow had
thus been cut off, stringed another large bow within the twinkling of the
eye. Arjuna, however, excited with wrath, cut that bow also of his. The
son of Santanu applauded that lightness of hand displayed by Arjuna,
saying, 'Well done, Well done, O mighty-armed one. Well done, O son of
Kunti.'--Having addressed him thus, Bhishma took up another beautiful bow
in that battle, and shot many arrows at Partha's car. And Vasudeva showed
great skill in the management of steeds, for, displaying the circling
motion he baffled all those arrows (of Bhishma). Mangled with the arrows
of Bhishma, those two tigers among men looked beautiful like two angry
bulls marked with scratches of horns. Then that slayer of hostile heroes,
viz., the mighty-armed Vasudeva of Madhu's race beholding that Partha was
fighting mildly and that Bhishma was incessantly scattering his arrowy
showers in battle, and that stationed between the two hosts, he latter
was scorching everything like the Sun himself, smiting down the foremost
of Yudhishthira's combatants, and, in fact, achieving feat on
Yudhishthira's army like unto what happeneth at the end of the Yuga,
could not any longer bear it. Abandoning then, O sire, Partha's steeds
that looked like silver, and filled with wrath, that great lord of Yoga
powers jumped down from that great car. Repeatedly roaring like a lion,
the mighty Krishna of great energy and immeasurable splendour, the Lord
of Universe, with eyes red as copper from rage, and having his bare arms
alone for his weapons, rushed towards Bhishma, whip in hand, desirous of
slaying him and seeming to split the universe itself with his tread.
Beholding Madhava in the vicinity of Bhishma and about to fall upon him
in that furious battle, the hearts of all the combatants seemed to be in
a stupor. 'Bhishma is slain, Bhishma is slain.'--These loud exclamations
were heard there, O king, caused by the fear inspired by Vasudeva. Robed
in yellow silk, and himself dark as the lapis lazuli, Janarddana, when he
pursued Bhishma, looked beautiful as a mass of clouds charged with
lightning. Like a lion towards an elephant, or the leader of a bovine
herd upon another of his species, that bull of Madhu's race, with a loud
roar, impetuously rushed towards Bhishma. Beholding him of eyes like
lotus petals (thus) rushing towards him in that battle, Bhishma began to
fearlessly draw his large bow. And with a fearless heart he addressed
Govinda, saying, 'Come, come, O you of eyes like lotus petals. O God of
the gods, I bow to thee. O best of the Satwatas, throw me down today in
this great battle. O god, slain by you in battle, O sinless one, great
will be the good done to me, O Krishna, in every respect in the world.
Amongst all, in the three worlds, great is the honour done to me today in
battle, O Govinda. Strike me as you pleasest, for I am your slave, O
sinless one.' Meanwhile, the mighty-armed Partha. quickly following
Kesava behind, seized him by encircling him with his two arms. That best
of male beings, viz., Krishna, of eyes like lotus petals, seized by
Partha, still proceeded with great speed, bearing the latter away with
him. The mighty Partha, that slayer of hostile heroes, however, forcibly
catching hold of his legs, stopped Hrishikesa with great difficulty at
the tenth step. Then Arjuna his dear friend, filled with sorrow,
affectionately addressed Kesava, who was then sighing like a snake and
whose eyes were troubled in wrath, saying, 'O you of mighty arms, stop,
O Kesava, it behoveth you not to make those words false which you hadst
spoken before, viz., I will not fight. O Madhava, people will say that
thou are a liar. All this burden resteth upon me. I will slay the
grandsire. I swear, O Kesava, by my weapons, by truth, and my good deeds,
that, O slayer of foes, I will do all by which the destruction of my foes
may be achieved. Behold this very day that invincible and mighty
car-warrior in the act of being thrown down by me, with the greatest
ease, like the crescent moon at the end of the Yuga (when the destruction
of the universe comes). Madhava, however, hearing these words of the
high-souled Phalguni, spoke not a word, but in anger once more mounted
upon the car. And then upon those two tigers among men, when stationed on
their car, Bhishma the son of Santanu, once more poured his arrowy
showers like the clouds pouring rain upon the mountain-breast. Thy sire
Devavrata took the lives of the (hostile) warriors like the Sun sucking
with his rays the energies of all things during summer. As the Pandavas
had been breaking the ranks of the Kurus in battle, so your sire broke the
Pandava ranks in battle. And the routed soldiers, helpless and heartless,
slaughtered in hundreds and thousands by Bhishma, were unable to even
look at him in that battle,--him who resembled the mid-day Sun blazing in
his own splendour. Indeed, the Pandavas afflicted with fear, timidly
gazed at Bhishma who was then achieving super-human feats in that battle.
And the Pandava troops, thus fleeing away, O Bharata, failed to find a
protector, like a herd of kine sunk in a shoal of ants while being trod
down by a strong person. Indeed, the Pandavas could not, O Bharata, look
at that mighty car-warrior incapable of being shaken, who, furnished with
a profusion of shafts, was scorching the kings (in the Pandava army), and
who in consequence of those shafts looked like the blazing Sun shedding
his fiery rays. And while he was thus grinding the Pandava army, the
thousand-rayed maker of day repaired to the setting hills, and the
troops, worn with fatigue, set their hearts on withdrawal (from the
field)."
--------------------END OF PARVA 6 : UPA-PARVA 107 ---------------------
