SECTION 20
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Thou didst mention to me before the name of Pandya,
that hero of world-wide celebrity, but his feats, O Sanjaya, in battle
have never been narrated by thee. Tell me today in detail of the prowess
of that great hero, his skill, spirit, and energy, the measure of his
might, and his pride.'
"Sanjaya said, 'Bhishma and Drona and Kripa and Drona's son and Karna and
Arjuna and Janardana, those thorough masters of the science of weapons,
are regarded by you as the foremost of car-warriors. Know, however, that
Pandya regarded himself superior to all these foremost of car-warriors in
energy. Indeed he never regarded any one amongst the kings as equal to
himself. He never admitted his equality with Karna and Bhishma. Nor did
he admit within his heart that he was inferior in any respect to Vasudeva
or Arjuna. Even such was Pandya, that foremost of kings, that first of
wielder of weapons. Filled with rage like the Destroyer himself, Pandya
at the time was slaughtering the army of Karna. That force, swelling with
cars and steeds and teeming with foremost of foot-soldiers, struck by
Pandya, began to turn round like the potter's wheel. Like the wind
dispersing a mass of congregated clouds, Pandya, with his well shot
arrows, began to disperse that force, destroying its steeds and drivers
and standards and cars and causing its weapons and elephants to fall
down. Like the splitter of mountains striking down mountains with his
thunder, Pandya overthrew elephants with their riders, having previously
cut down the standards and banners and weapons with which they were
armed, as also the foot-soldiers that protected those beasts. And he cut
down horses, and horsemen with their darts and lances and quivers.
Mangling with his shafts the Pulindas, the Khasas, the Bahlikas, the
Nishadas, the Andhakas, the Tanganas, the Southerners, and the Bhojas,
all of whom, endued with great courage, were unyielding and obstinate in
battle, and divesting them of their weapons and coats of mail, Pandya
deprived them of their lives. Beholding Pandya destroying with his shafts
in battle that host consisting of four kinds of forces, the son of Drona
fearlessly proceeded towards that fearless warrior. Fearlessly addressing
in sweet words that warrior who then seemed to dance on his car, Drona's
son, that foremost of smiters, smiling the while, summoned him and said,
"O king, O you with eyes like the petals of the lotus, your birth is
noble and learning great. Of celebrated might and prowess, thou
resemblest Indra himself. Stretching with your two massive arms the bow
held by you and whose large string is attached to your grasp, thou
lookest beautiful like a mass of congregated clouds as you pourest over
thy foes thick showers of impetuous shafts. I do not see anybody save
myself that can be a match for you in battle. Alone you crushest
numerous cars and elephants and foot-soldiers and steeds, like the
fearless lion of terrible might crushing herds of deer in the forest.
Making the welkin and the Earth resound with the loud clatter of thy
car-wheels you lookest resplendent, O king, like a crop-destroying
autumnal cloud of loud roars. Taking out of your quiver and shooting thy
keen shafts resembling snakes of virulent poison fight with myself only,
like (the asura) Andhaka fighting with the three-eyed deity." Thus
addressed, Pandya answered, "So be it." Then Drona's son, telling him
"Strike," assailed him with vigour. In return, Malayadhwaja pierced the
son of Drona with a barbed arrow. Then Drona's son, that best of
preceptors, smiling the while, struck Pandya with some fierce arrows,
capable of penetrating into the very vitals and resembling flames of
fire. Then Ashvatthama once more sped at his foe some other large arrows
equipped with keen points and capable of piercing the very vitals,
causing them to course through the welkin with the ten different kinds of
motion. Pandya, however, with nine shafts of his cut off all those arrows
of his antagonist. With four other shafts he afflicted the four steeds of
his foe, at which they speedily expired. Having then, with his sharp
shafts, cut off the arrows of Drona's son, Pandya then cut off the
stretched bow-string of Ashvatthama, endued with the splendour of the
sun. Then Drona's son, that slayer of foes, stringing his unstringed bow,
and seeing that his men had meanwhile speedily yoked other excellent
steeds unto his car, sped thousands of arrows (at his foe). By this, that
regenerate one filled the entire welkin and the ten points of the compass
with his arrows. Although knowing that those shafts of the high-souled
son of Drona employed in shooting were really inexhaustible, yet Pandya,
that bull among men, cut them all into pieces. The antagonist of
Ashvatthama, carefully cutting off all those shafts shot by the latter,
then slew with his own keen shafts the two protectors of the latter's car
wheels in that encounter. Beholding the lightness of hand displayed by
his foe, Drona's son, drawing his bow to a circle, began to shoot his
arrows like a mass of clouds pouring torrents of rain. During that space
of time, O sire, which consisted only of the eighth part of a day, the
son of Drona shot as many arrows as were carried on eight carts each
drawn by eight bullocks. Almost all those men that then beheld
Ashvatthama, who at the time looked like the Destroyer himself filled
with rage, or rather the Destroyer of the Destroyer, lost their senses.
Like a mass of clouds at the close of summer drenching with torrents of
rain, the Earth with her mountains and trees, the preceptor's son poured
on that hostile force his arrowy shower. Baffling with the Vayavya weapon
that unbearable shower of arrows shot by the Ashvatthama-cloud, the
Pandya-wind, filled with joy, uttered loud roars. Then Drona's son
cutting off the standard, smeared with sandal-paste and other perfumed
unguents and bearing the device of the Malaya mountain on it, of the
roaring Pandya, slew the four steeds of the latter. Slaying then his
foe's driver with a single shaft, and cutting off with a crescent-shaped
arrow the bow also of that warrior whose twang resembled the roar of the
clouds, Ashvatthama cut off his enemy's car into minute fragments.
Checking with the weapons those of his enemy, and cutting off all the
weapons of the latter, Drona's son, although he obtained the opportunity
to do his enemy the crowning evil, still slew him not, from desire of
battling with him for some time more. Meanwhile Karna rushed against the
large elephant force of the Pandavas and began to rout and destroy it.
Depriving car-warriors of their cars, he struck elephants and steeds and
human warriors, O Bharata, with innumerable straight shafts. That mighty
bowman, the son of Drona, although he had made Pandya, that slayer of
foes and foremost of car-warriors, carless, yet he did not slay him from
desire of fight. At that time a huge riderless elephant with large tusks,
well-equipped with all utensils of war, treading with speed, endued with
great might, quick to proceed against any enemy, struck with
Ashvatthama's shafts, advanced towards the direction of Pandya with great
impetuosity, roaring against a hostile compeer. Beholding that prince of
elephants, looking like a cloven mountain summit, Pandya, who was well
acquainted with the method of fighting from the neck of an elephant,
quickly ascended that beast like a lion springing with a loud roar to the
top of a mountain summit. Then that lord of the prince of mountains,
striking the elephant with the hook, and inspired with rage, and with
that cool care for which he was distinguished in hurling weapons with
great force, quickly sped a lance, bright as Surya's rays, at the
preceptor's son and uttered a loud shout. Repeatedly shouting in joy,
"Thou are slain, Thou are slain!" Pandya (with that lance) crushed to
pieces the diadem of Drona's son adorned with foremost of jewels and
diamonds of the first water and the very best kind of gold and excellent
cloth and strings of pearls. That diadem possessed of the splendour of
the Sun, the Moon, the planets, or the fire, in consequence of the
violence of the stroke, fell down, split into fragments, like a mountain
summit riven by Indra's thunder, falling down on the Earth with great
noise. At this, Ashvatthama blazed up with exceeding rage like a prince
of snakes struck with the foot, and took up four and ten shafts capable
of inflicting great pain upon foes and each resembling the Destroyer's
rod. With five of those shafts he cut off the four feet and the trunk of
his adversary's elephant, and with three the two arms and the head of the
king, and with six he slew the six mighty car-warriors, endued with great
effulgence, that followed king Pandya. Those long and well-rounded arms
of the king, smeared with excellent sandal-paste, and adorned with gold
and pearls and gems and diamonds falling upon the Earth, began to writhe
like a couple of snakes slain by Garuda. That head also, graced with a
face bright as the full Moon, having a prominent nose and a pair of large
eyes, red as copper with rage, adorned with earrings, falling on the
ground, looked resplendent like the Moon himself between two bright
constellations. The elephant, thus cut off by that skilful warrior into
six pieces with those five shafts and the king into four pieces with
those three shafts lay divided in all into ten pieces that looked like
the sacrificial butter distributed into ten portions intended for the ten
deities. Having cut off numerous steeds and men and elephants into pieces
and offered them as food into the Rakshasas, king Pandya was thus quieted
by Drona's son with his shafts like a blazing fire in a crematorium,
extinguished with water after it has received a libation in the shape of
a lifeless body. Then like the chief of the celestials joyfully
worshipping Vishnu after the subjugation of the Asura Vali, your son, the
king, accompanied by his brothers approaching the preceptor's son
worshipped with great respect that warrior who is a complete master of
the science of arms, after indeed, he had completed the task he had
undertaken."
--------------------END OF PARVA 8 : UPA-PARVA 20 ---------------------
