SECTION 22
"Sanjaya said, 'Many elephant-warriors riding on their beasts, urged by
thy son, proceeded against Dhrishtadyumna, filled with rage and desirous
of compassing his destruction. Many foremost of combatants skilled in
elephant-fight, belonging to the Easterners, the Southerners, the Angas,
the Vangas, the Pundras, the Magadhas, the Tamraliptakas, the Mekalas,
the Koshalas, the Madras, the Dasharnas, the Nishadas uniting with the
Kalingas, O Bharata, and showering shafts and lances and arrows like
pouring clouds, drenched the Pancala force therewith in that battle.
Prishata's son covered with his arrows and shafts those (foe-crushing)
elephants urged forward by their riders with heels and toes and hooks.
Each of those beasts that were huge as hills, the Pancala hero pierced
with ten, eight, or six whetted shafts, O Bharata. Beholding the prince
of the Pancalas shrouded by those elephants like the Sun by the clouds,
the Pandus and the Pancalas proceeded towards him (for his rescue)
uttering loud roars and armed with sharp weapons. Pouring their weapons
upon those elephants, those warriors began to dance the dance of heroes,
aided by the music of their bow-strings and the sound of their palms, and
urged by heroes beating the time. Then Nakula and Sahadeva, and the sons
of Draupadi, and the Prabhadrakas, and Satyaki, and Shikhandi, and
Chekitana endued with great energy,--all those heroes--drenched those
elephants from every side with their weapons, like the clouds drenching
the hills with their showers. Those furious elephants, urged on by
mleccha warriors dragging down with their trunks men and steeds and cars,
crushed them with their feet. And some they pierced with the points of
their tusks, and some they raised aloft and dashed down on the ground;
others taken aloft on the tusks of those huge beasts, fell down inspiring
spectators with fear. Then Satyaki, piercing the vitals of the elephant
belonging to the king of the Vangas staying before him, with a long shaft
endued with great impetuosity, caused it to fall down on the field of
battle. Then Satyaki pierced with another long shaft the chest of the
rider whom he could not hitherto touch, just as the latter was about to
jump from the back of his beast. Thus struck by Satwata, he fell down on
the Earth.
"'Meanwhile Sahadeva, with three shafts shot with great care, struck the
elephant of Pundra, as it advanced against him like a moving mountain,
depriving it of its standard and driver and armour and life. Having thus
cut off that elephant, Sahadeva proceeded against the chief of the Angas.
"'Nakula, however, causing Sahadeva to desist, himself afflicted the
ruler of the Angas with three long shafts, each resembling the rod of
Yama, and his foe's elephant with a hundred arrows. Then the ruler of the
Angas hurled at Nakula eight hundred lances bright as the rays of the
Sun. Each of these Nakula cut off into three fragments. The son of Pandu
then cut off the head of his antagonist with a crescent-shaped arrow. At
this that mleccha king, deprived of life, fell down with the animal he
rode. Upon the fall of the prince of the Angas who was well-skilled in
elephant-lore, the elephant-men of the Angas, filled with rage, proceeded
with speed against Nakula, on their elephants decked with banners that
waved in the air, possessing excellent mouths, adorned with housings of
gold, and looking like blazing mountains, from desire of crushing him to
pieces. And many Mekalas and Utkalas, and Kalingas, and Nishadas, and
Tamraliptakas, also advanced against Nakula, showering their shafts and
lances, desirous of slaying him. Then the Pandus, the Pancalas, and the
Somakas, filled with rage, rushed with speed for the rescue of Nakula
shrouded by those warriors like the Sun by the clouds. Then occurred a
fierce battle between those car-warriors and elephant-men, the former
showering their arrows and shafts the latter their lances by thousands.
The frontal globes and other limbs and the tusks and adornments of the
elephants, exceedingly pierced with shafts, were split and mangled. Then
Sahadeva, with four and sixty impetuous arrows, quickly slew eight of
those huge elephants which fell down with their riders. And Nakula also,
that delighter of his race, bending his excellent bow with great vigour,
with many straight shafts, slew many elephants. Then the Pancala prince,
and the grandson of Sini (Satyaki) and the sons of Draupadi and the
Prabhadrakas, and Shikhandi, drenched those huge elephants with showers
of shafts. Then in consequence of those rain-charged clouds constituted
by the Pandava warriors, those hills constituted by the elephants of the
foe, fell, struck down by torrents of rain formed by their numerous
shafts, like real mountains struck down with a thunder-storm. Those
leaders of the Pandava car-warriors then, thus slaying those elephants of
thine cast their eyes on the hostile army, which, as it fled away at that
time resembled a river whose continents had been washed away. Those
warriors of Pandu's son, having thus agitated that army of thine,
agitated it once more, and then rushed against Karna.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 8 : UPA-PARVA 22 ---------------------
