SECTION 13
"Sanjaya said, 'When king Yudhishthira the just was thus afflicted by the
ruler of Madras, Satyaki and Bhimasena and the two sons of Madri by
Pandu, encompassing Shalya with their cars, began to afflict him in that
battle. Beholding the unsupported Shalya thus afflicted by those great
car-warriors (and seeing him successfully repel those attacks), loud
sounds of applause were heard, and the Siddhas (who witnessed the
encounter) became filled with delight. The ascetics, assembled together
(for witnessing the battle), declared it to be wonderful. Then Bhimasena
in that encounter, having pierced Shalya who had become (as his name
implied) an irresistible dart in prowess, with one arrow, next pierced
him with seven. Satyaki, desirous of rescuing the son of Dharma, pierced
Shalya with a hundred arrows and uttered a loud leonine roar. Nakula
pierced him with five arrows, and Sahadeva with seven; the latter then
once more pierced him with as many. The heroic ruler of the Madras,
struggling carefully in that battle, thus afflicted by those mighty
car-warriors, drew a formidable bow capable of bearing a great strain and
of imparting great force to the shafts sped from it, and pierced Satyaki,
O sire, with five and twenty shafts and Bhima with three and seventy and
Nakula with seven. Then cutting off with a broad-headed arrow the bow,
with shaft fixed on the string of Sahadeva, he pierced Sahadeva himself,
in that battle, with three and seventy shafts. Sahadeva then, stringing
another bow, pierced his maternal uncle of great splendour with five
shafts that resembled snakes of virulent poison or blazing fire. Filled
with great rage, he then struck his adversary's driver with a straight
shaft in that battle and then Shalya himself once more with three. Then
Bhimasena pierced the ruler of the Madras with seventy arrows, and
Satyaki pierced him with nine, and king Yudhishthira with sixty. Thus
pierced, O monarch, by those mighty car-warriors, blood began to flow
from Shalya's body, like crimson streams, running down the breast of a
mountain of red chalk. Shalya, however, quickly pierced in return each of
those great bowmen with five arrows, O king, which feat seemed
exceedingly wonderful. With another broad-headed arrow, that mighty
car-warrior then, O sire, cut off the stringed bow of Dharma's son in
that encounter. Taking up another bow, that great car-warrior, the son of
Dharma, covered Shalya, his steeds, and driver, and standard, and car,
with many arrows. Thus shrouded in that battle by the son of Dharma with
his shafts, Shalya struck the former with ten keen arrows. Then Satyaki,
filled with rage upon beholding the son of Dharma thus afflicted with
shafts, checked the heroic ruler of the Madras with clouds of arrows. At
this, Shalya cut off with a razor-faced arrow the formidable bow of
Satyaki, and pierced each of the other Pandava warriors with three
arrows. Filled with rage, O monarch, Satyaki of unbaffled prowess then
hurled at Shalya a lance equipped with a golden staff and decked with
many jewels and gems. Bhimasena sped at him a cloth-yard shaft that
looked like a blazing snake; Nakula hurled at him a dart, Sahadeva an
excellent mace, and the son of Dharma a Sataghni impelled by the desire
of despatching him. The ruler of the Madras, however, quickly baffled in
that battle all those weapons, hurled from the arms of those five
warriors at him, as these coursed towards his car. With a number of
broad-headed arrows Shalya cut off the lance hurled by Satyaki. Possessed
of valour and great lightness of hand, he cut off into two fragments the
gold-decked shaft sped at him by Bhima. He then resisted with clouds of
shafts the terrible dart, equipped with a golden handle, that Nakula had
sped at him and the mace also that Sahadeva had thrown. With a couple of
other arrows, O Bharata, he cut off the Sataghni sped at him by the king,
in the very sight of the sons of Pandu, and uttered a loud leonine roar.
The grandson of Sini, however, could not endure the defeat of his weapon
in that battle. Insensate with rage, Satyaki took up another bow and
pierced the ruler of the Madras with two shafts and his driver with
three. At this, Shalya, O monarch, excited with rage, deeply pierced all
of them with ten arrows, like persons piercing mighty elephants with
sharp-pointed lances. Thus checked in that battle by the ruler of the
Madras, O Bharata, those slayers of foes became unable to stay in front
of Shalya. King Duryodhana, beholding the prowess of Shalya, regarded the
Pandavas, the Pancalas, and the Srinjayas as already slain. Then, O king,
the mighty-armed Bhimasena, possessed of great prowess and mentally
resolved to cast off his life-breaths, encountered the ruler of the
Madras. Nakula and Sahadeva and Satyaki of great might, encompassing
Shalya, shot their arrows at him from every side. Though encompassed by
those four great bowmen and mighty car-warriors among the Pandavas, the
valiant ruler of the Madras still fought with them. Then, O king, the
royal son of Dharma, in that dreadful battle, quickly cut off with a
razor-headed arrow one of the protectors of Shalya's car-wheels. When
that brave and mighty car-warrior, that protector of Shalya's car-wheel,
was thus slain, Shalya of great strength covered the Pandava troops with
showers of arrows. Beholding his troops shrouded with arrows, O monarch,
in that battle, king Yudhishthira the just began to reflect in this
strain, "Verily, how shall those grave words of Madhava become true? I
hope, the rider of the Madras, excited with rage, will not annihilate my
army in battle.' Then the Pandavas, O elder brother of Pandu
(Dhritarashtra), with cars and elephants and steeds, approached the ruler
of the Madras and began to afflict him from every side. Like the wind
dispersing mighty masses of clouds, the king of the Madras, in that
battle, dispersed that risen shower of arrows and diverse other kinds of
weapons in profusion. We then beheld the downpour of gold-winged arrows
shot by Shalya coursing through the welkin like a flight of locusts.
Indeed, those arrows shot by the ruler of the Madras from the van of
battle were seen to fall like swarms of birds. With the gold-decked
shafts that issued from the bow of the Madra king, the welkin, O monarch,
became so filled that there was not an inch of empty space. When a thick
gloom appeared, caused by the arrows shot by the mighty ruler of the
Madras owing to his extreme lightness of hands in that dreadful battle,
and when they beheld the vast host of the Pandavas thus agitated by that
hero, the gods and the Gandharvas became filled with great wonder.
Afflicting with vigour all the Pandava warriors with his shafts from
every side, O sire, Shalya shrouded king Yudhishthira the just and roared
repeatedly like a lion. The mighty car-warriors of the Pandavas, thus
shrouded by Shalya in that battle, became unable to proceed against that
great hero for fighting with him. Those, however, amongst the Pandavas,
that had Bhimasena at their head and that were led by king Yudhishthira
the just, did not fly away from that ornament of battle, the brave
Shalya.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 9 : UPA-PARVA 13 ---------------------
