The Sanskrit Epics, page 553
SECTION 16
“DHRITARASHTRA SAID, ‘DESCRIBE to me the battle of Arjuna with the samsaptakas, and of the other kings with the Pandavas. Narrate to me also, O Sanjaya, the battle of Arjuna with Ashvatthama, and of the other lords of the Earth with Partha.’
“Sanjaya said, ‘Listen, O king, as I speak to thee as to how occurred the battle of the heroic warriors (on our side) with the foe — the battle which was destructive of bodies, sins, and lives. That slayer of foes, viz, Partha, penetrating into the Samsaptaka force that resembled the ocean, agitated it exceedingly, like a tempest agitating the vast deep. Cutting off with broad-headed arrows of keen edges the heads of brave warriors that were decked with faces possessed of the splendour of the full moon and with beautiful eyes and eyebrows and teeth, Dhananjaya speedily caused the Earth to be strewn there as if with lotuses, plucked of their stalks. And in that battle Arjuna with his razor-headed shafts, cut off the arms of his foes, that were all well rounded, large and massive, and smeared with sandal-paste and other perfumes, with weapons in grasp, with leathern gloves casing their fingers, and looking like five-headed snakes. And the son of Pandu repeatedly cut off with his broad-headed shafts, steeds, riders, drivers, and flags, and bows and arrows, and arms decked with gems. And Arjuna in that battle, O king, with many thousands of arrows, despatched to Yama’s abode, car-warriors and elephants and horses and horsemen. Many foremost of warriors, filled with rage and roaring like bulls mad (like them) with excitement for a cow in season, rushed towards Arjuna, with loud cries. All of them then began to strike Arjuna with their arrows as the latter was employed in slaying them, like infuriate bulls striking one of their species with their horns. The battle that took place between him and them made the hair to stand on end, even like the battle between the Daityas and the wielder of the thunderbolt on the occasion of the conquest of the three worlds. Resisting with his own weapons the weapons of his foes on all sides, Arjuna, piercing them fast with innumerable arrows, took their lives. Like the wind destroying vast masses of clouds, Arjuna, otherwise called Jaya, that enhancer of the fears of his foes, cutting off into minute fragments large throngs of cars, — cars, that is, whose poles, wheels, and axles had previously been shattered by him, and whose warriors and steeds and drivers had been slain before, and whose weapons and quivers had been displaced, and standards crushed, and traces and reins sundered, and wooden fences and shafts broken already, and filling every body with wonder, achieved feats magnificent to behold and rivalling those of a 1,000 great car-warriors fighting together. Crowds of Siddhas and celestial Rishis and Charanas all applauded him. And celestial kettle-drums sounded, and floral showers fell upon the heads of Keshava and Arjuna. And an incorporeal voice said, “These viz., Keshava and Arjuna, are those two heroes that always possess the beauty of the moon, the splendour of fire, the force of the wind and the radiance of the sun. Stationed on the same car these two heroes are invincible even like Brahman and Isana. These two heroes the foremost of all creatures are Nara and Narayana.” Hearing and beholding these wonderful things, O Bharata, Ashvatthama, with great care and resolution, rushed against Krishna and Arjuna in that battle. With his arm that held an arrow in its grasp, the son of Drona hailed the Pandava, shooting shafts equipped with foe-slaying heads, and smilingly told him these words, “If, O hero, thou regardest me a worthy guest arrived (before thee), then give me today, with the whole heart, the hospitality of battle.” Thus summoned by the preceptor’s son from desire of battle, Arjuna regarded himself highly honoured, and addressing Janardana said, “The samsaptakas should be slain by me, but Drona’s son again is summoning me. Tell me, O Madhava, to which of these duties should I first turn? First let the services of hospitality be offered, if thou thinkest that to be proper.” Thus addressed, Krishna bore Partha who had been summoned according to the rules of triumphant challenge to the vicinity of Drona’s son, like Vayu bearing Indra to the sacrifice. Saluting Drona’s son whose mind was fixed upon one thing, Keshava said unto him, “O Ashvatthama, be cool, and without losing a moment strike and bear. The time has come for those that are dependent on others to repay their obligation to their masters. The disputes between Brahmanas are subtle. The consequences, however, of the disputes of Kshatriyas are palpable, being either victory or defeat. For obtaining those excellent rites of hospitality that from folly thou solicitest at the hands of Partha, fight coolly now with the son of Pandu.” Thus addressed by Vasudeva, that foremost of regenerate ones, replied saying, “So be it!” pierced Keshava with sixty shafts and Arjuna with three. Arjuna then, filled with rage, cut off Ashvatthama’s bow with three shafts. Drona’s son took up another bow that was still more formidable. Stringing it within the twinkling of an eye, he pierced Arjuna and Keshava, the latter with three hundred arrows, and the former with a 1,000. And then Drona’s son, with good care, stupefying Arjuna in that battle, shot thousands and tens of thousands and millions of arrows. From the quivers, the bow, the bow-string, the fingers, the arms, the hands, the chest, the face, the nose, the eyes, the ears, the heads, the limbs, the pores of the body, the armour on his person, the car, and the standard, O sire, of that utterer of Brahma, arrows began to issue. Piercing Madhava and the son of Pandu with the thick arrowy shower, Drona’s son filled with joy, roared aloud like a vast mass of congregated clouds. Hearing that roar of his, the son of Pandu said unto Keshava of unfading glory these words “Behold, O Madhava, this wickedness towards me of the preceptor’s son. He regardeth us to be slain, having shrouded us with his dense arrowy shower. I will presently, however, by my training and might, baffle his purpose.” Cutting off every one of those arrows shot by Ashvatthama into three fragments, that foremost one of Bharata’s race destroyed them all like the Sun destroying a thick fog. After this the son of Pandu once more pierced with his fierce shafts, the samsaptakas with their steeds, drivers, cars, elephants, standards and foot-soldiers. Every one of those that stood there as spectators, every one of those that were stationed there on foot or car or steed or elephant, regarded himself as shrouded by the arrows of Arjuna. Shot from Gandiva, those winged arrows of diverse forms slew in that battle elephants and steeds and men whether stationed in his immediate front or at the distance of two miles. The trunks, cut off with broad-headed shafts, of elephants, down whose cheeks and other limbs flowed the juice indicative of excitement, fell down like tall trees in the forest struck down with the axe. A little after down fell elephants, huge as hillocks, with their riders, like mountains crushed by Indra with his thunder. With his shafts cutting into minute portions well-equipped cars that looked like dissolving edifices of vapour in the evening sky and unto which were yoked well-trained steeds of great speed and which were ridden by warriors invincible in battle, the son of Pandu continued to shower his arrows on his enemies. And Dhananjaya continued to slay well-decked horsemen and foot-soldiers of the foe. Indeed, Dhananjaya, resembling the very Sun as he rises at the end of the Yuga, dried up the samsaptaka ocean incapable of being dried up easily, by means of keen arrows constituting his rays. Without losing a moment, the son of Pandu once more pierced Drona’s son resembling a huge hill, with shafts of great impetuosity and the splendour of the Sun, like the wielder of the thunderbolt piercing a mountain with the thunder. Desirous of battle, the preceptor’s son then, filled with rage, approached Arjuna for piercing him and his steeds and drivers by means of his swiftly coursing shafts. Arjuna, however, quickly cut off the shafts shot at him by Ashvatthama. The son of Pandu then filled with great wrath, proffered unto Ashvatthama, that desirable guest, quivers upon quivers of arrows, like a charitable person offering everything in his house unto a guest. Leaving the samsaptakas then the son of Pandu rushed towards Drona’s son like a donor abandoning unworthy guests, for proceeding towards one that is worthy.’”
SECTION 17
“SANJAYA SAID, ‘THEN occurred that battle between Arjuna and Ashvatthama resembling the planets Shukra and Brihaspati in splendour, like the battle between Shukra and Brihaspati in the firmament for entering the same constellation. Afflicting each other with blazing shafts that constituted their rays, those terrifiers of the world stood like two planets both deviating from their orbits. Then Arjuna deeply pierced Ashvatthama with a shaft in the midst of his eyebrows. With that shaft the son of Drona looked resplendent like the Sun with upward rays. The two Krishnas (Nara and Narayana), also deeply afflicted by Ashvatthama with hundreds of arrows, looked like two Suns at the end of the Yuga, resplendent with their own rays. Then when Vasudeva seemed to be stupefied, Arjuna shot a weapon from which issued torrents of shafts on all sides. And he struck the son of Drona with innumerable shafts, each resembling the thunder or fire or the sceptre of Death. Endued with mighty energy, that achiever of fierce feats, (Ashvatthama) then pierced both Keshava and Arjuna with well-shot shafts which were inspired with great impetuosity and struck with which Death himself would feel pain. Checking the shafts of Drona’s son, Arjuna covered him with twice as many arrows equipped with goodly wings, and shrouding that foremost of heroes and his steeds and driver and standard, began to strike the samsaptakas. With his well-shot shafts Partha began to cut off the bows and quivers and bowstrings and hands and arms and tightly grasped weapons and umbrellas and standards and steeds and car shafts and robes and floral garlands and ornaments and coats of mail and handsome shields and beautiful heads, in large numbers, of his unretreating foes. Well-equipped cars and steeds and elephants, ridden by heroes fighting with great care, were destroyed by the hundreds of shafts sped by Partha and fell down along with the heroes that rode on them. Cut off with broad-headed and crescent-shaped and razor-faced arrows, human heads, resembling the lotus, the Sun, or the full Moon in beauty and resplendent with diadems and necklaces and crowns, dropped ceaselessly on the earth. Then the Kalinga, the Vanga, and the Nishada heroes, riding on elephants, that resembled in splendour the elephant of the great foe of the Daityas, rushed with speed against the queller of the pride of the Danavas, the son of Pandu, from desire of slaying him. Partha cut off the vital limbs, the trunks, the riders, the standards, and the banners of those elephants, upon which those beasts fell down like mountain summits riven with thunder. When that elephant force was broken, the diadem-decked Arjuna shrouded the son of his preceptor with shafts endued with the splendour of the newly risen Sun, like the wind shrouding the risen Sun with masses of congregated clouds. Checking with his own shafts those of Arjuna, Drona’s son shrouding both Arjuna and Vasudeva with his arrows, gave a loud roar, like a mass of clouds at the close of summer after shrouding the Sun or the Moon in the firmament. Deeply afflicted with those arrows, Arjuna, aiming his weapons at Ashvatthama and at those followers of his belonging to the army, speedily dispelled that darkness caused by Ashvatthama’s arrows, and pierced all of them with shafts equipped with goodly wings. In that battle none could see when Savyasaci took up his shafts, when he aimed them, and when he let them off. All that could be seen was that elephants and steeds and foot-soldiers and car-warriors, struck with his arrows, fell down deprived of life. Then Drona’s son without losing a moment, aiming ten foremost of arrows, sped them quickly as if they formed only one arrow. Shot with great force, five of these pierced Arjuna and the other five pierced Vasudeva. Struck with those arrows, those two foremost of men, like Kuvera and Indra, became bathed in blood. Thus afflicted, all the people there regarded those two heroes as slain by Ashvatthama the warrior who had completely mastered the science of arms. Then the chief of the Dasharhas addressed Arjuna and said, “Why errest thou in thus sparing Ashvatthama? Slay this warrior. If treated with indifference, even this one will be the cause of great woe, like a disease not sought to be put down by treatment.” Replying unto Keshava of unfading glory with the words “So be it!” Arjuna of unclouded understanding began with good care to mangle the son of Drona with his shafts. Now the son of Pandu, filled with rage, quickly pierced the massive arms, smeared with sandal-paste, and the chest, the head, and the unrivalled thighs of his antagonist with shafts equipped with heads like goats’ ears, and shot with great force from Gandiva. Then cutting off the traces of Ashvatthama’s steeds, Arjuna began to pierce the steeds themselves, whereat the latter bore Ashvatthama away to a great distance from the field. Thus borne away by these steeds endued with the speed of the wind, the intelligent son of Drona, deeply afflicted with the shafts of Partha, reflecting for some time, wished not to go back and renew the fight with Partha. Knowing that victory is ever with the chief of the Vrishnis and with Dhananjaya, that foremost one of Angirasa’s race, endued with great activity, entered the army of Karna, deprived of hope and with shafts and weapons almost exhausted. Indeed, Drona’s son, restraining his steeds, and having comforted himself a little, O sire, entered the force of Karna, teeming with cars and steeds and men. After Ashvatthama, that enemy of theirs, had been thus removed from the field by his steeds like a disease removed from the body by incantations and medicines and means, Keshava and Arjuna proceeded towards the samsaptakas, on their car whose rattle resembled the roar of the clouds and whose banner waved on the wind.’”
SECTION 18
“SANJAYA SAID, ‘MEANWHILE towards the northern part of the Pandava army, a loud uproar arose of cars and elephants and steeds and foot-soldiers as those were being massacred by Dandadhara. Turning the course of the car, but without stopping the steeds which were as fleet as Garuda or the wind, Keshava, addressing Arjuna, said, “The chief of the Magadhas, with his (foe-crushing) elephant is unrivalled in prowess. In training and might he is not inferior to Bhagadatta himself. Having slain him first, thou wilt then slay the samsaptakas.” At the conclusion of his words, Keshava bore Partha to the presence of Dandadhara. The chief of the Magadhas, peerless in handling the elephant-hook even as the headless planet Ketu (is peerless) among all the planets, was destroying the hostile army like a fierce comet destroying the whole earth. Riding on his foe-slaying and well-equipped elephant which looked like the danava with elephantine face and form, and whose roar resembled that of a congregated mass of clouds, Dandadhara was destroying with his shafts thousands of cars and steeds and elephants and men. The elephants also, treading upon cars with their feet, pressed down into the Earth a large number of men with their steeds and drivers. Many were the elephants, also, which that foremost of elephants, crushed and slew with his two forefeet and trunk. Indeed, the beast moved like the wheel of Death. Slaying men adorned with steel coats of mail, along with their horses and foot-soldiers, the chief of the Magadhas caused these to be pressed down into the earth, like thick reeds pressed down with crackling sounds, by means of that mighty and foremost of elephants belonging to him. Then Arjuna, riding on that foremost of cars, rushed quickly towards that prince of elephants in the midst of that host teeming with thousands of cars and steeds and elephants, and resounding with the beat and blare of innumerable cymbals and drums and conchs and uproarious with the clatter of car-wheels, the twang of bow-strings, and the sound of palms. Even Dandadhara pierced Arjuna with a dozen foremost of shafts and Janardana with sixteen and each of the steeds with three, and then uttered a loud shout and laughed repeatedly. Then Partha, with a number of broad-headed shafts, cut off the bow of his antagonist with its string and arrow fixed thereon, as also his well-decked standard, and then the guides of his beast and the footmen that protected the animal. At this, the lord of Girivraja became filled with rage. Desirous of agitating Janardana with that tusker of his, whose temples had split from excitement, and which resembled a mass of clouds and was endued with the speed of the wind, Dandadhara struck Dhananjaya with many lances. The son of Pandu then, with three razor-headed arrows, cut off, almost at the same instant of time, the two arms each looking like the trunk of an elephant, and then the head, resembling the full Moon, of his foe. Then Arjuna struck the elephant of this antagonist with hundreds of arrows. Covered with the gold-decked arrows of Partha, that elephant equipped with golden armour looked as resplendent as a mountain in the night with its herbs and trees blazing in a conflagration. Afflicted with the pain and roaring like a mass of clouds, and exceedingly weakened, the elephant crying and wandering and running with tottering steps, fell down with the guide on its neck, like a mountain summit riven by thunder. Upon the fall of his brother in battle, Danda advanced against Indra’s younger brother and Dhananjaya, desirous of slaying them, on his tusker white as snow and adorned with gold and looking like a Himalayan summit. Danda struck Janardana with three whetted lances bright as the rays of the sun, and Arjuna with five, and uttered a loud shout. The son of Pandu then uttering a loud shout cut off the two arms of Danda. Cut off by means of razor-headed shafts, those two arms, smeared with sandal-paste, adorned with angadas, and with lances in grasp, as they fell from the elephant’s back at the same instant of time, looked resplendent like a couple of large snakes of great beauty falling down from a mountain summit. Cut off with a crescent-shaped arrow by the diadem-decked (Partha), the head also of Danda fell down on the Earth from the elephant’s back, and covered with blood it looked resplendent as it lay like the sun dropped from the Asta mountain towards the western quarter. Then Partha pierced with many excellent arrows bright as the rays of the sun that elephant of his foe, resembling a mass of white clouds whereupon it fell down with a noise like a Himalayan summit riven with thunder. Then other huge elephants capable of winning victory and resembling the two already slain, were cut off by Savyasaci, in that battle, even as the two (belonging to Danda and Dandadhara) had been cut off. At this the vast hostile force broke. Then elephants and cars and steeds and men, in dense throngs, clashed against one another and fell down on the field. Tottering, they violently struck one another and fell down deprived of life. Then his soldiers, encompassing Arjuna like the celestials encompassing Purandara, began to say, “O hero, that foe of whom we had been frightened like creatures at the sight of Death himself, hath by good luck been slain by thee. If thou hadst not protected from that fear those people that were so deeply afflicted by mighty foes, then by this time our foes would have felt that delight which we now feel at their death, O slayer of enemies.” Hearing these and other words uttered by friends and allies, Arjuna, with a cheerful heart, worshipped those men, each according to his deserts, and proceeded once more against the samsaptakas.’”
