Chapter 53

“Vaisampayana said, ‘After the Kauravas, O Bharata, had taken their standin this order, Arjuna, filling the air with the rattle and din of hiscar, advanced quickly towards them. And the Kurus beheld his banner-topand heard the rattle and din of his car as also the twang of the Gandivastretched repeatedly by him. And noting all this, and seeing that greatcar-warrior–the wielder of the Gandiva–come, Drona spoke thus, ‘That isthe banner-top of Partha which shineth at a distance, and this is thenoise of his car, and that is the ape that roareth frightfully. Indeed,the ape striketh terror in the troops. And there stationed on thatexcellent car, the foremost of car-warriors draweth that best of bows,the Gandiva, whose twang is as loud as the thunder. Behold, these twoshafts coming together fall at my feet, and two others pass off barelytouching my ears. Completing the period of exile and having achieved manywonderful feats, Partha saluteth me and whispereth in my ears. Enduedwith wisdom and beloved of his relatives, this Dhananjaya, the son ofPandu, is, indeed, beheld by us after a long time, blazing with beautyand grace. Possessed of car and arrows, furnished with handsome fencesand quiver and conch and banner and coat of mail, decked with diadem andscimitar and bow, the son of Pritha shineth like the blazing (Homa) firesurrounded with sacrificial ladles and fed with sacrificial butter.’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Beholding the Kurus ready for battle, Arjunaaddressing Matsya’s son in words suitable to the occasion, said, ‘Ocharioteer, restrain thou the steeds at such a point whence my arrows mayreach the enemy. Meanwhile, let me see, where, in the midst of this army,is that vile wretch of the Kuru race. Disregarding all these, andsingling out that vainest of princes I will fall upon his head, for uponthe defeat of that wretch the others will regard themselves as defeated.There standeth Drona, and thereafter him his son. And there are thosegreat bowmen–Bhishma and Kripa and Kama. I do not see, however, the kingthere. I suspect that anxious to save his life, he retreateth by thesouthern road, taking away with him the kine. Leaving this array ofcar-warriors, proceed to the spot where Suyodhana is. There will I fight,O son of Virata, for there the battle will not be fruitless, Defeatinghim I will come back, taking away the kine.’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Thus addressed, the son of Virata restrainedthe steeds with an effort and turned them by a pull at the bridle fromthe spot where those bulls of the Kuru race were, and urged them ontowards the place where Duryodhana was. And as Arjuna went away leavingthat thick array of cars, Kripa, guessing his intention, addressed hisown comrades, saying, ‘This Vibhatsu desireth not to take up his stand ata spot remote from the king. Let us quickly fall upon the flanks of theadvancing hero. When inflamed with wrath, none else, unassisted, canencounter him in battle save the deity of a thousand eyes, or Krishna theson of Devaki. Of what use to us would the kine be or this vast wealthalso, if Duryodhana were to sink, like a boat, in the ocean of Partha?’Meanwhile, Vibhatsu, having proceeded towards that division of the army,announced himself speedily by name, and covered the troops with hisarrows thick as locusts. And covered with those countless shafts shot byPartha, the hostile warriors could not see anything, the earth itself andthe sky becoming overwhelmed therewith. And the soldiers who had beenready for the fight were so confounded that none could even the flee fromthe field. And beholding the light-handedness of Partha they allapplauded it mentally. And Arjuna then blew his conch which always madethe bristles of the foe stand erect. And twanging his best of bows, heurged the creatures on his flagstaff to roar more frightfully. And at theblare of his conch and the rattle of his car-wheels, and the twang of theGandiva, and the roar of the superhuman creatures stationed on hisflagstaff, the earth itself began to tremble. And shaking their upraisedtails and lowing together, the kine turned back, proceeding along thesouthern road.'”