Chapter 100

Sanjaya said, “Then Bhishma, the son of Santanu, went out with thetroops. And he disposed his own troops in mighty array calledSarvatobhadra.[463] Kripa, and Kritavarman, and that mighty car-warriorSaivya, and Sakuni, and the ruler of the Sindhus, and Sudakshina theruler of the Kamvojas, these all, together with Bhishma and thy sons, OBharata, took up their stations in the van of the whole army and in thevery front of the (Kaurava) array. Drona and Bhurisravas and Salya andBhagadatta, O sire, clad in mail, took up their position in the rightwing of that array. And Aswatthaman, and Somadatta, and those greatcar-warriors, viz., the two princes of Avanti, accompanied by a largeforce, protected the left wing. Duryodhana, O monarch, surrounded on allsides by the Trigartas, took up, for encountering the Pandavas, aposition in the midst of that array. That foremost of car-warriors, viz.,Alamvusha, and that mighty car-warrior, viz., Srutayush, clad in mail,took up their position in the rear of that array, and therefore, of thewhole army. Having, O Bharata, on that occasion formed their array thus,thy warriors, clad in mail, looked like scorching fires.

“Then king Yudhishthira, and that son of Pandu, viz., Bhimasena, and thetwin sons of Madri, viz., Nakula and Sahadeva, clad in mail, took uptheir position in the van of that array and therefore, at the very headof all their troops. And Dhrishtadyumna, and Virata, and that mightycar-warrior, viz., Satyaki,–these destroyers of hostile ranks,–stood,supported by a large force. And Sikhandin, and Vijaya (Arjuna), and theRakshasa Ghatotkacha, and Chekitana of mighty arms, and the valiantKuntibhoja, stood for battle, surrounded by a large force. And that greatbowman Abhimanyu, and the mighty Drupada, and the (five) Kaikeyabrothers, stood for battle, clad in mail. Having formed their mighty andinvincible array thus, the Pandavas, endued with great courage in battle,stood for the fight, clad in mail.

“Then the kings of thy array, O monarch, exerting themselves at theirbest, accompanied by their forces, and placing Bhishma at their van,rushed against the Parthas in battle. Similarly the Pandavas also, Oking, headed by Bhimasena, and desirous of victory in battle proceeded,for battling with Bhishma. With leonine roars and confused cries, blowingtheir conches Krakachas, and cow-horns, beating their drums and cymbalsand Pandavas in thousands.[464] And uttering terrible shouts, thePandavas advanced to battle. With the din of our drums and cymbals andconches and smaller drums, with loud leonine roars, and other kinds ofshouts, ourselves also, replying to the cries of the foe, rushed againsthim with great impetuosity, inflamed with rage. Those sounds minglingwith one another, produced a tremendous uproar. The warriors then, of thetwo armies, rushing at one another, began to strike. And in consequenceof the din produced by that encounter, the earth seemed to tremble. Andbirds, uttering fierce cries, hovered in the air. The Sun, radiant as hewas when he had risen, became dimmed. And fierce winds blew, indicatinggreat terrors. Frightful jackals wandered, yelling terribly, O king, andforeboding an awful carnage at hand. The quarters seemed, O king, to beablaze, and showers of dust fell from the blue. And a shower fell there,of pieces of bones mixed with blood. And tears fell from the eyes of theanimals which were all weeping. And filled with anxiety, O king, thesebegan to urinate and eject the contents of their stomachs. And the loudshouts of battle, O bull of Bharata’s race, were rendered inaudible bythe louder cries of Rakshasas and cannibals. And jackals and vultures andcrows and dogs, uttering diverse kinds of cries, began, O sire, to falland swoop down on the field. And blazing meteors, striking against theSun’s disc, fell with great celerity on the earth, foreboding greatterrors. Then those two vast hosts belonging to the Pandavas and theDhartarashtras, in course of that awful encounter, shook in consequenceof that tremendous uproar of conches and drums like forests shaken by thetempest. And the noise made by the two armies, both of which aboundedwith kings, elephants, and steeds, and which encountered each other in anevil hour, resembled the noise made by oceans tossed by the tempest.”