Chapter 90

Dhritarashtra said, “Beholding my sons, so many in number, O Sanjaya,slain by a single person, what did Bhishma and Drona and Kripa do inbattle?[432] Day after day, O Sanjaya, my sons are being slain. I think,O Suta, that they are completely overtaken by evil destiny, inasmuch asmy sons never conquer but are always vanquished. When my sons staying inthe midst of those unretreating heroes, viz., Drona and Bhishma, and thehigh-souled Kripa, and Somadatta’s heroic son and Bhagadatta, andAswatthaman also, O son, and other brave warriors, are being still slainin battle, what can it be said save the result of fate?[433] The wickedDuryodhana did not comprehend (our) words before, though admonished byme, O son, and by Bhishma and Vidura. (Though forbidden) always byGandhari, too, from motives of doing him good, Duryodhana of wickedunderstanding awoke not before from folly.[434] That (conduct) hath nowborne fruit, inasmuch as Bhimasena, excited with wrath, despatcheth, dayafter day in battle, my insensate sons to the abode of Yama.”

Sanjaya said, “Those excellent words of Vidura, uttered for thy good, butwhich thou didst not then understand, have now come to be realised.Vidura had said, ‘Restrain thy sons from the dice.’ Like a man whose houris come refusing the proper medicine, thou didst not then listen to thewords of well-wishing friends counselling thee (for thy good). Thosewords uttered by the righteous have now been realised before thee.Indeed, the Kauravas are now being destroyed for having rejected thosewords, deserving of acceptance, of Vidura and Drona and Bhishma and thyother well-wishers. These very consequences happened even then when thoudeclinedst to listen to those counsels. Hear now, however, to mynarration of the battle exactly as it has happened.[435] At midday thebattle became exceedingly awful and fraught with great carnage. Listen tome, O king, as I describe it. Then all the troops (of the Pandava army),excited with rage, rushed, at the command of Dharma’s son, againstBhishma alone from desire of slaying him. Dhrishtadyumna and Sikhandin,and the mighty car-warrior Satyaki, accompanied, O king, by their forces,proceeded against Bhishma alone. And those mighty car-warriors, viz.,Virata and Drupada, with all the Somakas, rushed in battle againstBhishma alone. And the Kaikeyas, and Dhrishtaketu, and Kuntibhoja,equipped in mail and supported by their forces, rushed, O king, againstBhishma alone. And Arjuna, and the sons of Draupadi, and Chekitana ofgreat prowess, proceeded against all the kings under the command ofDuryodhana. And the heroic Abhimanyu, and that mighty car-warrior, viz.,the son of Hidimva, and Bhimasena excited with wrath, rushed against the(other) Kauravas. (Thus) the Pandavas, divided into three bodies began toslaughter the Kauravas. And similarly the Kauravas also, O king, began toslaughter their foes.[436] That foremost of car-warriors, viz., Dronaexcited with wrath, rushed against the Somakas and the Srinjayas,desirous of sending them to the abode of Yama. Thereupon loud cries ofwoe arose among the brave Srinjayas while they were being slaughtered. Oking, by Bharadwaja’s son bow in hand. Large numbers of Kshatriyas,struck down by Drona, were seen to all convulsing like persons writhingin the agony of disease. All over the field were continuously heard moansand shrieks and groans resembling those of persons afflicted with hunger.And so the mighty Bhimasena, excited with wrath, and like unto a secondYama, caused a terrible carnage amongst the Kaurava troops. There in thatdreadful battle, in consequence of the warriors slaying one another, aterrible river began to flow whose billowy current consisted ofblood.[437] And that battle, O king, between the Kurus and the Pandavas,becoming fierce and awful, began to swell the population of Yama’skingdom. Then in that battle Bhima excited with wrath, fell with greatimpetuosity upon the elephant division (of the Kauravas) and began tosend many to the regions of Death. Then, O Bharata, struck with Bhima’sshafts, some of those beasts fell down, some were paralysed, someshrieked (in pain), and some ran away in all directions. Huge elephants,their trunks cut off and limbs mangled, screaming like cranes, began, Oking, to fall down on the earth. Nakula and Sahadeva fell upon the(Kaurava) cavalry. Many steeds with garlands of gold on their heads andwith their necks and breasts adorned with ornaments of gold, were seen tobe slain in hundreds and thousands. The earth, O king, was strewn withfallen steeds. And some were deprived of their tongues; and some breathedhard; and some uttered low moans, and some were void of life. The earthlooked beautiful, O chief of men, with those steeds of such diversekinds. At the same time, O Bharata, she looked fiercely resplendent, Omonarch, with a large number of kings slain by Arjuna in that battle. Andstrewn with broken cars and rent banners and brilliant umbrellas, withtorn chamaras and fans, and mighty weapons broken into fragments, withgarlands and necklaces of gold, with bracelets, with heads decked withear-rings, with head-gears loosened (from off heads), with standards,with beautiful bottoms of cars, O king, and with traces and reins, theearth shone as brightly as she does in spring when strewn with flowers.And it was thus, O Bharata, that the Pandava host suffered destructionwhen Bhishma the son of Santanu, and Drona that foremost of car-warriors,and Aswatthaman, and Kripa, and Kritavarman, were inflamed with wrath.And similarly thy army also suffered the same kind of destruction whenthe other side, viz., the Pandava heroes were excited with rage.”