Chapter 57

“Sanjaya said, ‘Duryodhana, with heart undepressed, beholding Bhimasenain that state, rushed furiously against him, uttering a loud roar. Theyencountered each other like two bulls encountering each other with theirhorns. The strokes of their maces produced loud sounds like those ofthunderbolts. Each longing for victory, the battle that took placebetween them was terrible, making the very hair stand on end, like thatbetween Indra and Prahlada. All their limbs bathed in blood, the twohigh-souled warriors of great energy, both armed with maces, looked liketwo Kinsukas decked with flowers. During the progress of that great andawful encounter, the welkin looked beautiful as if it swarmed withfire-flies. After that fierce and terrible battle had lasted for sometime, both those chastisers of foes became fatigued. Having rested for alittle while, those two scorchers of foes, taking up their handsomemaces, once again began to ward off each others’ attacks. Indeed, whenthose two warriors of great energy, those two foremost of men, bothpossessed of great might, encountered each other after having taken alittle rest, they looked like two elephants infuriated with passion andattacking each other for obtaining the companionship of a cow elephant inseason. Beholding those two heroes, both armed with maces and each equalto the other in energy, the gods and Gandharvas and men became filledwith wonder. Beholding Duryodhana and Vrikodara both armed with maces,all creatures became doubtful as to who amongst them would be victorious.Those two cousins, those two foremost of mighty men, once again rushingat each other and desiring to take advantage of each other’s lapses,waited each watching the other. The spectators, O king, beheld each armedwith his uplifted mace, that was heavy, fierce, and murderous, and thatresembled the bludgeon of Yama or the thunder-bolt of Indra. WhileBhimasena whirled his weapon, loud and awful was the sound that itproduced. Beholding his foe, the son of Pandu, thus whirling his maceendued with unrivalled impetuosity, Duryodhana became filled withamazement. Indeed, the heroic Vrikodara, O Bharata, as he careered indiverse courses, presented a highly beautiful spectacle. Both bent uponcarefully protecting themselves, as they approached, they repeatedlymangled each other like two cats fighting for a piece of meat. Bhimasenaperformed diverse kinds of evolutions. He coursed in beautiful circles,advanced, and receded. He dealt blows and warded off those of hisadversary, with wonderful activity. He took up various kinds of position(for attack and defence). He delivered attacks and avoided those of hisantagonist. He ran at his foe, now turning to the right and now to theleft. He advanced straight against the enemy. He made ruses for drawinghis foe. He stood immovable, prepared for attacking his foe as soon asthe latter would expose himself to attack. He circumambulated his foe,and prevented his foe from circumambulating him. He avoided the blows ofhis foe by moving away in bent postures or jumping aloft. He struck,coming up to his foe face to face, or dealt back-thrusts while movingaway from him. Both accomplished in encounters with the mace, Bhima andDuryodhana thus careered and fought, and struck each other. Those twoforemost ones of Kuru’s race careered thus, each avoiding the other’sblows. Indeed, those two mighty warriors thus coursed in circles andseemed to sport with each other. Displaying in that encounter their skillin battle, those two chastisers of foes sometimes suddenly attacked eachother with their weapons, like two elephants approaching and attackingeach other with their tusks. Covered with blood, they looked verybeautiful, O monarch, on the field. Even thus occurred that battle,awfully and before the gaze of a large multitude, towards the close ofthe day, like the battle between Vritra and Vasava. Armed with maces,both began to career in circles. Duryodhana, O monarch, adopted the rightmandala, while Bhimasena adopted the left mandala. While Bhima was thuscareering in circles on the field of battle, Duryodhana, O monarch,suddenly struck him a fierce blow on one of his flanks. Struck by thyson, O sire, Bhima began to whirl his heavy mace for returning that blow.The spectators, O monarch, beheld that mace of Bhimasena look as terribleas Indra’s thunder-bolt or Yama’s uplifted bludgeon. Seeing Bhima whirlhis mace, thy son, uplifting his own terrible weapon, struck him again.Loud was the sound, O Bharata, produced by the descent of thy son’s mace.So quick was that descent that it generated a flame of fire in thewelkin. Coursing in diverse kinds of circles, adopting each motion at theproper time, Suyodhana, possessed of great energy, once more seemed toprevail over Bhima. The massive mace of Bhimasena meanwhile, whirled withhis whole force, produced a loud sound as also smoke and sparks andflames of fire. Beholding Bhimasena whirling his mace, Suyodhana alsowhirled his heavy and adamantine weapon and presented a highly beautifulaspect. Marking the violence of the wind produced by the whirl ofDuryodhana’s mace, a great fear entered the hearts of all the Pandus andthe Somakas. Meanwhile those two chastisers of foes, displaying on everyside their skill in battle, continued to strike each other with theirmaces, like two elephants approaching and striking each other with theirtusks. Both of them, O monarch, covered with blood, looked highlybeautiful. Even thus progressed that awful combat before the gaze ofthousands of spectators at the close of day, like the fierce battle thattook place between Vritra and Vasava. Beholding Bhima firmly stationed onthe field, thy mighty son, careering in more beautiful motions, rushedtowards that son of Kunti. Filled with wrath, Bhima struck the mace,endued with great impetuosity and adorned with gold, of the angryDuryodhana. A loud sound with sparks of fire was produced by that clashof the two maces which resembled the clash of two thunder-bolts fromopposite directions. Hurled by Bhimasena, his impetuous mace, as it felldown, caused the very earth to tremble. The Kuru prince could not brookto see his own mace thus baffled in that attack. Indeed, he became filledwith rage like an infuriated elephant at the sight of a rival elephant.Adopting the left mandala, O monarch, and whirling his mace, Suyodhanathen, firmly resolved, struck the son of Kunti on the head with hisweapon of terrible force. Thus struck by thy son, Bhima, the son ofPandu, trembled not, O monarch, at which all the spectators wonderedexceedingly. That amazing patience, O king, of Bhimasena, who stirred notan inch though struck so violently, was applauded by all the warriorspresent there. Then Bhima of terrible prowess hurled at Duryodhana hisown heavy and blazing mace adorned with gold. That blow the mighty andfearless Duryodhana warded off by his agility. Beholding this, great wasthe wonder that the spectators felt. That mace, hurled by Bhima, O king,as it fell baffled of effect, produced a loud sound like that of thethunderbolt and caused the very earth to tremble. Adopting the manoeuvrecalled Kausika, and repeatedly jumping up, Duryodhana, properly markingthe descent of Bhima’s mace, baffled the latter. Baffling Bhimasena thus,the Kuru king, endued with great strength, at last in rage struck theformer on the chest. Struck very forcibly by thy son in that dreadfulbattle, Bhimasena became stupefied and for a time knew not what to do. Atthat time, O king, the Somakas and the Pandavas became greatlydisappointed and very cheerless. Filled with rage at that blow, Bhimathen rushed at thy son like an elephant rushing against an elephant.Indeed, with uplifted mace, Bhima rushed furiously at Duryodhana like alion rushing against a wild elephant. Approaching the Kuru king, the sonof Pandu, O monarch, accomplished in the use of the mace, began to whirlhis weapon, taking aim at thy son. Bhimasena then struck Duryodhana onone of his flanks. Stupefied at that blow, the latter fell down on theearth, supporting himself on his knees. When that foremost one of Kuru’srace fell upon his knees, a loud cry arose from among the Srinjayas, Oruler of the world! Hearing that loud uproar of the Srinjayas, O bullamong men, thy son became filled with rage. The mighty-armed hero, risingup, began to breathe like a mighty snake, and seemed to burn Bhimasena bycasting his glances upon him. That foremost one of Bharata’s race thenrushed at Bhimasena, as if he would that time crush the head of hisantagonist in that battle. The high-souled Duryodhana of terrible prowessthen struck the high-souled Bhimasena on the forehead. The latter,however, moved not an inch but stood immovable like a mountain. Thusstruck in that battle, the son of Pritha, O monarch, looked beautiful, ashe bled profusely, like an elephant of rent temples with juicy secretionstrickling adown. The elder brother of Dhananjaya, then, that crusher offoes, taking up his hero-slaying mace made of iron and producing a soundloud as that of the thunder-bolt, struck his adversary with great force.Struck by Bhimasena, thy son fell down, his frame trembling all over,like a gigantic Sala in the forest, decked with flowers, uprooted by theviolence of the tempest. Beholding thy son prostrated on the earth, thePandavas became exceedingly glad and uttered loud cries. Recovering hisconsciousness, thy son then rose, like an elephant from a lake. That everwrathful monarch and great car-warrior then careering with great skill,struck Bhimasena who was standing before him. At this, the son of Pandu,with weakened limbs, fell down on the earth.

“Having by his energy prostrated Bhimasena on the ground, the Kuru princeuttered a leonine roar. By the descent of his mace, whose violenceresembled that of the thunder, he had fractured Bhima’s coat of mail. Aloud uproar was then heard in the welkin, made by the denizens of heavenand the Apsaras. A floral shower, emitting great fragrance, fell, rainedby the celestials. Beholding Bhima prostrated on the earth and weakenedin strength, and seeing his coat of mail laid open, a great fear enteredthe hearts of our foes. Recovering his senses in a moment, and wiping hisface which had been dyed with blood, and mustering great patience,Vrikodara stood up, with rolling eyes steadying himself with greateffort.”