Chapter 112

Sanjaya said, “The mighty bowman (Alamvusha) the son of Rishyasringa, inthat battle, resisted Satyaki clad in mail and proceeding towardsBhishma. He of Madhu’s race, however, O king, excited with wrath, piercedthe Rakshasa with nine arrows, smiling the while, O Bharata. And so theRakshasa also, O king, excited with wrath, afflicted him of Madhu’s race,viz., that bull of Sini’s line, with nine arrows. Then Sini’s grandson,that slayer of hostile heroes, of Madhu’s race, excited with rage, spedin that battle a profusion of arrows at the Rakshasa. Then thatmighty-aimed Rakshasa pierced Satyaki, of prowess incapable of beingbaffled, with many sharp arrows, and uttered a loud shout. Then he ofMadhu’s race, endued with great energy, though deeply pierced by theRakshasa in that battle, still, relying upon his prowess, laughed (at hiswounds) and uttered loud roars. Then Bhagadatta, excited with rage,afflicted him of Madhu’s race in that battle with many sharp arrows likea guide piercing a huge elephant with the hook. Then that foremost ofcar-warriors, viz., the grandson of Sini, abandoning the Rakshasa inbattle, sped many straight shafts at the ruler of the Pragjyotishas. Theruler of the Pragjyotishas then, with a broad-headed arrow of greatsharpness, displaying great lightness of hand, cut off, the large bow ofSatyaki. Then that slayer of hostile heroes, excited with rage and takingup another bow of greater impetus, pierced Bhagadatta in that battle withmany sharp arrows. That mighty bowman, viz., Bhagadatta, then deeplypierced, began to lick the corners of his mouth. And he then hurled athis foe, in that dreadful battle, a tough dart, made wholly of iron,decked with gold and stones of lapis lazuli, and fierce as the rod ofYama himself. Sped with the might of Bhagadatta’s arm and coursingtowards him impetuously, Satyaki, O king, cut that dart in twain by meansof his shafts. Thereupon that dart fell down suddenly, like a greatmeteor shorn of its splendour. Beholding the dart baffled, thy son(Duryodhana), O monarch, surrounded him of Madhu’s race with a largenumber of cars. And seeing that mighty car-warrior among the Vrishnisthus surrounded, Duryodhana, angrily addressing all his brothers, said,’Take such steps, ye Kauravas, that Satyaki may not, in this battle,escape you and this large division of cars, with life. If he be slain,the vast host of the Pandavas may be regarded as slain also.’ AcceptingDuryodhana’s words with the answer–So be it,–those mighty car-warriorsfought with Sini’s grandson in the view of Bhishma. The mighty ruler ofthe Kamvojas, in that battle, resisted Abhimanyu who was proceedingagainst Bhishma. The son of Arjuna, having pierced the king with manystraight shafts,[477] once more pierced that monarch, O monarch, withfour and sixty shafts. Sudakshina, however, desirous of Bhishma’s life,pierced Abhimanyu in that battle with five arrows and his charioteer withnine. And the battle that took place there, in consequence of the meetingof those two warriors, was fierce in the extreme. That grinder of foesSikhandin, then rushed at the of Ganga. Old Virata and Drupada, thosemighty car-warriors, both excited with rage, rushed to battle withBhishma, resisting the large host of the Kauravas as they went. That bestof car-warriors, viz., Aswatthaman, excited with rage, encountered boththose warriors. Then commenced a battle, O Bharata, between him and them.Virata then, O chastiser of foes, struck, with broad-headed shafts, thatmighty bowman and ornament of battle, viz., Drona’s son, as the latteradvanced against them. And Drupada also pierced him with three sharpshafts. Then the preceptor’s soil, Aswatthaman, coming upon those mightywarriors thus striking him, viz., the brave Virata and Drupada bothproceeding towards Bhishma, pierced them both with many shafts. Wonderfulwas the conduct that we then beheld of those two old warriors, inasmuchas they checked all those fierce shafts shot by Drona’s son. Like aninfuriate elephant in the forest rushing against an infuriate compeer,Kripa, the son of Saradwat, proceeded against Sahadeva who was advancingupon Bhishma. And Kripa, brave in battle, quickly struck that mightycar-warrior, viz., the son of Madri, with seventy shafts decked withgold. The son of Madri, however, cut Kripa’s bow in twain by means of hisshafts. And cutting off his bow, Sahadeva then pierced Kripa with ninearrows. Taking up then, in that battle, another bow capable of bearing agreat strain Kripa, excited with rage and desirous of Bhishma’s life,cheerfully struck Madri’s son in that battle with ten shafts. And so theson of Pandu, in return, desirous of Bhishma’s death, excited with rage,struck the wrathful Kripa in the chest (with many shafts). And thenoccurred there a terrible and fierce battle. That scorcher of foes, viz.,Vikarna, desirous of saving the grandsire Bhishma, excited with rage inthat battle, pierced Nakula with sixty arrows. Nakula also, deeplypierced by thy intelligent son, pierced Vikarna in return with seven andseventy shafts. There those two tigers among men, those two chastisers offoes, those two heroes, struck each other for the sake of Bhishma, liketwo bovine bulls in a fold. Thy son Durmukha, endued with great prowess,proceeded, for the sake of Bhishma, against Ghatotkacha advancing tobattle and slaughtering thy army as he came. Hidimva’s son, however, Oking, excited with rage, struck Durmukha, that chastiser of foes, in thechest a straight shaft. The heroic Durmukha then, shouting cheerfully,pierced Bhimasena’s son on the field of battle with sixty shafts of keenpoints. That mighty car-warrior, viz., the son of Hridika resistedDhrishtadyumna, that foremost of car-warriors, who was advancing tobattle from desire of Bhishma’s slaughter. The son of Prishata, however,having pierced Kritavarman with five shafts made wholly of iron, oncemore, struck him quickly in the centre of the chest fifty shafts. Andsimilarly, O king, Prishata’s son struck Kritavarman with nine sharp andblazing shaft, winged with the feathers of the Kanka bird. Encounteringeach other with great vigour, the battle that took place between them forBhishma’s sake was as fierce as that between Vritra and Vasava. AgainstBhimasena who was advancing upon the mighty Bhishma, proceededBhurisravas with great speed, saying,–Wait, Wait,–And the son ofSomadatta struck Bhima in the centre of the chest with an arrow ofexceeding sharpness and golden wings in that battle. And the valiantBhimasena, with that arrow on his chest, looked beautiful, O best ofkings, like the Krauncha mountain in days of old with the dart of Skanda.And those two bulls among men, enraged in battle, shot at each othershafts brightly polished by their forgers and endued with effulgence ofthe Sun. Bhima, longing for Bhishma’s death, fought with the mighty sonof Somadatta, and the latter, desirous of Bhishma’s victory, fought withthe former, each carefully seeking to counteract the other’s feats.Bharadwaja’s son resisted Yudhishthira the son of Kunti, who, accompaniedby a large force, was coming towards Bhishma. Hearing the rattle ofDrona’s car, O king, that resembled the roar of the clouds, thePrabhadrakas, O sire, began to tremble. That large force, of Pandu’s son,resisted by Drona in battle, could not, exerting vigorously, advance evenone step. Thy son Chitrasena, O king, resisted Chekitana of wrathfulvisage who was exerting vigorously for coming upon Bhishma. Possessed ofgreat prowess and great dexterity of hand, that mighty car-warrior forthe sake of Bhishma, battled with Chekitana, O Bharata, according to theutmost of his power. And Chekitana also fought with Chitrasena to theutmost of his power. And the battle that took place there in consequenceof the meeting of those two warriors, was exceedingly fierce. As regardsArjuna, although he was resisted by all means, O Bharata, he stillcompelled thy son to turn back and then crushed thy troops. Dussasanahowever, to the utmost stretch of his power, began to resist Partha,wishing, O Bharata, to protect Bhishma. The army of thy son, O Bharata,undergoing such slaughter, began to be agitated here and there by manyforemost car-warriors (of the Pandava).”