Chapter 87

Sanjaya said,–“Approaching then thy son Chitrasena of great energy whohad thus been deprived of his car, thy son Vikarna caused him to mount onhis car. And during the progress of that general engagement, so fierceand dreadful, Bhishma, the son of Santanu, impetuously rushed atYudhishthira. Then the Srinjayas with their cars, elephants, and horses,trembled. And they regarded Yudhishthira to be already within the jaws ofDeath. The lord Yudhishthira, however, of Kuru’s race, accompanied by thetwins, proceeded towards that mighty bowman, that tiger among men viz.,Bhishma. Then the son of Pandu, shooting in that battle thousands ofarrows, shrouded Bhishma like the clouds shrouding the sun. And thosenumberless arrows, well shot by Yudhishthira, were received by the son ofGanga in distinct sets by hundreds and thousands.[425] And so also, Osire, innumerable were the arrows shot by Bhishma (in return), whichlooked like flights of insects coursing through the air. In half the timetaken up by a wink of the eye, Bhishma, the son of Santanu, in thatbattle, made Kunti’s son invisible by means of his numberless shafts shotin sets. Then king Yudhishthira, excited with rage, sped at thehigh-souled Kaurava a long arrow resembling a snake of virulent poison.That mighty car-warrior, Bhishma, however, O king, cut off in thatcombat, with a horse-shoe (headed) arrow, that shaft shot fromYudhishthira’s bow before it could reach him. Having cut off that longarrow resembling Death himself, Bhishma then slew in that battle thesteeds, decked with gold, of that prince of Kuru’s line. ThenYudhishthira the son of Pandu, abandoning that car whose steeds had beenslain, quickly mounted upon the car of the high-souled Nakula. ThenBhishma that subjugator of hostile cities, excited with rage, and comingupon the twins in that battle, covered them with arrows. Beholding thosetwo (brothers), O king, thus afflicted, with the arrows of Bhishma,Yudhishthira began to reflect earnestly desirous, O monarch, of(compassing) Bhishma’s destruction. Then Yudhishthira, O king, urged hisfriends and the rulers (on his side), saying,–‘Slay Bhishma the son ofSantanu, uniting together.’ Then all those rulers, hearing these words ofPritha’s son, surrounded the grandsire with a large number of cars. Thysire Devavrata then, thus surrounded on all sides, began to sport, Oking, with his bow, felling (all the while) many mighty car-warriors. Himof Kuru’s race, thus careering over the field of battle, the Pandavasbeheld resembling a young lion in the forest amid a herd of deer.Uttering a loud roar in that battle and striking fear into the hearts ofbrave warriors by means of his shafts, the Kshatriyas beholding him, Oking, were all struck with fear, like inferior animals upon seeing alion. Indeed the Kshatriyas beheld the movements of that lion ofBharata’s race in battle to resemble those of a conflagration aided bythe wind while consuming a heap of dry grass. And Bhishma in that battlefelled the heads of car-warriors like a skilful man felling (with stones)ripe (palmyra) fruits from trees that bear them. And the heads ofwarriors, O king, falling upon the surface of the earth produced a loudnoise resembling that of a stony shower. During the progress of thatfierce and dreadful battle a great confusion set in among all the troops.And in consequence of that confusion the arrays (of both armies) werebroken. And the Kshatriyas summoning one another individually, approachedone another for fight. Then Sikhandin, sighting the grandsire of theBharatas, rushed at him impetuously, saying,–Wait, Wait–Remembering,however, the femininity of Sikhandin, and disregarding him on thataccount, Bhishma proceeded against the Srinjayas. Thereupon theSrinjayas, beholding Bhishma in that great battle, were filled with joy.And they set forth diverse kinds of loud shouts, mingled with the blareof their conches. Then commenced a fierce battle in course of which carsand elephants got entangled with one another. And it was that hour of theday, O lord, when the sun was on the other side (of the meridian). ThenDhrishtadyumna, the prince of the Panchalas, and that mighty car-warriorSatyaki, greatly afflicted the (Bharata) host with showers of arrows andlances. And with innumerable shafts, O king, these two began to smitedown thy warriors in that battle. Thy combatants, however, O bull amongmen, though slaughtered in battle (thus) retreated not from the fight,having formed an honourable resolution in that engagement. Indeed, thytroops began to smite according to the measure of their courage. While,however, O king, thy high-souled combatants were being slaughtered by theillustrious son of Prishata, loud cries of woe were heard among them.Hearing those loud cries, that couple of mighty car-warriors of thy army,viz., Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, quickly proceeded against Prishata’sson. And those mighty car-warriors, speedily slaying his steeds, togethercovered Prishata’s son with showers of arrows. Thereupon that mightycar-warrior, viz., the prince of the Panchalas, quickly jumping down fromthat car of his, mounted without loss of time the car of the high-souledSatyaki. Then king Yudhishthira, supported by a large force, proceededagainst those chastisers of foes, viz., the two princes of Avanti excitedwith rage. Similarly thy son, O sire, with every preparation, stood,surrounding Vinda and Anuvinda in that battle (for supporting them).Arjuna also in that battle, excited with rage, fought against many bullsof the Kshatriya race, like the wielder of the thunder-bolt against theAsuras. Drona also, who always does what is agreeable to thy son,inflamed with wrath in that battle, began to consume the Panchalas likefire consuming a heap of cotton. Thy other sons, O king, owningDuryodhana as their chief, surrounding Bhishma in that battle, foughtagainst the Pandavas. Then when the sun assumed a red hue,[426] kingDuryodhana, O Bharata, addressing thy troops, said,–Lose no time–Andwhile they were thus battling and achieving feats difficult ofaccomplishment, the sun having become invisible in consequence of hisretirement behind the western hill, there soon flowed, towards dusk, anawful river whose current and billows were of blood, and which wasinfested by innumerable jackals. And the field of battle became dreadful,abounding as it did with spirits and with those jackals howlinghideously, forboding evil. Rakshasas and Pisachas and other cannibalswere seen all round, in hundreds and thousands. Then Arjuna, havingvanquished those kings headed by Susarman along with all their followers,in the midst of their division, proceeded towards his tent. And the lordYudhishthira also of Kuru’s race, accompanied by his brothers, andfollowed by his troops, proceeded, O king, when night set in, towards histent. And Bhimasena, too, having vanquished those kings, viz., thosewarriors headed by Duryodhana, proceeded towards his tent. And kingDuryodhana (with his troops), surrounding Bhishma, the son of Santanu, inthat great battle proceeded towards his tent. And Drona, and Drona’s son,and Kripa, and Salya, and Kritavarman of the Satwata race, surroundingthe whole (Dhartarashtra) army, proceeded towards their tents. Andsimilarly Satyaki also, O king, and Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Prishata,surrounding their army, proceeded towards their tents. It was thus, Oking, that those chastisers of foes, viz., thy troops and the Pandavas,ceased to fight when darkness came. Then the Pandavas, and the Kauravas,retiring to their tents, entered the same, applauding one another. Andmaking arrangements for the protection of their brave warriors anddisposing outposts according to rule, they plucked out the arrows (fromtheir bodies) and bathed in diverse kinds of water. And Brahmanasperformed propitiatory rites for them, and bards sang their praises. Andthose renowned men sported for a while in accompaniment with music bothvocal and instrumental. And for a while the whole scene resembled heavenitself. And those bulls among men for a while spoke not of battle. Andwhen both armies abounding with tired men and elephants and steeds sleptthere, they became, O monarch, beautiful to behold.”