Chapter 91

Sanjaya said, “During the progress, O king, of that fierce battle fraughtwith the slaughter of great heroes, Sakuni the glorious son of Suvala,rushed against the Pandavas. And so also, O monarch, Hridika’s son of theSatwata race, that slayer of hostile heroes, rushed in that battleagainst the Pandava ranks. And smiling the while, (several warriors onthy side), with a large number of steeds consisting of the best of theKamvoja breed as also of those born in the country of the Rivers, and ofthose belonging to Aratta and Mahi and Sindhu, and of those of Vanayualso that were white in hue, and lastly those of hilly countries,surrounded (the Pandava army).[438] And so also with horses, exceedinglyswift, fleet as the very winds, and belonging to the Tittri breed,(others encompassed that army). And with many horses, clad in mail anddecked with gold, the foremost of their class and fleet as the winds themighty son of Arjuna (viz., Iravat), that slayer of foes, approached the(Kaurava) force. This handsome and valiant son of Arjuna, named Iravat,was begotten upon the daughter of the king of the Nagas by theintelligent Partha. Her husband having been slain by Garuda, she becamehelpless, and of cheerless soul. Childless as she was, she was bestowed(upon Arjuna) by the high-souled Airavat. Partha accepted her for wife,coming to him as she did under the influence of desire. It was thus thatthat son of Arjuna was begotten upon the wife of another.[439] Abandonedby his wicked uncle from hatred of Partha, he grew up in the region ofthe Nagas, protected by his mother. And he was handsome and endued withgreat strength, possessed of diverse accomplishments, and of prowessincapable of being baffled. Hearing that Arjuna had gone to the region ofIndra, he speedily went thither. And the mighty-armed Iravat, possessedof prowess incapable of being baffled, approaching his sire, saluted himduly, standing before him with joined hands. And he introduced himself tothe high-souled Arjuna, saying, ‘I am Iravat. blessed be thou, and I amthy son, O lord’. And he reminded Arjuna of all the circumstancesconnected with the latter’s meeting with his mother. And thereupon theson of Pandu recollected all those circumstances exactly as theyhappened. Embracing his son then who resembled himself inaccomplishments, Partha, in Indra’s abode, was filled with joy. Themighty-armed Iravat then, O king, in the celestial regions was, OBharata, joyfully commanded by Arjuna, with regard to his own business,(in these words), ‘When the battle takes place, assistance should berendered by thee’. Saying ‘Yes’, O lord, he went away. And now at thetime of battle he presented himself. O king, accompanied with a largenumber of steeds of great fleetness and beautiful colour. And thosesteeds, decked with ornaments of gold, of various colours and exceedingfleetness, suddenly coursed over the field, O king, like swans on thebosom of the vast deep. And those steeds failing upon thine of exceedingswiftness, struck their chests and noses against those of thine.Afflicted by their own impetuous clash (against thine), they suddenlyfell down, O king, on the earth. And in consequence of those steeds asalso of thine occasioned by that clash, loud sounds were heard resemblingwhat occurs at Garuda’s swoop. And the rider of those steeds, O king,thus dashing against one another in that battle, began to slay oneanother fiercely. And during that general engagement which was fierce andterrible, the chargers of both sides (escaping from press of battle) ranwildly away over the field. Weakened by one another’s shafts, bravewarriors, with their horses killed under them, and themselves worn outwith exertion, perished fast sabring one another. Then when those cavalrydivisions were thinned and a remnant only survived, the Younger brothersof Suvala’s son, Possessed of great wisdom, rode out, O Bharata (from theKaurava array) to the van of battle, mounted On excellent charges thatresembled the tempest itself in both fleetness and the violence of theirdash and that were well-trained and neither old nor young.[440] Those sixbrothers endued with great strength, viz., Gaya, Gavaksha, Vrishava,Charmavat, Arjava, and Suka dashed out of the mighty (Kaurava) array,supported by Sakuni and by their respective forces of great valour,themselves clad in mail, skilled in battle, fierce in mien, and possessedof exceeding might. Breaking through that invincible cavalry division (ofthe Pandavas), O thou of mighty arms, those Gandhara warriors who couldwith difficulty be vanquished, supported by a large force, desirous ofheaven, longing for victory, and filled with delight, penetrated into it.Beholding them filled with joy, the valiant Iravat, addressing his ownwarriors decked with diverse ornaments and weapons, said unto them,’Adopt such contrivances in consequence of which these Dhritarashtrawarriors with their weapons and animals may all be destroyed.’ Saying’Yes’, all those warriors of Iravat began to slay those mighty andinvincible Dhartarashtra soldiers. Beholding that their own warriors werethus overthrown by Iravat’s division, those sons of Suvala being unableto beat it coolly, all rushed at Iravat and surrounded him on all sides.And commanding (all their followers) to attack those of Iravat withlances, those heroes swept over the field, creating a great confusion.And Iravat, pierced with lances by those high-souled warriors, and bathedin blood that trickled down (his wounds), looked like an elephant piercedwith the hook. Wounded deeply on the chest, back, and flanks, singlyencountering the many, he did not yet, O king, swerve from his (natural)firmness. Indeed, Iravat, excited with rage, deprived all thoseadversaries of their senses, piercing them, in that battle, with sharpshafts. And that chastiser of foes, tearing those lances from off hisbody, struck with them the sons of Suvala in battle. Then unsheathing hispolished sword and taking a shield, he rushed on foot, desirous ofslaying Suvala’s sons in that combat. The sons of Suvala, however,recovering their senses, once more rushed at Iravat, excited with wrath.Iravat, however, proud of his might, and displaying his lightness ofhand, proceeded towards all of them, armed with his sword. Moving as hedid with great activity, the sons of Suvala, although they moved about ontheir fleet steeds, could not find an opportunity for striking that hero(on foot). Beholding him then on foot, his foes surrounded him closelyand wished to take him captive. Then that crusher of foes, seeing themcontiguous to himself, struck off, with his sword, both their right andleft arms, and mangled their other limbs. Then those arms of theirsadorned with gold, and their weapons, fell down on the earth, and theythemselves, with limbs mangled, fell down on the field, deprived of life.Only Vrishava, O king, with many wounds on his person, escaped (withlife) from that dreadful battle destructive of heroes. Beholding themlying on the field of battle, thy son Duryodhana, excited with wrath saidunto that Rakshasa of terrible mien, viz., Rishyasringa’s son(Alamvusha), that great bowman versed in illusion, that chastiser offoes, who bore feelings of animosity against Bhimasena in consequence ofthe slaughter of Vaka, these words: “Behold, O hero, how the mighty sonof Phalguni, versed in illusion, hath done me a severe injury bydestroying my forces. Thou also, O sire, art capable of going everywhereat will and accomplished in all weapons of illusion. Thou cherishestanimosity also for Partha. Therefore, do thou slay this one in battle.’Saying ‘Yes’, that Rakshasa of terrible mien proceeded with a leonineroar to that spot where the mighty and youthful son of Arjuna was. And hewas supported by the heroic warriors of his own division, accomplished insmiting, well-mounted, skilled in battle and fighting with bright lances.Accompanied by the remnant of that excellent cavalry division (of theKauravas), he proceeded, desirous of slaying in battle the mighty Iravat.That slayer of foes, viz., the valiant Iravat, excited with rage, andadvancing speedily from desire of slaying the Rakshasa, began to resisthim. Beholding him advance, the mighty Rakshasa speedily set himselfabout for displaying his powers of illusion. The Rakshasa then created anumber of illusive chargers which were riden by terrible Rakshasas armedwith spears and axes. Those two thousand accomplished smiters advancingwith rage, were however, soon sent to the regions of Yama, (falling inthe encounter with Iravat’s forces). And when the forces of bothperished, both of them, invincible in battle, encountered each other likeVritra and Vasava. Beholding the Rakshasa, who was difficult of beingvanquished in battle, advancing towards him, the mighty Iravat, excitedwith rage, began to check his onset. And when the Rakshasa approached himnearer, Iravat with his sword quickly cut off his bow, as also each ofhis shafts into five fragments. Seeing his bow cut off, the Rakshasaspeedily rose up into the welkin, confounding with his illusion theenraged Iravat. Then Iravat also, difficult of approach, capable ofassuming any form at will, and having a knowledge of what are the vitallimbs of the body, rising up into the welkin, and confounding with hisillusion the Rakshasa began to cut off the latter’s limbs in that battleand thus were the limbs of the Rakshasa repeatedly cut into severalpieces.[441] [(Rakshasa ceases to be italicized at this point for acouple of pages.–JBH)] Then the Rakshasa, however, O king, was re-born,assuming a youthful appearance. Illusion is natural with them, and theirage and form are both dependent on their will. And the limbs of thatRakshasa, O king, cut into pieces, presented a beautiful sight. Iravat,excited with rage, repeatedly cut that mighty Rakshasa with his sharpaxe. ‘The brave Rakshasa, thus cut into pieces like a tree by the mightyIravat, roared fiercely’. And those roars of his became deafening.Mangled with the axe, the Rakshasa began to pour forth blood in torrents.Then (Alamvusha), the mighty son of Rishyasringa, beholding his foeblazing forth with energy, became infuriate with rage and himself putforth his prowess in that combat. Assuming a prodigious and fierce form,he endeavoured to seize the heroic son of Arjuna, viz., the renownedIravat. In the sight of all the combatants there present, beholding thatillusion of the wicked Rakshasa in the van of battle, Iravat becameinflamed with rage and adopted steps for himself having recourse toillusion. And when that hero, never retreating from battle, becameinflamed with wrath, a Naga related to him by his mother’s side, came tohim. Surrounded on all sides, in that battle by Nagas, that Naga, O king,assumed a huge form mighty as Ananta himself. With diverse kinds of Nagasthen he covered the Rakshasa. While being covered by those Nagas, thatbull among Rakshasas reflected for a moment, and assuming the form ofGaruda, he devoured those snakes. When that Naga of his mother’s line wasdevoured through illusion, Iravat became confounded. And while in thatstate, the Rakshasa slew him with his sword, Alamvusha felled on theearth Iravat’s head decked with ear-rings and graced with a diadem andlooking beautiful like a lotus or the moon.

“When the heroic son of Arjuna was thus slain by the Rakshasa, theDhartarashtra host with all the kings (in it) were freed from grief. Inthat great battle that was so fierce, awful was the carnage that occurredamong both the divisions. Horses and elephants and foot-soldiersentangled with one another, were slain by tuskers. And many steeds andtuskers were slain by foot-soldiers. And in that general engagementbodies of foot-soldiers and cars, and large numbers of horses belongingboth to thy army and theirs, were slain. O king, by car-warriors.Meanwhile, Arjuna, not knowing that the son of his loins had beenslaughtered, slew in that battle many kings who had been protectingBhishma. And the warriors, O king, of thy army and the Srinjayas, bythousands, poured out their lives as libations (on the fire of battle),striking one another. And many car-warriors, with dishevelled hair, andwith swords and bows fallen from their grasp fought with their bare arms,encountering one another. The mighty Bhishma also, with shafts capable ofpenetrating into the very vitals, slew many mighty car-warriors andcaused the Pandava army to tremble (the while). By him were slain manycombatants in Yudhishthira’s host, and many tuskers and cavalry-soldiersand car-warriors and steeds. Beholding, O Bharata, the prowess of Bhishmain that battle, it seemed to us that it was equal to that of Sakrahimself. And the prowess of Bhimasena, as also that of Parshata, washardly less, O Bharata, (than that of Bhishma). And so also the battlefought by that great bowman (viz., Satyaki) of Satwata’s race, wasequally fierce. Beholding, however, the prowess of Drona, the Pandavaswere struck with fear. Indeed they thought, ‘Alone, Drona can slay uswith all our troops. What then should be said of him when he issurrounded by a large body of warriors who for their bravery are renownedover the world? Even this, O king, was what the Partha said, afflicted byDrona. During the progress of that fierce battle, O bull of Bharata’srace, the brave combatants of neither army forgave their adversaries ofthe other. O sire, the mighty bowmen of both thy army and that of thePandavas, inflamed with wrath, fought furiously with one another, as ifthey were possessed of by the Rakshasas and demons. Indeed, he did notsee any one in the battle which was so destructive of lives and which wasconsidered as a battle of the demons, to take of life.”