Chapter 23

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘Tell me, O Sanjaya, the distinctive indications ofthe cars of all those who, excited with wrath and headed by Bhimasena,had proceeded against Drona.’

“Sanjaya said, ‘Beholding Vrikodara advancing (on a car drawn) by steedsof dappled hue (like: that of the antelope), the brave grandson of Sini(Satyaki) proceeded, borne by steeds of a silvery hue. The irresistibleYudhamanyu, excited with rage, proceeded against Drona, borne byexcellent steeds of variegated hue. Dhristadyumna, the son of thePanchala king, proceeded, borne by steeds of great fleetness in trappingsof gold and of the hue of pigeons.[43] Desirous of protecting his sire,and wishing him complete success, Dhristadyumna’s son, Kshatradharman ofregulated vows, proceeded., borne by red steeds. Kshatradeva, the son ofSikhandin, himself urging well-decked steeds of the hue of lotus-leavesand with eyes of pure white, proceeded (against Drona). Beautiful steedsof the Kamvoja breed, decked with the feathers of the green parrot,bearing Nakula, quickly ran towards thy army. Dark steeds of the cloudswrathfully bore Uttamaujas, O Bharata, to battle, against the invincibleDrona, standing with arrows aimed. Steeds, fleet as the wind, and ofvariegated hue, bore Sahadeva with upraised weapons to that fiercebattle. Of great impetuosity, and possessed of the fleetness of the wind,steeds of the ivory hue and having black manes on the neck, boreYudhishthira, that tiger among men. And many warriors followedYudhishthira, borne on their steeds, decked in trappings of gold and allfleet as the wind. Behind the king was the royal chief of the Panchalas,viz., Drupada, with a golden umbrella over his head and himself protectedby all those soldiers (that followed Yudhishthira). That great bowmanamong all the kings, viz., Sautabhi, proceeded, borne by beautiful steedscapable of bearing every noise. Accompanied by all the greatcar-warriors, Virata quickly followed the former. The Kaikeyas andSikhandin, and Dhrishtaketu, surrounded by their respective troops,followed the ruler of Matsyas. Excellent steeds of the (pale red) hue oftrumpet-flowers, looked exceedingly beautiful as they bore Virata. Fleetsteeds of yellow colour and decked in chains of gold, bore with greatspeed the son (Uttara) of that slayer of foes, viz., Virata, the royalchief of the Matsyas. The five Kekaya brothers were borne by steeds ofdeep red hue. Of the splendour of gold and owning standards of the redhue, and decked with chains of gold, all of them heroes, accomplished inbattle, they proceeded, clad in mail, and showering arrows like the veryclouds. Excellent steeds, the gift of Tumvuru, of the hue of unbakedearthen pots, bore Sikhandin, the Panchala prince of immeasurable energy.Altogether, twelve thousand mighty car-warriors of the Panchala raceproceeded to battle. Of these, six thousand followed Sikhandin. Sportivesteeds, O sire, of the dappled hue of the antelope, bore the son ofSisupal, that tiger among men. That bull among the Chedis, viz.,Dhrishtaketu, endued with great strength, and difficult of beingvanquished in battle, proceeded, borne by Kamvoja steeds of variegatedhue. Excellent steeds of the Sindhu breed, of beautiful limbs, and of thehue of the smoke of straw, quickly bore the Kaikeya prince,Vrihatkshatra. Possessed of eyes of pure white, of the hue of the lotus,born in the country of the Valhikas, and decked with ornaments, boreSikhandin’s son, the brave Kshatradeva.[44] Decked in trappings of gold,and possessed of the hue of red silk, quiet steeds bore Senavindu, thatchastiser of foes, to battle. Excellent steeds of the hue of cranes, boreto battle the youthful and delicate son of the king of the Kasis, thatmighty car-warrior. White steeds with black necks, endued with the speedof the mind, O monarch, and exceedingly obedient to the driver, boreprince Prativindhya. Whitish yellow steeds bore Sutasoma, the son ofArjuna, whom the latter had obtained from Soma himself. He was born inthe Kuru city known by the name of Udayendu. Endued with effulgence of athousand moons, and because he also had won great renown in an assemblyof the Somakas, he came to be called Sutasoma. Steeds of the hue of Salaflowers or of morning sun bore Nakula’s son Satanika worthy of everypraise. Steeds decked in trappings of gold, and endued with the hue ofthe peacock’s neck, bore that tiger among men, Srutakarman, the son ofDraupdi (by Bhima). Excellent steeds of the hue of the king-fishers boreDraupadi’s son Srutkirti to that battle, who like Partha was an ocean oflearning. Steeds of a tawny hue bore the youthful Abhimanyu who wasregarded as superior to Krishna or Partha one and a half times in battle.Gigantic steeds bore Yuyutsu to battle, that only warrior amongst thesons of Dhritarashtra who (abandoning his brothers) hath sided with thePandavas. Plump and well-decked steeds of the hue of the (dried) paddystalk bore Vardhakshemi of great activity to that dreadful battle. Steedswith black legs, equipped in breast-plates of gold, and exceedinglyobedient to the driver, bore youthful Sauchitti to battle. Steeds whosebacks were covered with golden armour, decked with chains of gold,well-broken, and of the hue of red silk, bore Srenimat. Steeds of a redhue bore the advancing Satyadhriti accomplished in the science of armsand in the divine Vedas. That Panchala who was commander (of the Pandavaarmy) and who took Drona as the victim allotted to his share,–thatDhrishtadyumna,–was borne by steeds of the hue of pigeons. Him followedSatyadhriti, and Sauchitti irresistible in battle, and Srenimat, andVasudana, and Vibhu, the son of the ruler of the Kasis. These had fleetsteeds of the best Kamvoja breed decked with chains of gold. Eachresembling Yama or Vaisravana, they proceeded to battle, striking fearinto the hearts of the hostile soldiers. The Prabhadrakas of the Kamvojacountry, numbering six thousand, with upraised weapons, with excellentsteeds of diverse hues on their gold-decked cars, with stretched bows andmaking their foes tremble with their showers of arrows and resolved todie together,[45] followed Dhristadyumna. Excellent steeds of the hue oftawny silk, decked with beautiful chains of gold, cheerfully boreChekitana. Arjuna’s maternal uncle Purujit, otherwise called Kuntibhoja,came borne by excellent steeds of the colour of the rainbow. Steeds ofthe colour of star-bespangled firmament bore to battle king Rochamana.Steeds of the hue of the red deer, with white streaks over their bodies,bore the Panchala prince Singhasena, the son of Gopati. That tiger amongthe Panchalas who is known by the name of Janamejaya, had excellentsteeds of the hue of mustard flowers. Fleet, gigantic and dark bluesteeds decked with chains of gold, with backs of the hue of curd andfaces of the hue of the moon, bore with great speed the ruler of thePanchalas. Brave steeds with beautiful heads, (white) as the stalks ofreeds, and a splendour resembling that of the firmament or the lotus,bore Dandadhara. Light brown steeds with backs of the hue of the mouse,and with necks proudly drawn up, bore Vyaghradatta to battle.Dark-spotted steeds bore that tiger among men, viz., Sudhanwan, theprince of Panchala. Of fierce impetuosity resembling that of Indra’sthunder, beautiful steeds of the hue of Indragopakas, with variegatedpatches, bore Chitrayudha. Decked with golden chains, steeds whosebellies were of the hue of the Chakravaka bore Sukshatra, the son of theruler of the Kosalas. Beautiful and tall steeds of variegated hue andgigantic bodies, exceedingly docile, and decked with chains of gold, boreSatyadhriti accomplished in battle. Sukla advanced to battle with hisstandard and armour and bow and steeds all of the same white hue. Steedsborn on the sea-coast and white as the moon, bore Chandrasena of fierceenergy, the son of Samudrasena. Steeds of the hue of the blue lotus anddecked with ornaments of gold and adorned with beautiful floral wreaths,bore Saiva owning a beautiful car to battle. Superior steeds of the hueof Kalaya flowers, with white and red streaks, bore Rathasena difficultof being resisted in battle. White steeds bore that king who slew thePatachcharas and who is regarded as the bravest of men. Superior steedsof the hue of Kinsuka flowers bore Chitrayudha decked with beautifulgarlands and owning beautiful armour and weapons and standard. King Nilaadvanced to battle, with standard and armour and bow and banner andsteeds all of the same blue colour. Chitra advanced to battle withcar-fence and standard and bow all decked with diverse kinds of gems, andbeautiful steeds and banner. Excellent steeds of the hue of the lotusbore Hemavarna, the son of Rochamana. Chargers, capable of bearing allkinds of weapons, of brave achievements in battle, possessed of vertebralcolumns of the hue of reeds, having white testicles, and endued with thecolour of the hen’s egg, bore Dandaketu. The mighty Sarangadhwaja, enduedwith wealth of energy, the king of the Pandyas, on steeds of the hue ofthe moon’s rays and decked with armour set with stones of lapis lazuli,advanced upon Drona, stretching his excellent bow. His country havingbeen invaded and his kinsmen having fled, his father had been slain byKrishna in battle. Obtaining weapons then from Bhishma and Drona, Ramaand Kripa, prince Sarangadhwaja became, in weapons, the equal of Rukmiand Karna and Arjuna and Achyuta. He then desired to destroy the city ofDwaraka and subjugate the whole world. Wise friends, however, from desireof doing him good, counselled him against that course. Giving up allthoughts of revenge, he is now ruling his own dominions. Steeds that wereall of the hue of the Atrusa flower bore a hundred and forty thousandprinciple car-warriors that followed that Sarangadhwaja, the king of thePandyas. Steeds of diverse hues and diverse kinds of forces, bore theheroic Ghatotkacha. Mighty steeds of gigantic size, of the Aratta breed,bore the mighty-armed Vrihanta of red eyes mounted on his golden car,that prince, viz., who, rejecting the opinions of all the Bharatas, hathsingly, from his reverence for Yudhishthira. gone over to him, abandoningall his cherished desire.[46] Superior steeds of the hue of gold,followed that foremost of kings viz., the virtuous Yudhishthira at hisback. Large number of Prabhadrakas, of celestial shapes, advanced tobattle, with steeds of diverse excellent colours. All of them owningstandards of gold and prepared to struggle vigorously, proceeded withBhimasena, and wore the aspect, O monarch, of the denizens of heaven withIndra at their head. That assembled host of Prabhadrakas was much likedby Dhristadyumna.’

“Bharadwaja’s son, however, O monarch, surpassed all the warriors insplendour. His standard, with a black deer-skin waving on its top and thebeautiful water-pot, O monarch, that it bore, looked exceedinglybeautiful. And Bhimasena’s standard, bearing the device of a giganticlion in silver with its eyes made of lapis lazuli, looked exceedinglyresplendent. The standard of Yudhishthira of great energy, bearing thedevice of a golden moon with planets around it, looked very beautiful.Two large and beautiful kettle-drums, called Nanda and Upananda, weretied to it. Played upon by machinery, these produced excellent music thatenhanced the delight of all who heard it. For terrifying the foe, webeheld that tall and fierce standard of Nakula, placed on his car bearingthe device of a Sarabha with its back made of gold. A beautiful silverswan with bells and banner terrible to look at and enhancing the grief ofthe foe, was seen on Sahadeva’s standard. The standards of the five sonsof Draupadi bore on them the excellent images of Dharma, Marut, Sakra,and the twin Aswins. On the car, O king, of the youthful Abhimanyu was anexcellent standard that bore a golden peacock, which was bright as heatedgold. On Ghatotkacha’s standard, O king, a vulture shone brightly, andhis steeds also were capable of going everywhere at will, like those ofRavana in days of yore. In Yudhishthira’s hands was the celestial bowcalled Mahendra; and in the hands of Bhimasena, O king, was the celestialbow called Vayavya. For the protection of the three worlds Brahmancreated a bow. That celestial and indestructible bow was held byPhalguni. The Vaishnava bow was held by Nakula, and the bow called Aswinawas held by Sahadeva. That celestial and terrible bow called thePaulastya, was held by Ghatotkacha. The five jewels of bows born by thefive sons of Draupadi were the Raudra, the Agneya, the Kauverya, theYamya, and the Girisa. That excellent and best of bows, called theRaudra, which Rohini’s son (Valadeva) had obtained, the latter gave untothe high-souled son of Subhadra, having been gratified with him. Theseand many other standards decked with gold, were seen there, belonging tobrave warriors, all of which enhanced the fear of their foes. The hostcommanded by Drona, which numbered not a single coward, and in whichcountless standards rising together seemed to obstruct the welkin, thenlooked, O monarch, like images on a canvas. We heard the names andlineage, O king, of brave warriors rushing towards Drona in that battlelike to what is heard, O monarch, at a self-choice.[47]

“Then royal Drupada advanced against him at the head of a mightydivision. The encounter between those two old men at the heads of theirrespective forces became terrible like that between two mighty leaders,with rent temples, of two elephantine herds. Vinda and Anuvinda ofAvanti, with their troops encountered Virata, the ruler of Matsyas at thehead of his forces, like Indra and Agni in days of old encountering the(Asura) Vali. That awful encounter between the Matsyas and the Kekayas,in which steeds and car-warriors and elephants fought most fearlessly,resembled that between the gods and the Asuras in days of old.Bhutakarman, otherwise called Sabhapati, kept away from Drona. Nakula’sson Satanika, as the latter advanced, scattering showers of arrows. Thenthe heir of Nakula, with three broad-headed shafts of great sharpness,deprived Bhutakarman of both his arms and head in that battle. Vivinsatiresisted the heroic Sutasoma of great prowess, as the latter advancedtowards Drona, scattering showers of arrows. Sutasoma, however, excitedwith wrath, pierced his uncle Vivinsati with straight arrows, and casedin mail, stood ready for the combat. Bhimaratha, (brother of Duryodhana),with six sharp shafts of great swiftness and made wholly of iron,despatched Salwa along with his steeds and charioteer to Yama’s abode.Chitrasena’s son, O king, opposed thy (grand) son Srutakarman as thelatter came, borne by steeds, looking like peacocks. Those two grandsonsof thine, both difficult of being vanquished in battle, and each desirousof slaying the other, fought vigorously for the success of the objects oftheir respective sires. Beholding Prativindhya staying at the van of thatdreadful battle, Drona’s son (Aswatthaman), desirous of protecting thehonour of his sire, resisted the former with his shafts. Prativindhya,then, excited with rage pierced Aswatthaman, bearing on his standard thedevice of a lion’s tail and staying in battle for the sake of his father,with many sharp shafts. The (eldest) son of Draupadi then scattered overDrona’s son showers of arrows, like a sower, O bull among men, scatteringseeds on the soil at the sowing season.[48] The son of Duhsasana resistedthe mighty car-warrior Srutakirti, the son of Arjuna by Draupadi, as thelatter was rushing towards Drona. That son of Arjuna, however, who wasequal to Arjuna himself, cutting off the former’s bow and standard andcharioteer with three broad-headed arrows of great sharpness, proceededagainst Drona. Duryodhana’s son, Lakshmana, resisted the slayer of thePatachcharas,–him, that is, O king, who is regarded by both the armiesas the bravest of the brave. The latter, however, cutting off both thebow and the standard of Lakshmana, and showering upon him many arrows,flared up with splendour. The youthful Vikarna of great wisdom resistedSikhandin, the youthful son of Yajnasena, as the latter advanced in thatbattle. Yajnasena’s son then covered the former with showers of arrows.The mighty son Vikarna, baffling those arrowy showers, looked resplendenton the field of battle. Angada resisted with showers of arrows the heroicUttamaujas in that battle as the latter rushed towards Drona. Thatencounter between those two lions among men became frightful, and itfilled both them and the troops with great zeal. The great bowmanDurmukha, endued with great might, resisted with his shafts the heroicPurujit as the latter proceeded towards Drona. Furujit struck Durmukhabetween his eye-brows with a long shaft. Thereupon, Durmukha’s facelooked beautiful like a lotus with its stalk. Karna resisted with showersof arrows the five Kekaya brothers, owning red standards, as theyproceeded towards Drona. Scorched with the arrowy showers of Karna, thosefive brothers covered Karna with their arrows. Karna, in return,repeatedly covered them with showers of arrows. Covered with arrows,neither Karna nor the five brother could be seen with their steeds,charioteers, standards, and cars. Thy sons, Durjaya, Jaya, and Vijaya,resisted Nila, and the ruler of the Kasis, and Jayatsena, three against.And the combat between those warriors deepened and gladdened the heartsof the spectators like those between a lion, a tiger, and a wolf on theone side and a bear, a buffalo, and a bull on the other. The brothersKshemadhurti and Vrihanta mangled Satyaki of the Satwata race with theirkeen arrows, as the latter proceeded against Drona. The battle betweenthose two on one side and Satyaki on the other became exceedinglywonderful to behold, like that between a lion and two mighty elephantswith rent temples in the forest. The king of the Chedis, excited withwrath, and shooting many warriors, kept away from Drona, king Amvashtha,that hero who always delighted, in battle. Then king Amvashtha piercedhis antagonist with a long arrow capable of penetrating into the verybones. Thereupon, the latter, with bow and arrow loosened from his grasp,fell down from his car on the ground. The noble Kripa, son of Saradwata,with many small arrows resisted Vardhakshemi of the Vrishni race who wasthe embodiment of wrath (in battle). They that looked at Kripa, son ofSaradwata, with many small arrows, resisted Vardhakshemi of the Vrishnirace who was the embodiment of wrath (in battle). They that looked atKripa and Vardhakshemi, those heroes conversant with every mode ofwarfare, thus engaged in encountering each other, became so absorbed init that, they could not attend to anything else. Somadatta’s son, forenhancing the glory of Drona, resisted king Manimat of great activity asthe latter came to fight. Then Manimat quickly cut off the bowstring, thestandard, the banner, the charioteer and the umbrella of Somadatta’s sonand caused them to fall down from the latter’s car.[49] The son ofSomadatta then, bearing the device of the sacrificial stake on hisstandard, that slayer of foes, quickly jumping down from his car, cut offwith his large swords, his antagonist with his steeds, charioteer,standard, and car. Re-ascending then upon his own car, and taking upanother bow, and guiding his steeds himself, he began, O monarch, toconsume the Pandava host. Vrishasena (the son of Karna), competent forthe feat, resisted with showers of arrows king Pandava who was rushing tobattle like Indra himself following the Asuras for smiting them. Withmaces and spiked bludgeons, and swords and axes and stones, short clubsand mallets, and discs, short arrows and battle-axes with dust and wind,and fire and water, and ashes and brick-bats, and straw and trees,afflicting and smitting, and breaking, and slaying and routing the foe,and hurling them on the hostile ranks, and terrifying them therewith,came Ghatotkacha, desirous of getting at Drona. The Rakshasa Alambusha,however, excited with rage, encountered him with diverse weapons anddiverse accoutrements of war. And the battle that took place betweenthose two foremost of Rakshasas resembled that which took place in daysof old between Samvara and the chief of the celestials. Thus blessed bethou, took place hundreds of single combats between car-warriors andelephants, and steeds and foot-soldiers of thy army and theirs in themidst of the dreadful general engagement. Indeed, such a battle was neverseen or heard of before as that which then took place between thosewarriors that were bent upon Drona’s destruction and protection. Indeed,many were the encounters that were then seen on all parts of field, someof which were terrible, some beautiful, and some exceedingly fierce, Olord.'”