Chapter 24

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘When the troops were thus engaged and thusproceeded against one another in separate divisions, how did Partha andthe warriors of my army endued with great activity fight? What also didArjuna do towards the car-warriors of the Samsaptakas? And what, OSanjaya, did the Samsaptakas, in their turn, do to Arjuna?’

“Sanjaya said, ‘When the troops were thus engaged and proceeded againstone another, thy son Duryodhana himself rushed against Bhimasena, leadinghis elephant division. Like an elephant encountering an elephant, like abull encountering a bull, Bhimasena, summoned by the king himself, rushedagainst that elephant division of the Kaurava army. Skilled in battle andendued with great might of arms, Pritha’s son, O sire, quickly broke thatelephant division. These elephants, huge as hills, and with ichortrickling down from every part of their bodies, were mangled and forcedto turn back by Bhimasena with his arrows. Indeed, as the wind, when itriseth, driveth away gathering masses of clouds, so did that son ofPavana rout that elephant force of the Kauravas. And Bhima, shooting hisarrows at those elephants, looked resplendent like the risen sun,striking everything in the world with his rays. Those elephants,afflicted with the shafts of Bhima, became covered with blood and lookedbeautiful like masses of clouds in the welkin penetrated with the rays ofthe sun. Then Duryodhana, excited with wrath, pierced with the sharpshafts that son of the Wind-god who was causing such a slaughter amonghis elephants. Then Bhima, with eyes red in wrath, desirous ofdespatching the king to Yama’s abode, pierced him speedily with manysharp shafts. Then Duryodhana, mangled all over with arrows and excitedwith rage, pierced Bhima, the son of Pandu, with many shafts endued withthe effulgence of solar rays, smiling the while. Then the son of Pandu,with a couple of broad-headed arrows, quickly cut off Duryodhana’s bow asalso his standard, bearing the device of a jewelled elephant, decked withdiverse gems. Beholding Duryodhana thus afflicted, O sire, by Bhima, theruler of the Angas on his elephant came there for afflicting the son ofPandu. Thereupon, Bhimasena deeply pierced with a long arrow that princeof elephants advancing with loud roars, between its two frontal globes.That arrow, penetrating through its body, sank deep in the earth. And atthis the elephants fell down like a hill riven by the thunder. While theelephant was falling down, the Mleccha king also was falling down it. ButVrikodara, endued with great activity, cut off his head with abroad-headed arrow before his antagonist actually fell down. When theheroic ruler of the Angas fell, his divisions fled away. Steeds andelephants and car-warriors struck with panic, crushed the foot-soldiersas they fled.

“When those troops, thus broken, fled away in all directions, the rulerof the Pragjyotishas then advanced against Bhima, upon his elephant.[50]With its two (fore) legs and trunk contracted, filled with rage, and witheyes rolling, that elephant seemed to consume the son of Pandu (like ablazing fire). And it pounded Vrikodara’s car with the steed yokedthereto into dust. Then Bhima ran forward and got under the elephant’sbody, for he knew the science called Anjalikabedha. Indeed, the son ofPandu fled not. Getting under the elephant’s body, he began to strike itfrequently with his bare arms. And he smote that invincible elephantwhich was bent upon slaying him. Thereupon, the latter began to quicklyturn round like a potter’s wheel. Endued with the might of ten thousandelephants, the blessed Vrikodara, having struck that elephant thus, cameout from under Supratika’s body and stood facing the latter. Supratikathen, seizing Bhima by its trunk, threw him down by means of its knees.Indeed, having seized him by the neck, that elephant wished to slay him.Twisting the elephant’s trunk, Bhima freed himself from its twine, andonce more got under the body of that huge creature. And he waited there,expecting the arrival of a hostile elephant of his own army. Coming outfrom under the beast’s body, Bhima then ran away with great speed. Then aloud noise was heard, made by all the troops, to the effect, ‘Alas, Bhimahath been slain by the elephant!’ The Pandava host, frightened by thatelephant, suddenly fled away, O king, to where Vrikodara was waiting.Meanwhile, king Yudhishthira, thinking Vrikodara to have been slain,surrounded Bhagadatta on all sides, aided by the Panchalas. Havingsurrounded him with numerous cars, king Yudhishthira that foremost ofcar-warriors, covered Bhagadatta with keen shafts by hundreds andthousands. Then Bhagadatta, that king of the mountainous regions,frustrating with his iron hook that shower of arrows, began to consumeboth the Pandavas and the Panchalas by means of that elephant of his.Indeed. O monarch, the feat that we then beheld, achieved by oldBhagadatta with his elephant, was highly wonderful. Then the ruler of theDasarnas rushed against the king of the Pragjyotisha, on a fleet elephantwith temporal sweat trickling down, for attacking Supratika in the flank.The battle then that took place between those two elephants of awfulsize, resembled that between two winged mountains overgrown with forestsin days of old. Then the elephant of Bhagadatta, wheeling round andattacking the elephant of the king of the Dasarnas, ripped open thelatter’s flank and slew it outright. Then Bhagadatta himself with sevenlances bright as the rays of the sun, slew his (human) antagonist seatedon the elephant just when the latter was about to fall down from hisseat. Piercing king Bhagadatta then (with many arrows), Yudhishthirasurrounded him on all sides with a large number of cars. Staying on hiselephant amid car-warriors encompassing him all around, he lookedresplendent like a blazing fire on a mountain-top in the midst of a denseforest. He stayed fearlessly in the midst of those serried cars ridden byfierce bowmen, all of whom showered upon him their arrows. Then the kingof the Pragjyotisha, pressing (with his toe) his huge elephant, urged himtowards the car of Yuyudhana. That prodigious beast, then seizing the carof Sinis grandson, hurled it to a distance with great force. Yuyudhana,however, escaped by timely flight. His charioteer also, abandoning thelarge steeds of the Sindhu breed, yoked unto that car, quickly followedSatyaki and stood where the latter stopped. Meanwhile the elephant,quickly coming out of the circle of cars, began to throw down all thekings (that attempted to bar his course). These bulls among men,frightened out of their wits by that single elephant coursing swiftly,regarded it in that battle as multiplied into many. Indeed, Bhagadatta,mounted on that elephant of his, began to smite down the Pandavas, likethe chief of the celestials mounted on Airavata smiting down the Danavas(in days of old).[51] As the Panchalas fled in all directions, loud andawful was the noise that arose amongst them, made by their elephants andsteeds. And while the Pandava troops were thus destroyed by Bhagadatta,Bhima, excited with rage, once more rushed against the ruler of thePragjyotisha. The latter’s elephant then frightened the steeds ofadvancing Bhima by drenching them with water spouted forth from itstrunk, and thereupon those animals bore Bhima away from the field. ThenKriti’s son, Ruchiparvan, mounted on his car, quickly rushed againstBhagadatta, scattering showers of arrows and advancing like the Destroyerhimself. Then Bhagadatta, that ruler of the hilly regions, possessed ofbeautiful limbs, despatched Ruchiparvan with a straight shaft to Yama’sabode.[52] Upon the fall of the heroic Ruchiparvan, Subhadra’s son andthe sons of Draupadi, and Chekitana, and Dhrishtaketu, and Yuyutsu beganto afflict the elephant. Desiring to slay that elephant, all thosewarriors, uttering loud shouts, began to pour their arrows on theanimals, like the clouds drenching the earth with their watery down-pour.Urged then by its skilful rider with heel, hook, and toe the animaladvanced quickly with trunk stretched, and eyes and cars fixed. Treadingdown Yuyutsu’s steeds, the animal then slew the charioteer. Thereupon, Oking, Yuyutsu, abandoning his car, fled away quickly. Then the Pandavawarriors, desirous of slaying that prince of elephants, uttered loudshouts and covered it quickly with showers of arrows. At this time, thyson, excited with rage, rushed against the car of Subhadra’s son.Meanwhile, king Bhagadatta on his elephant, shooting shafts on the foe,looked resplendent like the Sun himself scattering his rays on the earth.Arjuna’s son then pierced him with a dozen shafts, and Yuyutsu with ten,and each of the sons of Draupadi pierced him with three shafts andDhrishtaketu also pierced him with three. That elephant then, piercedwith these shafts, shot with great care, looked resplendent like a mightymass of clouds penetrated with the rays of the sun. Afflicted with thoseshafts of the foe, that elephant then, urged by its riders with skill andvigour, began to throw hostile warriors on both his flanks. Like acowherd belabouring his cattle in the forest with a goad, Bhagadattarepeatedly smote the Pandava host. Like the cawing of quickly retreatingcrows when assailed by hawks, a loud and confused noise was heard amongthe Pandava troops who fled away with great speed. That prince ofelephants, struck by its rider with hook, resembled, O king, a wingedmountain of old. And it filled the hearts of the enemy with fear, like towhat merchants experience at sight of the surging sea.[53] Then elephantsand car-warriors and steeds and kings, flying away in fear, made, as theyfled, a loud and awful din that, O monarch, filled the earth and sky andheaven and the cardinal and subsidiary directions in that battle. Mountedon that foremost of elephants, king Bhagadatta penetrated the hostilearmy like the Asura Virochana in days of old into the celestial host inbattle well-protected by the gods. A violent wind began to blow; a dustycloud covered the sky and the troops; and people regarded that singleelephant as multiplied into many, coursing all over the field.'”