Chapter 31

“Sanjaya said, ‘Having been first broken by Arjuna of immeasurableprowess, and owing also to the failure of Drona’s vow, in consequence ofYudhishthira having been well-protected, thy warriors were regarded asdefeated. All of them with coats of mail torn and covered with dust, castanxious glances around. Retiring from the field with Drona’s consent,after having been vanquished by their enemies of sure aim and humiliatedby them in battle, they heard, as they proceeded, the countless merits ofPhalguni praised by all creatures, and the friendship of Kesava forArjuna spoken of by all. They passed the night like men under a curse,reflecting upon the course of events and observing perfect silence.

“Next morning, Duryodhana said unto Drona, these words, from petulanceand wrath, and in great cheerlessness of heart at the sight of theprosperity of their foe. Skilled in speech, and filled with rage at thesuccess of the foe, the king said these words in the hearing of all thetroops, ‘O foremost of regenerate ones, without doubt thou hast set usdown for men who should be destroyed by thee. Thou didst not seizeYudhishthira today even though thou hadst got him within thy reach. Thatfoe whom thou wouldst seize in battle is incapable of escaping thee ifonce thou gettest him within sight, even if he be protected by thePandavas, aided by the very gods. Gratified, thou gavest me a boon; now,however, thou dost not act according to it. They that are noble (likethee), never falsify the hopes of one devoted to them.’ Thus addressed byDuryodhana, Bharadwaja’s son felt greatly ashamed. Addressing the king,he said, ‘It behoveth thee not to take me to be such. I always endeavourto achieve what is agreeable to thee. The three worlds with the gods, theAsuras, the Gandharvas, the Yakshas, the Nagas and the Rakshasas, cannotdefeat the force that is protected by the diadem-decked (Arjuna). Therewhere Govinda, the Creator of the universe is, and there where Arjuna isthe commander, whose might can avail, save three-eyed Mahadeva’s, O lord?O sire, I tell the truly today and it will not be otherwise. Today, Iwill slay a mighty car-warrior, one of the foremost heroes of thePandavas. Today I will also form an array that impenetrable by the verygods. Do, however, O king, by some means take Arjuna away from the field.There is nothing that he doth not know or cannot achieve in battle. Fromvarious places hath he acquired all that is to be known about battle.’

“Sanjaya continued, ‘After Drona had said these words, the Samsaptakasonce more challenged Arjuna to battle and took him away to the southernside of the field. Then an encounter took place between Arjuna and hisenemies, the like of which had never been seen or heard of. On the otherhand, the array formed by Drona, O king, looked resplendent. Indeed, thatarray was incapable of being looked at like the sun himself when in hiscourse he reaches the meridian and scorches (everything underneath).Abhimanyu, at the command, O Bharata, of his sire’s eldest brother,pierced in battle that impenetrable circular array in many places. Havingachieved the most difficult feats and slain heroes by thousands, he was(at last) encountered by six heroes together. In the end, succumbing toDuhsasana’s son, O lord of earth, Subhadra’s son, O chastiser of foes,gave up his life. At this we were filled with great joy and the Pandavaswith great grief. And after Subhadra’s son had been slain, our troopswere withdrawn for nightly rest.’

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘Hearing, O Sanjaya, of the slaughter of the son(Abhimanyu), yet in his minority, of that lion among men, (viz., Arjuna),my heart seems to break into pieces. Cruel, indeed, are the duties ofKshatriyas as laid down by the legislators, in as much as brave men,desirous of sovereignty scrupled not to shoot their weapons at even achild. O son of Gavalgana, tell me how so many warriors, accomplished inarms, slew that child who, though brought up in luxury, yet careered overthe field so fearlessly. Tell me, O Sanjaya, how our warriors behaved inbattle with Subhadra’s son immeasurable energy who had penetrated intoour car-array.’

“Sanjaya said, ‘That which thou askest me, O king, viz., the slaughter ofSubhadra’s son, I will describe to thee in detail. Listen, O monarch,with attention. I shall relate to thee how that youth, having penetratedinto our ranks, played with his weapons, and how the irresistible heroesof thy army, all inspired by hope of victory, were afflicted by him. Likethe denizens of a forest abounding with plants and herbs and trees, whensurrounded on all sides by a forest conflagration, the warriors of thyarmy were all filled with fear.'”