Chapter 92

“Sanjaya said, ‘After that bull among men, viz., Duryodhana, had set outfrom behind, following Partha and him of Vrishni’s race, O king, both ofwhom had penetrated into the Kaurava army, the Pandavas accompanied bythe Somakas, quickly rushed against Drona with loud shouts. And thencommenced the battle (between them and Drona’s troops). And the battlethat took place between the Kurus and the Pandavas at the gate of thearray, was fierce and awful, making the hair stand on end. The sightfilled the spectators with wonder. O king, the sun was then in themeridian. That encounter, O monarch, was truly such that we had neverseen or heard of its like before. The Parthas headed by Dhrishtadyumna,all accomplished in smiting and arrayed properly covered the troops ofDrona with showers of arrows. Ourselves also, placing Drona, thatforemost of all wielders of weapons, at our head, covered the Parthas,gathered by Prishata’s son, with our shafts. The two hosts, adorned withcars and looking beautiful, then appeared like two mighty masses ofclouds in the summer sky, driven towards each other by opposite winds.Encountering each other, the two hosts increased their impetuosity, likethe rivers the Ganga and the Yamuna, swollen with water during the seasonof the rains. Having diverse kinds of weapons for the winds that ranbefore them, teeming with elephants and steeds and cars charged withlightning, constituted by the maces wielded by the warriors, the fierceand mighty cloud formed by the Kuru host, urged on by the Drona-tempest,and pouring incessant shafts that constituted its torrents of rain,sought to quench the scorching Pandava-fire. Like an awful hurricane insummer agitating the ocean, that best of Brahmanas, viz., Drona,agitating the Pandava host. Exerting themselves with great vigour, thePandavas rushed towards Drona alone for piercing his host, like a mightytorrent of water towards a strong embankment, for sweeping it away. Likean immovable hill resisting the fiercest current of water, Drona,however, resisted in that battle the enraged Pandavas and Panchalas andKekayas. Many other kings also, endued with great strength and courage,attacking them from all sides, began to resist the Pandavas. Then thattiger among men, viz., the son of Prishata, uniting with the Pandayas,began repeatedly to strike Drona, for piercing the hostile host. Indeed,as Drona showered his arrows on Prishata’s son, even so did the lattershower his on Drona. Having scimitars and swords for the winds that blewbefore it, well-equipped with darts and lances and sabres, with thebow-string constituting its lightning, and the (twang of the) bow for itsroars, the Dhrishtadyumna-cloud poured on all sides torrents of weapons,as its showers of stones. Slaying the foremost of car-warriors and alarge number of steeds, the son of Prishata seemed to deluge the hostiledivisions (with his arrowy downpours). And the son of Prishata, by hisarrows, turned Drona away from all those tracks amid the car-divisions ofthe Pandavas, through which that hero attempted to pass, striking thewarriors there with his shafts. And although Drona struggled vigorouslyin that battle, yet his host, encountering Dhrishtadyumna, became dividedinto three columns. One of these retreated towards Kritavarman, the chiefof the Bhojas; another towards Jalasandha; and fiercely slaughtered thewhile by the Pandavas, proceeded towards Drona himself. Drona, thatforemost of car-warriors, repeatedly united his troops. The mightywarrior Dhrishtadyumna as often smote and separated them. Indeed, theDhartarashtra force, divided into three bodies, was slaughtered by thePandavas and the Srinjayas fiercely, like a herd of cattle in the woodsby many beasts of prey, when unprotected by herdsmen. And people thoughtthat in that dreadful battle, it was Death himself who was swallowing thewarriors first stupefied by Dhrishtadyumna. As a kingdom of a bad king isdestroyed by famine and pestilence and robbers, even so was thy hostafflicted by the Pandavas. And in consequence of the rays of the sunfailing upon the weapons and the warriors, and of the dust raised by thesoldiers, the eyes of all were painfully afflicted. Upon the Kaurava hostbeing divided into three bodies during that dreadful carnage by thePandavas, Drona, filled with wrath, began to consume the Panchalas withhis shafts. And while engaged in crushing those divisions andexterminating them with his shafts, the form of Drona became like that ofthe blazing Yuga-fire. That mighty car-warrior pierced cars, elephants,and steeds, and foot-soldiers, in that battle, each with only a singlearrow, (and never employing more than one in any case). There then was nowarrior in the Pandava army who was capable of bearing, O lord, thearrows shot from the bow of Drona. Scorched by the rays of the sun andblasted by the shafts of Drona, the Pandava divisions there began to reelabout on the field. And thy host also, similarly slaughtered byPrishata’s son, seemed to blaze up at every point like a dry forest onfire. And while both Drona and Dhrishtadyumna were slaughtering the twohosts, the warriors of both armies, in utter disregard of their lives,fought everywhere to the utmost extent of their prowess. Neither in thyhost, nor in that of the enemy, O bull of Bharata’s race, was there asingle warrior who fled away from the battle through fear. Those uterinebrothers, viz., Vivingsati and Chitrasena and the mighty car-warriorVikarna, surrounded Kunti’s son Bhimasena on all sides. And Vinda andAnuvinda of Avanti, and Kshemadhurti of great prowess supported thy threesons (who contended against Bhimasena). King Valhika of great energy andnoble parentage, with his own troops and counsellors, resisted the sonsof Draupadi. Saivya, the chief of the Govasanas, with a thousand foremostwarriors, faced the son, of great prowess, of the king of the Kasis andresisted him. King Salya, the ruler of the Madras, surrounded royalYudhishthira, the son of Kunti, who resembled a blazing fire. The braveand wrathful Duhsasana, properly supported by his own divisions, angrilyproceeded, in that battle, against Satyaki, that foremost ofcar-warriors. I myself, with my own troops, cased in mail and equippedwith weapons, and supported by four hundred foremost of bowmen, resistedChekitana.[138] Sakuni with seven hundred Gandhara warriors armed withbows, darts and swords, resisted the son of Madri (viz., Sahadeva). Vindaand Anuvinda of Avanti, those two great bowmen, who had, for the sake oftheir friend (Duryodhana), uplifted their weapons, disregarding theirlives, encountered Virata, the king of the Matsyas. King Valhika,exerting himself vigorously, resisted the mighty and unvanquishedSikhandin, the son of Yajnasena, that hero capable of resisting all foes.The chief of Avanti, with the Sauviras and the cruel Prabhadrakas,resisted wrathful Dhrishtadyumna, the prince of the Panchalas. Alamvushaquickly rushed against the brave Rakshasa Ghatotkacha. of cruel deeds,who was wrathfully advancing to battle. The mighty car-warriorKuntibhoja, accompanied by a large force, resisted Alamvusha, that princeof Rakshasas, of fierce mien. Thus, O Bharata, hundreds of separateencounters between the warriors of thy army and theirs, took place.

“As regards the ruler of the Sindhus, he remained in the rear of thewhole army protected by many foremost of bowmen and car-warriorsnumbering Kripa amongst them. And the ruler of the Sindhus had for theprotectors of his wheels two of the foremost warriors, viz., the son ofDrona on his right, O king, and the Suta’s son (Karna) on the left. Andfor protecting his rear he had a number of warriors headed by Somadatta’sson, viz., Kripa, and Vrishasena, and Sala, and the invincible Salya, whowere conversant with policy and were mighty bowmen accomplished inbattle. And the Kuru warriors, having made these arrangements for theprotection of the ruler of the Sindhus, fought (with the Pandavas).'”