Chapter 93

“Sanjaya said, ‘Listen, O king, to me as I describe to thee the wonderfulbattle that then took place between the Kurus and the Pandavas.Approaching Bharadwaja’s son who was staying at the gate of his array,the Parthas battled vigorously for piercing through Drona’s division. AndDrona also, accompanied by his forces, desirous of protecting his ownarray, battled with the Parthas, seeking glory. Vinda and Anuvinda ofAvanti, excited with wrath and desirous of benefiting thy son, struckVirata with ten shafts. Virata also, O king, approaching those twowarriors of great prowess staying in battle, fought with them and theirfollowers. The battle that took place between these was fierce in theextreme, and blood ran in it like water. And it resembled an encounter inthe woods between a lion and a couple of mighty elephants, with renttemples. The mighty son of Yajnasena forcibly struck king Valhika in thatbattle with fierce and sharp shafts capable of penetrating into the veryvitals. Valhika also filled with wrath, deeply pierced Yajnasena’s sonwith nine straight shafts of golden wings and whetted on stone. And thatbattle between those two warriors became exceedingly fierce,characterised as it was by dense showers of shafts and darts. And itenhanced the fears of the timid and the joy of heroes. The arrows shot bythem entirely covered the welkin and all the points of the compass, sothat nothing could any longer be discerned. And Saivya, the king of theGovasanas on the head of the troops, fought in that battle with themighty car-warrior, the prince of the Kasis, like an elephant battlingwith another. The king of the Valhikas, excited with wrath, fighting,against those (five) mighty car-warriors, viz., the son of Draupadi,looked resplendent, like the mind contending against the five senses. Andthose five princes also, O foremost of embodied beings, fought with thatantagonist of theirs, shooting their arrows from all sides, like theobjects of the senses for ever battling with the body. Thy son Duhsasana,struck Satyaki of Vrishni’s race with nine straight shafts of keenpoints. Deeply pierced by that strong and great bowman, Satyaki ofprowess incapable of being baffled, was partially deprived of his senses.Comforted soon, he, of Vrishni’s race, then quickly pierced thy son, thatmighty car-warrior, with ten shafts winged with Kanka feathers. Piercingeach other deeply and afflicted with each other’s shafts, they lookedsplendid, O king, like two Kinsukas decked with flowers. Afflicted withthe arrows of Kuntibhoja, Alamvusha, filled with wrath looked like abeautiful Kinsuka graced with its flowering burthen. The Rakshasa thenhaving pierced Kuntibhoja with many arrows, uttered awful shouts at thehead of thy host. And as those heroes fought with each other in thatbattle, they seemed to all the troops to resemble Sakra and the AsuraJambha in days of old. The two sons of Madri, filled with wrath, fiercelyground with their shafts the Gandhara prince Sakuni who had offendedagainst them greatly. The carnage, O monarch, that set in was awful.Originated by thee, nurtured by Karna, and kept up by thy sons, the fireof wrath (of the Pandavas) hath swollen now, O monarch, and is ready toconsume the whole earth. Forced to turn his back on the field by the twosons of Pandu with their shafts, Sakuni unable to put forth his valour,knew not what to do. Beholding him turn back, those mighty car-warriors,viz., the two sons of Pandu, once more showered their arrows on him liketwo masses of clouds pouring torrents of rain on a mighty hill. Struckwith countless straight shafts, the son of Suvala fled towards thedivision of Drona, borne by his swift steeds. The brave Ghatotkacharushed towards the Rakshasa Alamvusha in that battle, with impetuositymuch short of what he was capable. The battle between those two becamefearful to behold, like that which in days of yore had taken placebetween Rama and Ravana. King Yudhishthira, having in that battle piercedthe ruler of the Madras with five hundred arrows, once more pierced himwith seven. Then commenced that battle between them which was exceedinglywonderful, O monarch, which resembled that, in days of yore, between theAsura Samvara and the chief of the celestials. The sons Vivinsati andChitrasena and Vikarna, surrounded by a large force, battled withBhimasena.'”