Chapter 94

“Sanjaya said, ‘When that fierce battle, causing the hair to stand onend, commenced, the Pandavas rushed against the Kauravas who had beendivided into three bodies. Bhimasena rushed against the mighty-armedJalasandha, and Yudhishthira, at the head of his troops rushed, in thatbattle, against Kritavarman. And Dhrishtadyumna, O king, scattering theshafts, like the sun shooting his rays, rushed against Drona. Thencommenced that battle between all the bowmen, eager for the encounter, ofthe Kurus and the Pandavas, excited with wrath. And during the progressof that terrible carnage, when all the warriors were battling with oneanother fearlessly the mighty Drona fought with the mighty prince of thePanchalas. And the clouds of arrows he shot in that encounter filled allspectators with wonder. And Drona and the prince of the Panchalas,cutting off the heads of men by thousands, scattered them on the field ofbattle, making the latter resemble a forest of lotuses. In everydivision, were soon strewn on the ground robes and ornaments and weapons,and standards and coats of mail. And golden coats of mail, dyed withblood, looked like clouds charged with lightning. Other mightycar-warriors, drawing their large bows measuring full six cubits long,felled with their shafts, elephants and steeds and men. In that dreadfulencounter of arms between brave and high-souled warriors, swords andshields, bows and heads and coats of mail were seen lying scatteredabout. Innumerable headless trunks wore seen to rise up, O king, in themidst of that fierce battle. And vultures and Kankas and jackals andswarms of other carnivorous animals, O sire, were seen there, eating theflesh of fallen men and steeds and elephants, of drinking their blood, ordragging them by the hair, or licking or pecking, O king, at theirmarrow, or dragging their bodies and severed limbs, or rolling theirheads on the ground. Warriors, skilled in battle, accomplished inweapons, and firmly resolved in fight, struggled vigorously in thecombat, solicitous only of fame. Many were the combatants that careeredover the field, performing the diverse evolutions, of swordsmen. Withsabres and darts and lances and spears and axes, with maces and spikedclubs and other kinds of weapons, and with even bare arms, men who hadentered the arena of battle, filled with rage, slew one another. Andcar-warriors fought with car-warriors, and horsemen with horsemen, andelephants with foremost of elephants, and foot-soldiers withfoot-soldiers. And many infuriated elephants, as if perfectly mad,uttered loud shrieks and slew one another, after the manner they do insporting arenas.

“During the progress, O king, of that battle in which the combatantsfought without any regard for one another, Dhrishtadyumna caused his ownsteeds to be mixed up with those of Drona. Those steeds endued with thespeed of the wind, that were white as pigeons and red as blood, thusmixed with one another in battle, looked exceedingly beautiful. Indeed,they looked resplendent like clouds charged with lightning. Then thatslayer of hostile heroes, viz., heroic Dhrishtadyumna, the son ofPrishata, beholding Drona, O Bharata, arrived so near, cast off his bowand took up his sword and shield, for achieving a difficult feat. Seizingthe shaft of Drona’s car, he entered into it. And he stayed sometimes onthe middle of the yoke, and sometimes on its joints and sometimes behindthe steeds. And while he was moving, armed with swords, quickly upon thebacks of those red steeds of Drona, the latter could not detect anopportunity for striking him.[139] All this seemed wonderful to us.Indeed, like the sweep of a hawk in the woods from desire of food, seemedthat sally of Dhrishtadyumna from his own car for the destruction ofDrona. Then Drona cut off, with a hundred arrows, the shield, decked witha hundred moons, of Drupada’s son, and then his sword, with ten others.And mighty Drona then, with four and sixty arrows, slew the steeds of hisantagonist. And with a couple of broad-headed shafts he cut off thelatter’s standard and umbrella also, and then slew both his Parshnicharioteers. And then with great speed drawing his bow-string to his ear,he shot at him a fatal shaft, like the wielder of the thunder hurling thethunder (at a foe). But soon Satyaki, with four and ten sharp shafts, cutoff that fatal arrow of Drona. And thus the Vrishni hero, O sire, rescuedDhrishtadyumna, who had been seized by that lion among men, the foremostof preceptors, like a deer seized by the king of the forests. Even thusdid that bull amongst the Sinis, the prince of the Panchalas. BeholdingSatyaki to rescue the prince of the Panchalas in the dreadful battle,Drona quickly shot at him six and twenty arrows. The grandson of Sinithen, in return, pierced Drona in the centre of the chest with six andtwenty arrows, while the latter was engaged in devouring the Srinjayas.Then all the Panchala car-warriors, desirous of victory upon the Satwatahero, proceeding against Drona, quickly withdrew Dhrishtadyumna from thebattle.'”