Chapter 15

“Sanjaya said, ‘Endued with the greatest activity, Drona’s son, O king,displaying the lightness of his arms, pierced Bhima with an arrow. Aimingat all his vital points–for he had a knowledge of all the vital pointsof the body–the quick-handed Ashvatthama again struck him with ninetyshafts. Pierced all over with keen arrows by the son of Drona, Bhimasenalooked resplendent in that battle like the Sun himself with his rays. Theson of Pandu then, covering the son of Drona with a 1,000 well-directedshafts, uttered a leonine roar. Baffling with his own shafts the shaftsof his foe in that battle, the son of Drona, O king, as if smiling, thenstruck the Pandava on the forehead with a cloth-yard shaft. The son ofPandu bore that arrow on his forehead even as the proud rhinoceros, Oking, in the forest bears its horn. The valiant Bhima, then, in thatbattle as if smiling all the while, struck the struggling son of Drona onthe forehead with three cloth-yard shafts. With those three arrowssticking on his forehead, that brahmana looked beautiful like athree-peaked mountain washed with water in the season of rains. The sonof Drona then afflicted the Pandava with hundreds of arrows, but failedto shake him like the wind failing to shake the mountain. Similarly theson of Pandu, filled with joy, could not in that battle shake the son ofDrona with his hundreds of keen shafts like torrents of rain failing toshake a mountain. Shrouding each other with showers of terrible shaftsthose two great car-warriors, those two heroes, endued with fierce might,shone resplendent on those two foremost of cars of theirs. Then theylooked like two blazing Suns risen for the destruction of the world, andengaged themselves in scorching each other with their rays representingexcellent arrows. Endeavouring with great care to counteract each other’sfeats in the great battle, and actually engaged in matching deed by deedwith showers of arrows most fearlessly, those two foremost of mencareered in that combat like a couple of tigers. Both invincible andterrible, arrows constituted their fangs and bows their mouths. Theybecame invisible under those clouds of arrows on all sides like the Sunand the Moon in the firmament shrouded by masses of clouds. And thenthose two chastisers of foes soon became visible and blazed forth likeMars and Mercury freed from cloudy screens. Then at that instant duringthe progress of that awful battle, Drona’s son placing Vrikodara to hisright, poured hundreds of fierce arrows upon him like the clouds pouringtorrents of rain upon a mountain. Bhima, however, could not brook thatindication of his enemy’s triumphs. The son of Pandu, O king, from thatvery station on Ashvatthama’s right, began to counteract the latter’sfeats. Their cars continuing to wheel around in diverse ways and advanceand retreat (according to the exigencies of the situation), the battlebetween those two lions among men became exceedingly furious. Careeringin diverse paths, and (executing) circular manoeuvres, they continued tostrike each other with arrows shot from their bows drawn to their fulleststretch. And each made the greatest endeavours to compass the destructionof the other. And each of them desired to make the other carless in thatbattle. Then that car-warrior, viz., the son of Drona, invoked manymighty weapons. The son of Pandu, however, in that battle, with his ownweapons, counteracted all those weapons of his foe. Then, O monarch,there took place an awful encounter of weapons, like to the terribleencounter of planets at the time of the universal dissolution. Thoseshafts, O Bharata, let off by them, coming in collision, illuminated allthe points of the compass and thy troops also all around. Covered withflights of arrows, the welkin assumed a terrible sight, like to whathappens, O king, at the time of the universal dissolution, when it iscovered with falling meteors. From the clash of shafts, O Bharata, firewas generated there with sparks and blazing flames. That fire began toconsume both armies. Siddhas, moving there, O monarch, said these words,”O lord, this battle is the foremost of all battles. Any battle (foughtbefore) does not come up to even a sixteenth part of this. A battle likethis will never occur again. Both these persons, viz., this brahmana andthis kshatriya, are endued with knowledge. Both are possessed of courage,and both are fierce in prowess. Dreadful is the might of Bhima, andwonderful is the skill of the other in weapons. How great is their energyand how wonderful the skill possessed by both! Both of them stand in thisbattle like two universe-destroying Yamas at the end of the Yuga. Theyare born like two Rudras or like two Suns. These two tigers among men,both endued with terrible forms, are like two Yamas in this battle.” Suchwere the words of the Siddhas heard there every moment. And among theassembled denizens of heaven there arose a leonine roar. Beholding theamazing and inconceivable feats of the two warriors in that battle, thedense throngs of Siddhas, and Charanas were filled with wonder. And thegods, the Siddhas, and the great Rishis applauded them both saying,”Excellent, O mighty-armed son of Drona. Excellent, O Bhima.” Meanwhilethose two heroes, in that battle, O king, having done injuries to eachother, glared at each other with eyes rolling in rage. With eyes red inrage, their lips also quivered in rage. And they grinded their teeth inwrath and bit their lips. And those two great car-warriors covered eachother with showers of arrows, as if they were in that battle two massesof clouds that poured torrents of arrows for rain and that gleamed withweapons constituting their lightning. Having pierced each other’sstandards and drivers in that great battle, and having also pierced eachother’s steeds, they continued to strike each other. Then, O monarch,filled with rage, they took up in that dreadful encounter, two arrows,and each desirous of slaying the other shot quickly at his foe. Those twoblazing arrows, resistless and endued with the force of thunder, coming,O king, to the two warriors as they stood at the head of their respectivedivisions, struck them both. Each of the two mighty combatants thendeeply struck with those arrows, sank, on the terrace of their respectivecar. Understanding the son of Drona to be insensible, his driver thenbore him away from the battle-field, O king, in the sight of all thetroops. Similarly, O king, Bhima’s driver bore away from the battle-fieldon his car, the son of Pandu, that scorcher of foes, who was repeatedlyfalling into a swoon.'”