Chapter 25

“Sanjaya said, ‘Against Yuyutsu who was employed in routing the vast armyof thy son, Uluka proceeded with speed saying “Wait, Wait.” Then Yuyutsu,O king, with a winged arrow of keen edge struck Uluka with great force,like (Indra himself striking ) a mountain with the thunderbolt. Filledwith rage at this, Uluka, in that battle, cut off thy son’s bow with arazor-headed arrow and struck thy son himself with a barbed shaft.Casting off that broken bow, Yuyutsu, with eyes red in wrath, took upanother formidable bow endued with greater impetus. The prince then, Obull of Bharata’s race, pierced Uluka with sixty arrows. Piercing nextthe driver of Uluka, Yuyutsu struck Uluka once more. Then Uluka, filledwith rage pierced Yuyutsu with twenty shafts adorned with gold, and thencut off his standard made of gold. That lofty and gorgeous standard madeof gold, O king, thus cut off (by Uluka), fell down in front of Yuyutsu’scar. Beholding his standard cut off, Yuyutsu, deprived of his senses bywrath, struck Uluka with five shafts in the centre of the chest. ThenUluka, O sire, in that battle, cut off, with a broad-headed arrow steepedin oil, the head of his antagonist’s driver, O best of the Bharatas.Slaying next his four steeds he struck Yuyutsu himself with five arrows.Deeply struck by the strong Uluka, Yuyutsu proceeded to another car.Having vanquished him in battle, O king, Uluka proceeded quickly towardsthe Pancalas and the Srinjayas and began to slaughter them with sharpshafts. Thy son Srutakarman, O monarch, within half the time taken up bya wink of the eye, fearlessly made Satanika steedless and driverless andcarless. The mighty car-warrior Satanika, however, staying on hissteedless car, O sire, hurled a mace, filled with rage, at thy son. Thatmace, reducing thy son’s car with its steeds and driver into fragments,fell down upon the Earth with great speed, and pierced it through. Thenthose two heroes, both enhancers of the glory of the Kurus, deprived oftheir cars, retreated from the encounter, glaring at each other. Then thyson, overcome with fear, mounted upon the car of Vivingsu, while Satanikaquickly got upon the car of Prativindhya. Shakuni, filled with rage,pierced Sutasoma with many keen shafts, but failed to make the lattertremble like a torrent of water failing to produce any impression upon amountain. Beholding that great enemy of his father, Sutasoma coveredShakuni, O Bharata, with many thousands of arrows. Shakuni, however, thatwarrior of sure aim and conversant with all methods of warfare, actuatedby desire of battle, quickly cut off all those shafts with his own wingedarrows. Having checked those shafts with his own keen arrows in battle,Shakuni, filled with rage, struck Sutasoma with three arrows. Thybrother-in-law then, O monarch, with his arrows cut off into minutefragments the steeds, the standard, and the driver of his adversary, atwhich all the spectators uttered a loud shout. Deprived of his steed andcar, and having his standard cut off, O sire, the great bowman(Sutasoma), jumping down from his car, stood on the Earth, having takenup a good bow. And he shot a large number of arrows equipped with goldenwings and whetted on stone, and shrouded therewith the car of thybrother-in law in that battle. The son of Subala, however, beholdingthose showers of arrows that resembled a flight of locusts, comingtowards his car, did not tremble. On the other hand, that illustriouswarrior crushed all those arrows with arrows of his own. The warriorsthat were present there, as also the Siddhas in the firmament, werehighly pleased at sight of that wonderful and incredible feat ofSutasoma, inasmuch as he contended on foot with Shakuni staying in hiscar. Then Shakuni, with a number of broad-headed shafts of greatimpetuosity, keen and perfectly straight, cut off, O king, the bow ofSutasoma as also all his quivers. Bowless, and carless, Sutasoma then,uplifting a scimitar of the hue of the blue lotus and equipped with anivory handle, uttered a loud shout. That scimitar of the intelligentSutasoma of the hue of the clear sky, as it was whirled by that hero, wasregarded by Shakuni to be as fatal as the rod of Death. Armed with thatscimitar he suddenly began to career in circles over the arena,displaying, O monarch, the fourteen different kinds of manoeuvres, enduedas he was with skill and might. Indeed, he displayed in that battle allthose motions such as wheeling about and whirling on high, and makingside-thrusts and jumping forward and leaping on high and running aboveand rushing forward and rushing upwards. The valiant son of Subala thensped a number of arrows at his foe, but the latter quickly cut them offwith that excellent scimitar of his as they coursed towards him. Filledwith rage (at this), the son of Subala, O king, once more sped atSutasoma a number of shafts that resembled snakes of virulent poison.Aided by his skill and might, Sutasoma cut off even these with hisscimitar, displaying his great activity, and possessed as he was ofprowess equal to that of Garuda himself. With a razor-headed arrow ofgreat sharpness, Shakuni then, O king, cut off that bright scimitar ofhis adversary as the latter careered in circles before him. Thus cut off,(half of) that large scimitar suddenly fell down on the Earth, while halfof it, O Bharata, continued in the grasp of Sutasoma. Seeing his swordcut off, the mighty car-warrior Sutasoma retreated six steps and thenhurled that half (of the scimitar) which he had in his grasp at his foe.The fragment decked with gold and gems, cutting off the bow, with string,of the illustrious Shakuni, quickly fell down on the Earth. Then Sutasomawent to the great car of Srutakirti. Subala’s son also, taking up anotherformidable and invincible bow, proceeded towards the Pandava army,slaying large numbers of foes (on the way). Beholding the son of Subalacareering fearlessly in battle, a loud uproar, O king, arose among thePandavas in that part of the army. People witnessed those large and prouddivisions bristling with arms, routed by the illustrious son of Subala.Even as the chief of the celestials crushed the Daitya army, the son ofSubala destroyed that army of the Pandavas.'”