Chapter 3

“Sanjaya said, ‘Upon the fall of the great bowman Drona, thy sons, thosemighty car-warriors, became pale and deprived of their senses. Armed withweapons, all of them, O monarch, hung down their heads. Afflicted withgrief and without looking at one another, they stood perfectly silent.Beholding them with such afflicted countenances, thy troops, O Bharata,themselves perturbed by grief, vacantly gazed upwards. Seeing Drona slainin battle, the weapons of many of them, O king, dyed with blood, droppedfrom their hands. Innumerable weapons, again, O Bharata, still retainedin the grasp of the soldiers, seemed in their pendent attitude, toresemble falling meteors in the sky. Then king Duryodhana, O monarch,beholding that army of thine thus standing as if paralysed and lifeless,said, “Relying upon the might of your army I have summoned the Pandavasto battle and caused this passage-at-arms to commence! Upon the fall ofDrona, however, the prospect seems to be cheerless. Warriors engaged inbattle all die in battle. Engaged in battle, a warrior may have eithervictory or death. What can be strange then in this (viz., the death ofDrona)? Fight ye with faces turned towards every direction. Behold nowthe high-souled Karna, the son of Vikartana, that great bowman of mightystrength, careering in battle, using his celestial weapons! Through fearof that warrior in battle, that coward, viz., Dhananjaya, the son ofKunti, always turns back like a small deer at the sight of a lion! It ishe who, by the ordinary methods of human battle, brought the mightyBhimasena endued with the strength of 10,000 elephants to that plight! Itis he who, uttering a loud roar, slew with his invincible dart the braveGhatotkaca of a 1,000 illusions and well-acquainted with celestialweapons! Behold today the inexhaustible might of arms of that intelligentwarrior of sure aim and invincible energy! Let the sons of Pandu beholdtoday the prowess of both Ashvatthama and Karna resembling that of Vishnuand Vasava! All of you are singly able to slay the sons of Pandu withtheir troops in battle! How much more then are you capable, when unitedtogether, of that feat! Endued with great energy and accomplished inweapons, you will today behold one another engaged in the achievement ofmighty tasks!'”

“Sanjaya continued, ‘Having said these words, O sinless one, thy sonDuryodhana, with his brothers, made Karna the generalissimo (of the Kuruarmy). Obtaining the command, the mighty car-warrior Karna, so fierce inbattle, uttered loud roars and fought with the foe. He caused, O sire, agreat carnage among the Srinjayas, the Pancalas, the Kekayas, and theVidehas. From his bow issued innumerable lines of arrows, one closebehind the wings of another, like flights of bees. Having afflicted thePancalas and the Pandavas endued with great activity, and slain thousandsof warriors, he was at last slain by Arjuna!”