Chapter 7

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘When all the foremost of my warriors, O Sanjayahave perished, I do not think that the remnant of my army will notperish! When those two heroes, those two mighty bowmen, those twoforemost of the Kurus, Bhishma and Drona, have been slain, what use can Iany longer have with life? I cannot also brook the death of Radha’s son,that ornament of battle, the might of whose arms was as great as that of10,000 elephants! O foremost of speakers, tell me now, O Suta, who areyet alive in my army after the death of all the foremost heroes! Thouhast told me the names of those that have fallen. It seems, however, tome that those who are still alive are almost all dead!’

“Sanjaya said, ‘That hero O king, to whom Drona, that foremost ofbrahmanas, imparted many blazing, celestial, and mighty weapons of thefour kinds, that mighty car-warrior, possessed of skill and lightness ofhands, that hero of firm grasp, strong weapons, and powerful shafts, thathigh-souled son of Drona, capable of shooting to a great distance, isstill on the field, desirous of battling for thy sake. That dweller ofthe Anarta country, that son of Hridika, that mighty car-warrior, thatforemost one among the Satwatas, that chief of the Bhojas, Kritavarma,accomplished in arms, is on the field, desirous of battle. Artayana’sson, dauntless in battle, that first of warriors, that foremost of allyet on thy side, he, that abandoned his own sister’s sons, the Pandavas,for making his own words true, that hero endued with great activity whopromised in the presence of Yudhishthira that he would in battle depressthe proud spirit of Karna, that invincible Shalya, who is equal untoSakra himself in energy, is still on the field, desirous of battling forthy sake. Accompanied by his own force consisting of Ajaneyas,Saindhavas, mountaineers, dwellers of riparian regions, Kambojas, andVanayus, the king of the Gandharas stayeth on the field, desirous ofbattling for thy sake. Sharadvata’s son called Gautama, O king, enduedwith mighty arms and capable of fighting with diverse weapons in diversebeautiful ways, taking up a beautiful and large bow capable of bearinggreat strain, stayeth on the field, desirous of battle. That mightycar-warrior, the son of the ruler of the Kaikeyas, riding on a goodly carequipped with standard and goodly steeds, stayeth on the field, O chiefof Kuru’s race, for battling for thy sake. Thy son also, that foremost ofheroes in Kuru’s race, Purumitra, O king, riding on his car possessed ofthe effulgence of fire or the Sun, stayeth on the field, like the Sunhimself shining brilliantly in the cloudless firmament. Duryodhana also,endued with great energy, in the midst of an elephant force andaccompanied by many foremost of combatants, stayeth on his car adornedwith gold, desirous of engaging in battle. In the midst of many kings,that foremost of men, possessed of the splendour of a lotus, lookedresplendent in his beautiful armour of gold like a fire with little smokeor the Sun emerged from the clouds. So also thy sons Sushena, armed withsword and shield, and the heroic Satyasena, are staying with Citrasena,their hearts full of joy and themselves desirous of battle. Endued withmodesty, the Bharata princes Citrayudha, Srutavarman, and Jaya, Dala, andSatyavrata, and Dussala, all of whom are possessed of great might, stayon the field, desirous of battle. The ruler of the Kaitavyas, that princeproud of his courage, and capable of fearlessly careering in battle andslaying his foes, possessing foot-soldiers and cavalry, and elephants andcars, stayeth on the field, desirous of battling for thy sake. The heroicSrutayu and Srutayudha, and Citrangada and Citravarman, those foremost ofmen, those proud warriors capable of smiting effectually and possessed ofsureness of aim, stay on the field, desirous of battle. The high-souledSatyasandha, the son of Karna, stayeth on the field, desirous of battle.Two other sons of Karna, possessing a knowledge of high weapons andendued with great lightness of hands, are both staying, O king, at thehead of forces that are large and incapable of being pierced by warriorsof little energy, desirous of battling for thy sake. Accompanied by theseheroes and by many other foremost of warriors, O king, that are possessedof immeasurable might, the Kuru king (Duryodhana) is staying like asecond Indra in the midst of his elephant division in expectation ofvictory!’

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘Thou hast told me duly all that are alive bothamongst us and the foe. From this I plainly see on which side the victorywill be. Indeed, it may be inferred from the facts.'”

Vaishampayana continued, “While saying this, Dhritarashtra the son ofAmbika, having learnt that only a small portion of his army was alive,for all his foremost of warriors had died, felt his heart to beexceedingly agitated by grief. The king swooned away. Partially restoredto his senses, he addressed Sanjaya, saying, ‘Wait for a moment!’ And theking said, ‘O son, having heard of this dire calamity, my heart isgreatly agitated. My senses are being stupefied, and my limbs are aboutto be paralysed!’ Having said these words, Dhritarashtra the son ofAmbika, that lord of earth, lost his senses and fell down on the earth.”