Chapter 85

“Sanjaya said, ‘Learning that Nakula had been deprived of his car,afflicted with arrows and mangled with the weapons of Karna’s son, andthat he had his shafts, bow, and sword cut off, these eleven formidableresisters of all foes, the five heroic sons of Drupada, the grandson ofSini forming the sixth, and the five sons of Draupadi quickly proceededon their loud-sounding cars drawn by bounding steeds, with banners wavingin the air, and guided by accomplished drivers. Those well-armed warriorsbegan to destroy thy elephants and cars and men and steeds with shaftsthat resembled formidable snakes. Then Hridika’s son and Kripa andDrona’s son and Duryodhana and Shakuni’s son and Vrika and Kratha andDevavridha, those foremost of Kaurava car-warriors, speedily proceededagainst them, armed with their bows and mounted upon their cars of rattledeep as the roar of elephants or the clouds. These Kaurava warriors,assailing those foremost of men and first of car-warriors, those elevenheroes (of the Pandava army), O king, with the mightiest of shafts,checked their progress. At this, the Kulindas, riding upon theirelephants of impetuous speed that looked like mountain summits and thatwere of the hue of newly-risen clouds, advanced against those Kauravaheroes. Well-equipped, and covered with gold, those infuriated elephants,born in Himalayan regions and ridden by accomplished warriors longing forbattle, looked resplendent like clouds in the welkin, charged withlightning. The prince of the Kulindas then vigorously assailed Kripa andhis driver and steeds, with ten shafts made wholly of iron. Struck (inreturn) with the shafts of Sharadvata’s son, the prince fell down withhis elephant on the ground. The younger brother of that prince then,assailing Kripa’s car with a number of lances made wholly of iron and allbright as the rays of the sun, uttered loud roars. The ruler of theGandharvas, however, cut off the head of that warrior while stilluttering those roars. Upon the fall of those Kulindas, those mightycar-warriors of thy army, filled with joy, blew their sea-born conchs,and, armed with bows, rushed against their enemies. The battle then thatonce more took place between the Kurus on the one side and the Pandavasand the Srinjayas on the other, with arrows and scimitars and darts andswords and maces and battle-axes, became fierce and awful and exceedinglydestructive of men and steeds and elephants. Car-warriors and steeds andelephants and foot-soldiers, striking one another, fell down on theground, making the field of battle look like the welkin when congregatedmasses of clouds charged with lightning and producing incessant peals ofthunder are assailed by fierce winds from all sides. Then the chief ofthe Bhojas struck the huge elephants, the car-warriors, the innumerablefoot-soldiers, and the horse under Satanika. Struck with Kritavarma’sshafts, these soon fell down on the ground. About this time, struck withAshvatthama’s shafts, three huge elephants equipped with all kinds ofweapons, ridden by accomplished warriors, and adorned with loftystandards, fell down lifeless on the ground like gigantic cliffs riven bythunder. Then the third brother of the Kulinda chief assailed thy sonDuryodhana with some excellent shafts in the centre of the chest. Thyson, however, pierced him as also his elephant with many whetted shafts.That prince of elephants then, with the prince on his back, fell down,with streams of blood issuing from every part of his body, like amountain of red chalk in the season of rains, with red streams runningdown its breast, tumbling down when riven by the thunder of Sachi’s lord.The Kulinda prince, however, having saved himself in time, rode anotherelephant. Urged by the prince, that animal assailed Kratha with hisdriver and steeds and car. Pierced, however, with Kratha’s shafts, thatelephant, with its rider, fell down like a thunder-riven hill. The rulerof the Krathas, that invincible car-warrior, however, struck with shaftsby the prince born on the mountains from the back of another elephant,fell down with his steeds, driver, bow, and standard, like a mighty treeuprooted by the tempest. Then Vrika deeply pierced with a dozen shaftsthat prince having his abode on the Himavat as he stood on his elephant.The huge beast quickly crushed with his four legs (the Kaurava warrior)Vrika with his steeds and car. That prince of elephants then, with itsrider, deeply pierced by the son of Vabhru, advanced impetuously againstthe latter. Vabhru’s son, however, that prince of the Magadhas, afflictedwith arrows by Sahadeva’s son, fell down. The prince of the Kulindasthen, with that elephant of his which was capable of slaying the foremostof warriors with its tusks and body, rushed impetuously towards Shakunifor slaying him. The mountaineer succeeded in afflicting Shakuni greatly.Soon, however, the chief of the Gandharas cut off his head. About thistime huge elephants and steeds and car-warriors and large bands of foot,struck by Satanika, fell down on the earth, paralysed and crushed likesnakes beaten by the tempest caused by Garuda’s wings. Then a Kulindawarrior (on the Kaurava side), smiling the while, pierced Satanika, theson of Nakula, with many whetted arrows. Nakula’s son, however, with arazor-headed arrow, cut off from his antagonist’s trunk his headresembling a lotus. Then Karna’s son pierced Satanika with three arrows,made wholly of iron and Arjuna also with as many. And he pierced Bhimawith three arrows and Nakula with seven and Janardana with a dozen.Beholding that feat of Vrishasena, that achiever of superhuman feats, theKauravas became filled with joy and applauded him greatly. They, however,that were conversant with Dhananjaya’s prowess, regarded Vrishasena as alibation already poured on the fire. The diadem-decked Arjuna then, thatslayer of hostile heroes, seeing Madri’s son Nakula, that foremost ofmen, deprived of his steeds in the midst of all, and beholding Janardanamangled with arrows, rushed in that battle against Vrishasena who wasthen staying in front of the Suta’s son (Karna). Like Namuci rushingagainst Indra, Karna’s son, that great car-warrior, also rushed, in thatbattle, against that fierce and foremost of men, Arjuna, that warriorpossessing thousands of arrows, as the latter advanced towards him.Unsupported by any one, the high-souled son of Karna, quickly piercingPartha with a shaft in that battle, uttered a loud shout, like Namuci indays of old after having pierced Indra. Once more Vrishasena piercedPartha in the left arm-pit with many formidable shafts. Piercing Krishnanext with nine arrows, he struck Partha again with ten shafts. Thewhite-steeded Arjuna, having before been pierced by Vrishasena with thoseformidable arrows, became slightly enraged and set his heart on theslaughter of Karna’s son. The high-souled and diadem-decked Arjuna then,his brow furrowed from wrath with three lines, quickly sped from the vanof battle a number of shafts for the destruction of Vrishasena in thatencounter. With eyes red in wrath, that hero capable of slaying Yamahimself if the latter fought with him, then laughed terribly and saidunto Karna and all the other Kaurava heroes headed by Duryodhana andDrona’s son, these words, “Today, O Karna, in thy very sight in thisbattle, I will despatch the fierce Vrishasena unto Yama’s abode with mykeen arrows! People say that all of you, united together, slew my son,endued with great activity, in my absence, and while he was alone andunsupported on his car. I, however, will slay thy son in the very sightof you all. Let all the Kaurava car-warriors protect him. I will slay thefierce Vrishasena. After that, I will slay thee, O fool, even I, Arjuna,in the midst of battle! Today I will, in battle, slay thee that art theroot of this quarrel and that hast become so proud in consequence ofDuryodhana’s patronage. Putting forth my strength, I will certainly slaythee in this battle, and Bhimasena will slay this Duryodhana, this wretchamong men, through whose evil policy this quarrel born of dice hatharisen.” Having said these words, Arjuna rubbed the string of his bow andtook aim at Vrishasena in that battle, and sped, O king, a number ofshafts for the slaughter of Karna’s son. The diadem-decked Arjuna then,fearlessly and with great force, pierced Vrishasena with ten shafts inall his vital limbs. With four fierce razor-headed arrows he cut offVrishasena’s bow and two arms and head. Struck with Partha’s shafts, theson of Karna, deprived of arms and head, fell down on the earth from hiscar, like a gigantic shala adorned with flowers falling down from amountain summit. Beholding his son, thus struck with arrows, fall downfrom his vehicle, the Suta’s son Karna, endued with great activity andscorched with grief on account of the death of his son, quickly proceededon his car, inspired with wrath, against the car of the diadem-deckedPartha.

“Indeed, beholding his son slain in his sight by the white-steeded Arjunain battle, the high-souled Karna, filled with great wrath, rushed againstKrishna and Arjuna.'”