Chapter 28

“Sanjaya said, ‘During the progress of that battle which was sodestructive of men and steeds and elephants, Subala’s son, Shakuni, Oking, rushed against Sahadeva. The valiant Sahadeva, as Shakuni rushedquickly towards him, sped showers of swift arrows at that warrior asnumerous as a flight of insects. At that time, Uluka also encounteredBhima and pierced him with ten arrows, Shakuni, meanwhile, O monarch,having pierced Bhima with three arrows, covered Sahadeva with ninety.Indeed, those heroes, O king, encountering one another in that battle,pierced one another with many keen arrows equipped with Kanka and peacockfeathers, winged with gold, whetted on stone, and sped from bow-stringsdrawn to their ears. Those showers of arrows sped from their bows andarms, O monarch, shrouded all the points of the compass like a thickshower of rain poured from the clouds. Then Bhima, filled with rage, andSahadeva of great valour, both endued with great might, careered in thatbattle, making an immense carnage. That army, O Bharata, was covered withhundreds of arrows by those two warriors. In consequence thereof, thewelkin on many parts of the field became shrouded with darkness. Inconsequence, O monarch, of steeds, covered with arrows, dragging afterthem, as they ran, a large number of slain combatants, the tracks on manyparts of the field became entirely blocked up. Covered with steeds slainwith their riders, with broken shields and lances, O monarch, and withswords and darts and spears all around, the Earth looked variegated as ifstrewn with flowers. The combatants, O king, encountering one another,careered in battle, filled with wrath and taking one another’s life. Soonthe field became strewn with heads, beautiful as the filaments of thelotus, adorned with earrings and graced with faces set with eyes upturnedin wrath and lips bit in rage. Covered also, O monarch, with the severedarms of warriors that resembled the trunks of huge elephants, that wereadorned with Angadas and cased in leathern fences, and that still heldswords and lances and battle-axes, and with headless bodies risen ontheir feet and bleeding and dancing on the field, and swarming withcarnivorous creatures of diverse kinds, the Earth, O lord, presented afrightful aspect! After the Bharata army had been reduced to a smallremnant, the Pandavas, filled with delight in that dreadful battle beganto despatch the Kauravas to Yama’s abode. Meanwhile, the heroic andvaliant son of Subala’s son very forcibly struck Sahadeva on the headwith a lance. Exceedingly agitated, O monarch, in consequence of theblow, Sahadeva sat down on the terrace of his car. Beholding Sahadeva inthat plight, the valiant Bhima, filled with rage, O Bharata, held thewhole Kuru army in check. With his cloth-yard shaft he pierced hundredsand thousands of hostile warriors, and having pierced them so, thatchastier of foes uttered a leonine roar. Frightened at that roar, all thefollowers of Shakuni, with their steeds and elephants, precipitately fledaway in fear. Beholding them broken, king Duryodhana said unto them,”Stop, ye Kshatriyas, unacquainted with morality! Fight! What is the useof flight? That hero, who, without showing his back casteth away his lifebreath in battle, achieveth fame here and enjoyeth regions of blisshereafter!” Thus exhorted by the king, the followers of Subala’s son oncemore advanced against the Pandavas, making death their goal. Awful, Omonarch, was the noise made by those rushing warriors, resembling that ofthe agitated ocean. At this, the field of battle became agitated allaround. Beholding those followers of Subala’s son thus advancing inbattle, the victorious Pandavas, O monarch, proceeded against them.Comforted a little, the invincible Sahadeva, O monarch, pierced Shakuniwith ten arrows and his steeds with three. With the greatest ease he thencut off the bow of Subala’s son with a number of other arrows. Invinciblein battle, Shakuni, however, took up another bow and pierced Nakula withsixty arrows and then Bhimasena with seven. Uluka also, O king, desirousof rescuing his sire in that engagement, pierced Bhima with seven arrowsand Sahadeva with seventy. Bhimasena in that encounter pierced Uluka withmany keen arrows and Shakuni with four and sixty, and each of the otherwarriors who fought around them, with three arrows. Struck by Bhimasenawith shafts steeped in oil, the Kauravas, filled with rage in thatbattle, covered Sahadeva with showers of arrows like lightning-chargedclouds pouring rain on a mountain-breast. The heroic and valiant Sahadevathen, O monarch, cut off, with a broad-headed arrow, the head of Uluka asthe latter advanced against him. Slain by Sahadeva, Uluka, gladdening thePandavas in that battle, fell down on the earth from his car, all hislimbs bathed in blood. Beholding his son slain, Shakuni, O Bharata, withvoice choked with tears and drawing deep breaths, recollected the wordsof Vidura. Having reflected for a moment with tearful eyes, Shakuni,breathing heavily, approached Sahadeva and pierced him with three arrows.Baffling those arrows sped by Subala’s son with showers of shafts, thevaliant Sahadeva, O monarch, cut off his antagonist’s bow in that battle.Seeing his bow cut off, O king, Shakuni, the son of Subala, took up aformidable scimitar and hurled it at Sahadeva. The latter, however, withthe greatest ease, O monarch, cut off in twain that terrible scimitar ofSubala’s son as it coursed towards him in that encounter. Beholding hissword cut in twain, Shakuni took up a formidable mace and hurled it atSahadeva. That mace also, unable to achieve its object, fell down on theEarth. After this, Subala’s son, filled with rage, hurled at the son ofPandu an awful dart that resembled an impending death night. With thegreatest ease Sahadeva, in that encounter, cut off, with his gold-deckedshafts, into three fragments, that dart as it coursed swiftly towardshim. Cut off into fragments, that dart adorned with gold fell down on theearth like a blazing thunderbolt from the firmament, diverging into manyflashes. Beholding that dart baffled and Subala’s son afflicted withfear, all thy troops fled away in fright. Subala’s son himself joinedthem. The Pandavas then, eager for victory, uttered loud shouts. Asregards the Dhartarashtras, almost all of them turned away from thefight. Seeing them so cheerless, the valiant son of Madri, with many1,000 shafts, checked them in that battle. Then Sahadeva came uponSubala’s son as the latter, who was still expectant of victory, wasflying away, protected by the excellent cavalry of the Gandharas.Recollecting, O king, that Shakuni, who had fallen to his share, wasstill alive, Sahadeva, on his car adorned with gold, pursued thatwarrior. Stringing his formidable bow and drawing it with great force,Sahadeva, filled with rage, pursued the son of Subala and vigorouslystruck him with many shafts equipped with vulturine feathers and whettedon stone, even like a person striking a mighty elephant with pointedlances. Endued with great energy of mind, Sahadeva, having afflicted hisfoe thus, addressed him, as if for calling back to mind (his pastmisdeeds), in these words, ‘Adhering to the duties of a Kshatriya, fight(with me) and be a man! Thou hadst, O fool, rejoiced greatly in the midstof the assembly, while gambling with dice! Receive now, O thou of wickedunderstanding, the fruit of that act! All those wicked-souled ones thathad ridiculed us then have perished! Only that wretch of his race,Duryodhana, is still alive, and thyself, his maternal uncle! Today Ishall slay thee, striking off thy head with a razor-headed arrow like aperson plucking a fruit from a tree with a stick!” Saying these words, Omonarch, Sahadeva of great strength, that tiger among men, filled withrage, rushed impetuously against Shakuni. Approaching his enemy, theinvincible Sahadeva, that foremost of warriors, forcibly drawing his bowand as if burning his foe with wrath, pierced Shakuni with ten arrows andhis steeds with four. Then cutting off his umbrella and standard and bow,he roared like a lion. His standard and bow and umbrella thus cut off bySahadeva, Subala’s son was pierced with many arrows in all his vitallimbs. Once again, O monarch, the valiant Sahadeva sped at Shakuni anirresistible shower of arrows. Filled with rage, the son of Subala then,single-handed, rushed with speed against Sahadeva in that encounter,desirous of slaying the latter with a lance adorned with gold. The son ofMadri, however, with three broad-headed arrows, simultaneously cut off,without losing a moment, that uplifted lance as also the two well-roundedarms of his enemy at the van of battle, and then uttered a loud roar.Endued with great activity, the heroic Sahadeva then, with a broad-headedarrow, made of hard iron, equipped with wings of gold, capable ofpenetrating every armour, and sped with great force and care, cut offfrom his trunk his enemy’s head. Deprived of his head by the son of Panduwith that gold-decked arrow of great sharpness and splendour like thesun’s, Subala’s son fell down on the earth in that battle. Indeed, theson of Pandu, filled with rage, struck off that head which was the rootof the evil policy of the Kurus, with that impetuous shaft winged withgold and whetted on stone. Beholding Shakuni lying headless on the groundand all his limbs drenched with gore, thy warriors, rendered powerlesswith fear, fled away on all sides with weapons in their hands. At thattime, thy sons, with cars, elephants, horse and foot entirely broken,heard the twang of Gandiva and fled away with colourless faces, afflictedwith fear and deprived of their senses. Having thrown down Shakuni fromhis car, the Pandavas, O Bharata, became filled with delight. Rejoicingwith Keshava among them, they blew their conchs in that battle,gladdening their troops. All of them, with glad hearts, worshippedSahadeva, and said, “By good luck, O hero, Shakuni of wicked soul, thatman of evil course, hath, with his son, been slain by thee!'”