Chapter 55

“Vaisampayana said, ‘After the son of Radha had fled from the field,other warriors headed by Duryodhana, one after another, fell upon the sonof Pandu with their respective divisions.And like the shore withstandingthe fury of the surging sea, that warrior withstood the rage of thatcountless host rushing towards him, arrayed in order of battle andshowering clouds of arrows. And that foremost of car-warriors, Kunti’sson Vibhatsu of white steeds, rushed towards the foe, dischargingcelestial weapons all the while. Partha soon covered all the points ofthe horizon with countless arrows shot from the Gandiva, like the suncovering the whole earth with his rays. And amongst those that fought oncars and horses and elephants, and amongst the mail-clad foot-soldiers,there was none that had on his body a space of even two finger’s breadthunwounded with sharp arrows. And for his dexterity in applying celestialweapons, and for the training of the steeds and the skill of Uttara, andfor the coursing of his weapons, and his prowess and light-handedness,people began to regard Arjuna as the fire that blazeth forth during thetime of the universal dissolution for consuming all created things. Andnone amongst the foe could cast his eyes on Arjuna who shone like ablazing fire of great effulgence. And mangled by the arrows of Arjuna,the hostile ranks looked like newly-risen clouds on the breast of a hillreflecting the solar rays, or like groves of Asoka trees resplendent withclusters of flowers. Indeed, afflicted by the arrows of Partha, thesoldiers looked like these, or like a beautiful garland whose flowersgradually wither and drop away: And the all-pervading wind bore on itswings in the sky the torn flags and umbrellas of the hostile host. Andaffrighted at the havoc amongst their own ranks, the steeds fled in alldirections, freed from their yokes by means of Partha’s arrows anddragging after them broken portions of cars and elephants, struck ontheir ears and ribs and tusks and nether lips and other delicate parts ofthe body, began to drop down on the battle-field. And the earth, bestrewnin a short time with the corpses of elephants belonging to the Kauravas,looked like the sky overcast with masses of black clouds. And as thatfire of blazing flames at the end of the yuga consumeth all perishablethings of the world, both mobile and immobile, so did Partha, O king,consumeth all foes in battle. And by the energy of his weapons and thetwang of his bow, and the preter-natural yells of the creatures stationedon his flagstaff, and the terrible roar of the monkey, and by the blastof his conch, that mighty grinder of foes, Vibhatsu, struck terror intothe hearts of all the troops of Duryodhana. And the strength of everyhostile warrior seemed, as it were, to be levelled to the dust at thevery sight of Arjuna. And unwilling to commit the daring act of sin ofslaying them that were defenceless, Arjuna suddenly fell back andattacked the army from behind by means of clouds of keen-edged arrowsproceeding towards their aims like hawks let off by fowlers. And he sooncovered the entire welkin with clusters of blood-drinking arrows. And asthe (infinite) rays of the powerful sun, entering a small vessel, arecontracted within it for want of space, so the countless shafts of Arjunacould not find space for their expansion even within the vast welkin.Foes were able to behold Arjuna’s car, when near, only once, forimmediately after, they were with their horses, sent to the other world.And as his arrows unobstructed by the bodies of foes always passedthrough them, so his car, unimpeded by hostile ranks, always passedthrough the latter. And, indeed, he began to toss about and agitate thehostile troops with great violence like the thousand-headed Vasukisporting in the great ocean. And as Kiritin incessantly shot his shafts,the noise of the bow-string, transcending every sound, was so loud thatthe like of it had never been heard before by created beings. And theelephants crowding the field, their bodies pierced with (blazing) arrowswith small intervals between looked like black clouds coruscated withsolar rays. And ranging in all directions and shooting (arrows) right andleft, Arjuna’s bow was always to be seen drawn to a perfect circle. Andthe arrows of the wielder of the Gandiva never fell upon anything exceptthe aim, even as the eye never dwelleth on anything that is notbeautiful. And as the track of a herd of elephants marching through theforest is made of itself, so was the track was made of itself for the carof Kiritin. And struck and mangled by Partha, the hostile warriorsthought that,–Verily, Indra himself, desirous of Partha’s victory,accompanied by all the immortals is slaying us! And they also regardedVijaya, who was making a terrible slaughter around, to be none else thanDeath himself who having assumed the form of Arjuna, was slaying allcreatures. And the troops of the Kurus, struck by Partha, were so mangledand shattered that the scene looked like the achievement of Parthahimself and could be compared with nothing else save what was observablein Partha’s combats. And he severed the heads of foes, even as reaperscut off the tops of deciduous herbs. And the Kurus all lost their energyowing to the terror begot of Arjuna. And tossed and mangled by theArjuna-gale, the forest of Arjuna’s foes reddened the earth with purplesecretions. And the dust mixed with blood, uplifted by the wind, made thevery rays of the sun redder still. And soon the sun-decked sky became sored that it looked very much like the evening. Indeed, the sun ceaseth toshed his rays as soon as he sets, but the son of Pandu ceased not toshoot his shafts. And that hero of inconceivable energy overwhelmed, bymeans of all celestial weapons, all the great bowmen of the enemy,although they were possessed of great prowess. And Arjuna then shot threeand seventy arrows of sharp points at Drona, and ten at Dussaha and eightat Drona’s son, and twelve at Dussasana, and three at Kripa, the son ofSaradwat. And that slayer of foes pierced Bhishma, the son of Santanu,with arrows, and king Duryodhana with a hundred. And, lastly, he piercedKarna in the ear with a bearded shaft. And when that great bowmen Karna,skilled in all weapons, was thus pierced, and his horses and car andcar-driver were all destroyed, the troops that supported him began tobreak. And beholding those soldiers break and give way the son of Viratadesirous of knowing Partha’s purpose, addressed him on the field ofbattle, and said, ‘O Partha, standing on this beautiful car, with myselfas charioteer, towards which division shall I go? For, commanded by thee,I would soon take thee thither.’

“Arjuna replied, ‘O Uttara, yonder auspicious warrior whom thou seestcased in coat of tiger-skin and stationed on his car furnished with ablue-flag and drawn by red steeds, is Kripa. There is to be seen the vanof Kripa’s division. Take me thither. I shall show that great bowman myswift-handedness in archery. And that warrior whose flag beareth thedevice of an elegant water-pot worked in gold, is the preceptorDrona–that foremost of all wielders of weapons. He is always an objectof regard with me, as also with all bearers of arms. Do thou, therefore,circumambulate that great hero cheerfully. Let us bend our heads there,for that is the eternal virtue. If Drona strikes my body first, then Ishall strike him, for then he will not be able to resent it. There, closeto Drona, that warrior whose flag beareth the device of a bow, is thepreceptor’s son, the great car-warrior Aswatthaman, who is always anobject of regard with me as also with every bearer of arms. Do thou,therefore, stop again and again, while thou comest by his car. There,that warrior who stayeth on his car, cased in golden mail and surroundedby a third part of the army consisting of the most efficient troops, andwhose flag beareth the device of an elephant in a ground of gold, is theillustrious king Duryodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra. O hero, takebefore him this thy car that is capable of grinding hostile cars. Thisking is difficult of being vanquished in battle and is capable ofgrinding all foes. He is regarded as the first of all Drona’s disciplesin lightness of hand. I shall, in battle, show him my superior swiftnessin archery. There, that warrior whose flag beareth the device of a stoutchord for binding elephants, is Karna, the son of Vikartana, alreadyknown to thee. When thou comest before that wicked son of Radha, be thouvery careful, for he always challengeth me to an encounter. And thatwarrior whose flag is blue and beareth the device of five stars with asun (in the centre), and who endued with great energy stayeth on his carholding a huge bow in hand and wearing excellent fences, and over whosehead is an umbrella of pure white, who standeth at the head of amultitudinous array of cars with various flags and banners like the sunin advance of masses of black clouds, and whose mail of gold looks brightas the sun or the moon, and who with his helmet of gold striketh terrorinto my heart, is Bhishma, the son of Santanu and the grandsire of usall. Entertained with regal splendour by Duryodhana, he is very partialand well-affected towards that prince. Let him be approached last of all,for he may, even now, be an obstacle to me. While fighting with me, dothou carefully guide the steeds. Thus addressed by him, Virata’s son, Oking, guided Savyasachin’s car with great alacrity towards the spot whereKripa stood anxious to fight.'”