Chapter 61

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Having defeated Vikartana’s son, Arjuna said untothe son of Virata, ‘Take me towards that division where yonder device ofa golden palmyra is seen. There our grandfather, Santanu’s son, like untoa celestial, waiteth, desirous of an encounter with me.’ Thereupon,beholding that mighty host thronged with cars and horses and elephants,Uttara, sorely pierced with arrows, said, ‘O hero, I am no longer able toguide thy excellent steeds. My spirits droop and my mind is exceedinglybewildered. All the directions seem to be whirling before my eyes inconsequence of the energy of the celestial weapons used by thee and theKurus. I have been deprived of my senses by the stench of fat and bloodand flesh. Beholding all this, from terror my mind is, as it were, cleftin twain. Never before had I beheld such a muster of horses in battle.And at the flapping of fences, and the blare of conchs, the leonine roarsmade by the warriors and the shrieks of elephants, and the twang of theGandiva resembling the thunder, I have, O hero, been so stupefied that Ihave been deprived of both hearing and memory. And, O hero, beholdingthee incessantly drawing to a circle, in course of the conflict, theGandiva which resembleth a circle of fire, my sight faileth me and myheart is rent asunder. And seeing thy fierce form in battle, like that ofthe wielder of the Pinaka while inflamed with wrath, and looking also atthe terrible arrows shot by thee, I am filled with fear. I fail to seewhen thou takest up thy excellent arrows, when thou fixest them on thebow-string, and when thou lettest them off. And though all this is donebefore my eyes, yet, deprived of my senses, I do not see it. My spiritsare drooping and earth itself seems to be swimming before me. I have nostrength to hold the whip and the reins.’ Hearing these words, Arjunasaid, ‘Do thou not fear. Assure thyself. Thou also hast, on the field ofbattle performed, O bull among men, wonderful feats. Blessed be thou,thou art a prince and born in the illustrious line of Matsyas. Itbehoveth thee not to feel dispirited in chastising thy foes. Therefore, Oprince, stationed on my car, muster all thy fortitude and hold the reinsof my steeds, O slayer of foes, when I once more become engaged inbattle.’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Having said this unto Virata’s son, that bestof men and foremost of car-warriors, the mighty-armed Arjuna, againaddressed the son of Virata, saying. ‘Take me without delay to the van ofBhishma’s division. I will cut off his very bow-string in the battle.Thou shalt behold today the celestial weapons of blazing beauty, shot byme, look like flashes of lightning disporting amid the clouds in the sky.The Kauravas shall behold the gold decked back of my Gandiva today, andassembled together the foe shall dispute, saying,–By which hand of his,the right or the left, doth he should? And I shall cause a dreadful river(of death) to flow today towards the other world with blood for itswaters and cars for its eddies, and elephants for its crocodiles. I shalltoday, with my straight arrows, extirpate the Kuru forest having handsand feet and heads and backs and arms for the branches of its trees.Alone, bow in hand, vanquishing the Kuru host, a hundred paths shall openbefore me like those of a forest in conflagration. Struck by me thoushalt today behold the Kuru army moving round and round like a wheel(unable to fly off the field). I shall show thee today my excellenttraining in arrows and weapons. Stay thou on my car firmly, whether theground be smooth or uneven. I can pierce with my winged arrows even themountain of Sumeru that stands touching the very heavens. I slew of old,at Indra’s command, hundreds and thousands of Paulomas and Kalakhanjas inbattle. I have obtained my firmness of grasp from Indra, and my lightnessof hand from Brahman, and I have learnt various modes of fierce attackand defence amid crowds of foes from Prajapati. I vanquished, on theother side of the great ocean, sixty thousands of car-warriors–allfierce archers–residing in Hiranyapura. Behold, now I defeat themultitudinous host of the Kurus like a tempest scattering a heap ofcotton. With my fiery arrows I shall today set the Kuru-forest to fire,having banners for its trees, the foot-soldiers for its shrubs, and thecar-warriors for its beasts of prey. Like unto the wielder of thethunderbolt overthrowing the Danavas, alone I shall, with my straightarrows, bring down from the chambers of their cars the mighty warrior ofthe Kuru army stationed therein and struggling in the conflict to thebest of their power. I have obtained from Rudra the Raudra, from Varunathe Varuna from Agni the Agneya, from the god of Wind the Vayava, andfrom Sakra the thunderbolt and other weapons. I shall certainlyexterminate the fierce Dhartarashtra-forest though protected by manyleonine warriors. Therefore, O Virata’s son, let thy fears be dispelled.’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Thus assured by Savyasachin, the son of Viratapenetrated into that fierce array of cars protected by Bhishma. The sonof Ganga, however, of fierce deeds, cheerfully withstood the mighty-armedhero advancing from desire of vanquishing the heroes in battle. Jishnu,then, confronting Bhishma, cut off his standard clean off at the roots byshooting a gold-decked arrow pierced by which it fell to the ground. Andat this, four mighty warriors, Dussasana and Vikarna and Dussaha andVivingsati, skilled in weapons and endued with great energy, and alldecked with handsome garlands and ornaments, rushed towards that terriblebowman. And advancing towards Vibhatsu–that fierce archer, these allencompassed him around. Then the heroic Dussasana pierced the son ofVirata with a crescent-shaped arrow and he pierced Arjuna with anotherarrow in the breast. And Jishnu, confronting Dussasana, cut off by meansof a sharp-edged arrow furnished with vulturine wings his adversary’s bowplaited with gold, and then pierced his person in the breast by means offive arrows. And afflicted by the arrows of Partha. Dussasana fled,leaving the combat. Then Vikarna, the son of Dhritarashtra, piercedArjuna–that slayer of hostile heroes, by means of sharp and straightarrows furnished with vulturine wings. But the son of Kunti within amoment hit him also in the forehead with straight shafts. And pierced byArjuna, he fell down from his car. And at this, Dussaha, supported byVivingsati, covered Arjuna with a cloud of sharp arrows, impelled by thedesire of rescuing his brother. Dhananjaya, however, without the leastanxiety, pierced both of them almost at the same instant by means ofcouple of keen-edged arrows and then slew the steeds of both. And thereupon, both those sons of Dhritarashtra, deprived of their steeds andtheir bodies mangled were taken away by the warrior behind them who hadrushed forward with other cars. Then the unvanquished Vibhatsu, themighty son of Kunti, decked with diadem and sure of aim, simultaneouslyattacked all sides with his arrows.'”