Chapter 109

“Sanjaya said, ‘Hearing these words of the king Yudhishthira the just,that bull among the Sinis feared the censure of Arjuna if he left theking. Seeing, however, the certainty of an imputation of cowardice by thepeople (if he disobeyed Yudhishthira), he said to himself, ‘Let notpeople say that I am afraid of proceeding towards Arjuna.’ Reflectingrepeatedly on this, Satyaki, that hero invincible in battle, that bullamong men, said these words unto king Yudhishthira the just, ‘If thouthinkest that these arrangements will suffice for thy protection, Omonarch, I will then do thy bidding and follow Vibhatsu. I tell theetruly, O king, that there is none in the three worlds who is dearer to methan Phalguna. I will follow in his track at the command, O giver ofhonours. There is nothing that I will not do for thy sake. O best of men,the commands of my preceptor are always of weight with me. But thycommands are still weightier with me, O lord! Thy brothers, viz., Krishnaand Dhananjaya, are always engaged in doing what is agreeable to thee.Taking thy command on my head for the sake of Arjuna, O lord, I willproceed, O bull among men, piercing through this impenetrable host.Darting wrathfully through this force of Drona, like a fish through thesea, I will go thither, O monarch, where king Jayadratha, depending uponhis troops, stayeth, in fear of the son of Pandu, protected by thoseforemost of car-warriors, viz., Drona’s son Karna and Kripa! The distancefrom here, O king, is three Yojanas. I think, of that spot where Parthastayeth, ready to slay Jayadratha! But though Partha is three Yojanasdistant I shall yet follow in his track with a stout heart, and stay withhim, O king, till Jayadratha’s slaughter. What man is there that goes tobattle without the commands of his superiors? And when one is commanded,O king, as I have been by thee, who is there like me that would notfight? I know that place whither I shall have to go, O lord! Teeming asthis ocean-like host doth with ploughshare and darts and maces andshields and scimitars and swords and lances and foremost of shafts, Iwill today agitate this ocean. This elephant division, consisting of athousand elephants, that thou seest, all belonging to the breed known bythe name of Anjana and all endued with great prowess, which are allmounted by a large number of Mlecchas, delighting in battle andaccomplished in smiting,–these elephants, O king, that are sheddingtheir juicy secretions like rain-pouring clouds,–these never retreat ifurged forward by those upon their backs. They cannot be vanquished, Oking, unless they are slaughtered. Then again, those car-warriorsnumbering thousands., that thou seest, are all of royal lineage and areall Maharathas. They are called Rukmarathas.[149] They are accomplishedin weapons and battling from cars, as also in fighting from the backs ofelephants. O monarch! Thorough masters of the science of weapons, theyare accomplished in fighting with their fists. Skilled in battling withmaces, masters also of the art of close fight, they are equally clever instriking with scimitars and in falling upon the foe with sword andshield. They are brave and learned, and animated by a spirit of rivalry.Every day, O king, they vanquish a vast number of men in battle. They arecommanded by Karna and devoted to Duhsasana. Even Vasudeva applauds themas great car-warriors. Always solicitous of Karna’s welfare, they areobedient to him. It is at Karna’s command, O king, that returning fromtheir pursuit of Arjuna and, therefore, unfatigued and unworn, thosebrave warriors, cased in impenetrable armour and armed with strong bows,are certainly waiting for me, ordered by Duryodhana also. Crushing themin battle for thy good, O Katirava, I shall then follow in the track ofSavyasachin. Those other elephants, O king, seven hundred in number, thatthou seest, all cased in armour and ridden by Kiratas, and decked withornaments, the king of the Kiratas, desirous of his life, had formerlypresented to Savyasachin together with many servants in their train.These, O king, were formerly employed in doing thy business. Behold thevicissitudes that time brings about, for these are now battling againstthee. Those elephants are ridden by Kiratas difficult of defeat inbattle. They are accomplished in fighting from elephants, and are allsprung from the race of Agni. Formerly, they were all vanquished inbattle by Savyasachin. They are now waiting for me carefully, under theorders of Duryodhana. Slaying with my shafts, O king, these Kiratasdifficult of defeat in battle, I shall follow in the track of Arjuna whois intent on the slaughter of the ruler of the Sindhus. Those (other)huge elephants, sprung from the race of Arjuna, of impenetrable hides,well-trained, and adorned, and from whose mouths the juicy secretions aretrickling down, and which are well-adorned with armour made wholly ofgold are very formidable in battle and resemble Airavata himself. Theyhave come from the northern hills, and are ridden by fierce robbers thatare of strong limbs, that are all foremost of warriors, and that arecased in steel coats of mail. There, amongst them, are persons born ofthe cow, or the ape, or of diverse other creatures, including those bornof men. That division of the assembled Mlecchas that are all sinful andthat come from the fastnesses of Himavat, seem at a distance to be ofsmoky colour. Obtaining these, and countless Kshatriyas, as also Kripaand that foremost of car-warriors, viz., Drona and the ruler of theSindhus, and the Karna, he thinks lightly of the Pandavas. Impelled byfate, he regards himself crowned with success. Those I have named will,however, today be within reach of my arrows. They shall not escape me, Oson of Kunti, even if they be endued with the speed of the mind. Muchregarded always by Duryodhana, that prince who dependeth upon the prowessof others, those warriors, afflicted with my clouds of shafts, will meetwith destruction. Those other car-warriors, O king, whom thou seest, andwho have golden standards and are difficult of being resisted, are calledKamvojas. They are brave and accomplished, and firmly devoted to thescience of weapons. Desiring one another’s welfare they are all firmlyunited. They constitute a full Akshauhini of wrathful warriors, OBharata, and are staying carefully for my sake, well-protected by theKuru heroes. They are on the alert, O king, with their eyes on me. Ishall certainly destroy them all, like fire destroying a heap of straw.Therefore, O king, let those that equip cars, place quivers and allnecessaries on my car in proper places. Indeed, in such a dreadfulbattle, diverse kinds of weapons ought to be taken. Let the car beequipped (with necessaries) five times more than what professors ofmilitary science direct, for I shall have to encounter the Kamvojas whoresemble fierce snakes of virulent poison. I shall have also to encounterthe Kiratas who are armed with diverse weapons of warfare, who resemblevirulent poison, who are accomplished in smiting, who have always beenwell-treated by Duryodhana, and who on that account are always intent onDuryodhana’s welfare. I shall also have to encounter the Sakas enduedwith prowess equal to that of Sakra himself, who are fierce as tire, anddifficult to put out like a blazing conflagration. Indeed, O king, Ishall have to encounter in battle many warriors difficult of beingresisted. For this let well-known steeds of best breed and graced withauspicious marks be yoked to my car, after causing their thirst to beslaked and after grooming them duly!’

“Sanjaya continued, ‘After this, Yudhishthira caused quivers full ofshafts, and diverse kinds o weapons, and, indeed, all necessaries, to beplaced on Satyaki’s car. Then, people caused his four well-harnessed andexcellent steeds to drink and walk, bathe and eat, and having adornedthem with golden chains and plucked out their arrows, those animals, thathad (for these operations) been freed from the yoke, and that were of thehue of gold and well-trained and endued with great speed and cheerful andexceedingly docile, were duly yoked again unto his car. And upon that carwas set up a tall standard bearing a lion of golden maces. And thatstandard had attached round it banners of the hue of white clouds anddecked with gold was also placed upon that vehicle bearing a heavy weightof weapons. After those steeds, adorned with trappings of gold, had beenyoked to that car, the younger brother of Daruka, who was the charioteerand the dear friend of Satyaki, came and represented unto the latter thatthe car had been duly equipped, like Matali representing the equipment ofthe car unto Vasava himself. Satyaki then, having taken a bath andpurified himself and undergone every auspicious ceremony, gave nishkas ofgold unto a thousand Snataka Brahmanas who uttered benedictions upon him.Blessed with those benedictions Satyaki that foremost of handsome men,that hero worthy of worship, having drunk kairata, honey, shoneresplendent, with reddened eyes rolling in intoxication. Having touched abrazen mirror and filled with great joy, his energy became doubled, andhimself looked like a blazing fire. Taking upon his shoulders his bowwith arrows, that foremost of car-warriors, eased in armour and decked inornaments, had the regenerate ones perform for him the rites ofpropitiation. And fair maidens honoured him by showering upon him friedpaddy and perfumes and floral garlands. And the hero then, with joinedhands, worshipped the feet of Yudhishthira, and the latter smelt hishead. And having undergone all these rites, he then mounted his foremostof cars. Then those steeds, cheerful and strong and fleet as the wind,and invincible, and belonging to the Sindhu breed, bore him on thattriumphant car. Similarly, Bhimasena also, honoured by king Yudhishthirathe just, and reverentially saluting the monarch, set out with Satyaki.Beholding those two chastisers of foes on the point of penetrating thyhost, their enemies, viz., thy troops, all stood still with Drona attheir head. Then Satyaki, seeing Bhima cased in mail and following him,saluted that hero and spoke unto him these delightful words. Indeed,heroic Satyaki, with every limb filled with joy, said unto Bhima, ‘Dothou, O Bhima, protect the king. Even this is thy duty above all things.Piercing through this host whose hour hath come. I will proceed. Whethernow or hence, the protection of the king is thy highest duty. Thouknowest my prowess, thou desirest my good, return, O Bhima!’ Thusaddressed by Satyaki, Bhima replied, Go then, for the success of thyobject. O best of men, I will protect the king.’ Thus addressed, he ofMadhu’s race answered Bhima, saying, ‘Go back, O son of Pritha! Mysuccess is certain, since won over by my merits, thus, O Bhima, art todayobedient to my wishes. Indeed, O Bhima, as these auspicious omens tellme, my victory is assured. After the sinful ruler of the Sindhus has beenslain by the high-souled son of Pandu, I shall embrace king Yudhishthiraof virtuous soul.’ Having said these words unto Bhima and dismissing himwith an embrace that illustrious warrior eyed thy troops, like a tigereyeing a herd of deer. Beholding him thus looking at thy army, O king,thy troops become once more stupefied and began to tremble violently.Then, O king, Satyaki desirous of seeing Arjuna at the command of kingYudhishthira the just, suddenly dashed against thy troops.'”