Mahabharata Vol. 6 (Penguin Translated Texts) (56 page)

‘“The moon, the lord of lotuses that bloom in the night,
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arose and its complexion was as fair as the cheeks of a maiden. It was a delight to the eyes and decorated the direction presided over by the great Indra.
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In a short while, the illustrious one with the mark of a hare
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showed his red light. The lord outshone the light of the stellar bodies. The red light yielded to the complexion of gold. Slowly, the great moon’s net of rays spread everywhere. The radiance of the moon’s rays dispelled the darkness. They slowly covered all the directions, the sky and the earth. In a short while, the world became illuminated. The darkness that could not be described quickly vanished. The world was illuminated by the moon, as if it was day. O king! Some creatures that travel in the night continued to roam, while others ceased. O king! The soldiers were awakened by the rays of the moon. They awoke like a grove of lotuses,
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when the great day dawns. When the moon arose, it was as if the ocean was agitated.
When the moon arose, the armies became like oceans. O lord of the earth! The battle commenced again. Desiring to attain worlds and destroying the world,
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the people began to kill the enemy.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “At that time, Duryodhana was overcome by intolerance. He approached Drona, and wishing to inject joy and energy into him, said, ‘In the battle, one should not have shown mercy to the exhausted ones, while they were resting, especially because they are successful in their objective. The enemy was distressed in mind. We showed them mercy only because we wished to bring you pleasure. The Pandavas have now rested and have become stronger. But we are losing energy and strength in every way. They are protected by you and are prospering. You, in particular, possess all the divine weapons and the brahmastras and all of them are vested in you. I tell you truthfully that the Pandavas, or we, or no other archers in the world, are your equals in fighting. O supreme among brahmanas! You are knowledgeable about all weapons. There is no doubt that, with your divine weapons, you can destroy all the worlds, with the gods, the asuras and the gandharvas. They are especially frightened of you. But you are not angry with them, perhaps because you remember that they were your students. Or perhaps it is my misfortune.’ Having been thus incited by your son, Drona became angry.

‘“O king! He wrathfully spoke these words to Duryodhana. ‘O Duryodhana! Though I am old, in this battle, I am fighting to the utmost of my capacity. All of them do not know about these weapons. But desiring victory, I cannot perform an inferior deed and kill those who are unacquainted with weapons. O Kouravya! But I give you my word and it will not be otherwise. I will do whatever is in your
mind, be it good or bad. O king! I tell you truthfully that I will exhibit my valour and take off my armour and weapons only after I have killed all the Panchalas. You think that Kounteya Arjuna was exhausted in the battle. O mighty-armed one! O Kourava! Listen to what I truthfully have to say about his valour. When Savyasachi is enraged in a battle, the gods, the gandharvas, the yakshas and the rakshasas cannot stand before him. In Khandava, he countered the illustrious lord of the gods himself.
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The great-souled one countered him with a shower of arrows. There were many other yakshas, serpents and daityas, intoxicated of their strength. The Indra among men killed them and all this is known to you. At the time of the expedition with the cattle, the gandharvas, Chitrasena and the others, were vanquished by him.
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The wielder of the firm bow freed you from bondage. The nivatakavachas were the enemies of the gods and could not be killed by the gods in battle. They were defeated by that brave one. There were thousands of danavas who lived in the city of Hiranyapura. That tiger among men vanquished them.
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How can humans withstand him? O lord of the earth! You have yourself seen how your entire army made every effort, but was destroyed by the son of Pandu.’ O king! While he was thus praising Arjuna, your son was enraged.

‘“He again spoke these words to Drona. ‘I, Duhshasana, Karna and my maternal uncle, Shakuni, will kill Arjuna in the battle. We will divide the army of the Bharatas into two parts.’
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Hearing this, Bharadvaja’s son laughed, but agreed to what the king had proposed and said, ‘My blessings are with you. What kshatriya can slay that undecaying bull among kshatriyas? He is the wielder of Gandiva and blazes in energy. The lord of riches,
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Indra, Yama, the lord of the waters,
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the asuras, the serpents and the rakshasas, with their
weapons, cannot kill him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Such words are only spoken by fools like you. After having encountered Arjuna in a battle, who can safely return home? You yourself are suspicious of everybody. You are cruel. Your resolution is wicked. You censure even those who speak for your own welfare. Without any delay, for your own sake, advance against Kounteya. You are the one who desires the fight. You have been born in a noble lineage. You are a kshatriya. All these kings have caused no offence. Why are you getting them killed? You are the root of the enmity. Therefore, advance against Arjuna. This maternal uncle of yours is wise and is devoted to the dharma of kshatriyas. O Gandhari’s son! He is addicted to deceitful gambling. Let him advance against Arjuna in the battle. He is skilled in playing with the dice. He is crooked, deceitful in gambling and a cheat. Skilled in deceitful gambling, he has often said that he will defeat the Pandavas. Because of your stupidity and delusion, together with Karna, you have often cheerfully said in Dhritarashtra’s presence, “O father! I, Karna and my brother, Duhshasana—these three will unite and kill the sons of Pandu in the battle.” This was what you boasted, in the hearing of the assemblage in the assembly hall. Accomplish that pledge now and make your words come true. This Pandava, your worst enemy, is stationed in front of you. Follow the dharma of a kshatriya. Death at Jaya’s hands would also be praiseworthy. You have given donations. You have pleasured. You have studied. You have obtained the prosperity that you desired. You have been successful. You do not have any debts. You should not be frightened of Pandava.’ Having spoken these words in the battle, Drona desisted from fighting the enemy. With the soldiers divided into two, the battle commenced.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O lord of the earth! When three-fourths of the night had passed, the battle again commenced between the
delighted Kurus and Pandavas. Dispelling the rays of the moon, the sun was in the front and Aruna became manifest.
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The sky became coppery red. The soldiers
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were divided into two. Drona, with Duryodhana at the forefront, advanced against the Vatsas
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and the Panchalas. On seeing that the Kurus were divided into two, Madhava was delighted and spoke to Arjuna. ‘Place this division of the army on your left and the other one on the right.’
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Dhananjaya acted in accordance with Madhava’s words. He placed himself to the left of the great archers, Drona and Karna.
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Discerning Krishna’s intention and on seeing that he
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was stationed at the front, the destroyer of enemy cities, Bhimasena, approached and spoke these words.

‘“Bhimasena said, ‘O Arjuna! O Bibhatsu! O Arjuna! Listen to the words that I am telling you. The time for which kshatriya ladies bear sons has now arrived. At this time, you must strive for what is best. If you do not act accordingly, you will perform a cruel deed. You must resort to your valour and pay the debts to truth, prosperity, dharma and fame. O best of warriors! Penetrate this division and keep that one to your left.’”
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‘Sanjaya said, “Thus urged by Bhima and Keshava, Savyasachi passed over Karna and Drona and attacked the army from all sides. Bulls among kshatriyas placed themselves at the forefront and were scorched. Those bulls among kshatriyas were brave. They resorted to their valour. But none of them were capable of resisting that raging conflagration. Duryodhana, Karna and Shakuni Soubala showered down storms of arrows on Dhananjaya, Kunti’s son. O Indra among kings! However, he was supreme among those who
possessed knowledge of weapons. With his shower of arrows, he countered them and rendered all their weapons unsuccessful. Displaying the dexterity of his hands, Dhananjaya countered all those weapons with his own weapons. He pierced each of them with ten sharp arrows. A dust arose and the shower of arrows was like rain. In that darkness, a great and tumultuous sound arose. The sky, the earth and the directions could no longer be distinguished. Covered in darkness, the soldiers were confused and all of them seemed to be blind. O king! We could no longer distinguish each other, friend or foe. The kings continued to fight, on the basis of guessing. O king! As they clashed against each other, rathas lost their chariots. They were submerged in a mass of hair, armour and arms. Horses were slain. Charioteers were killed. The rathas lost all enterprise. When they were alive, they were seen to be afflicted by fear. Deprived of their lives, horses and their riders were seen to lie down against slain elephants that were like mountains.

‘“Drona abandoned that field of battle and moved towards the northern direction. He was stationed in that battle, like a fire without smoke. O lord of the earth! On seeing him stationed there, in the forefront of the battle, the Pandava soldiers lost their peace of mind and trembled. He dazzled in his resplendence, flaming in his energy. O venerable one! On seeing Drona, they abandoned their weapons and were rendered immobile. He challenged the enemy soldiers, like an elephant with a shattered temple. They lost hope of defeating him, like the danavas against Vasava. Some lost all their initiative. Other spirited ones became angry. Others were astounded. And still others were filled with intolerance. Some kings rubbed one hand against the other. Others lost their senses because of anger and bit their lower lips. Some whirled their weapons. Others slapped their arms. There were others who possessed great energy and were ready to give up their lives. They attacked Drona. In particular, the Panchalas were afflicted by Drona’s arrows. O Indra among kings! Though they were in severe pain, they continued to try in that battle. In that encounter, Virata and Drupada advanced against Drona, as the one who was invincible in battle was roaming around in the field of battle. O lord of the earth! Three of Drupada’s grandsons and the great archers
among the Chedis advanced to fight against Drona. With three sharp arrows, Drona robbed the three of Drupada’s grandsons of their lives. Slain, they fell down on the ground. In that encounter, Drona then defeated the Chedis, the Kekayas, the Srinjayas and the Matsyas. Bharadvaja’s maharatha son defeated all of them. O great king! In that battle, Drupada became angry and countered Drona with a shower of arrows and so did Virata. However, Drona, the scorcher of enemies, used a couple of yellow-hued and broad-headed arrows. With these, he dispatched Drupada and Virata to Vaisvasvata’s
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eternal abode. Virata and Drupada were slain and so were the Kekayas, the Chedis, the Matsyas and the Panchalas. Three of Drupada’s brave grandsons were also killed.

‘“On witnessing Drona’s deeds, the great-minded Dhrishtadyumna took a pledge in the midst of those rathas, having become overcome with anger and sorrow. ‘Let the fruits of my sacrifices and all my kshatriya and brahmana qualities be destroyed, if Drona escapes from me today, as long as Drona does not retreat from the battle.’ He thus took an oath in the midst of all the archers. With his soldiers, Panchala, the destroyer of enemy heroes, advanced against Drona. The Panchalas attacked Drona from one side and the Pandavas from the other. Duryodhana, Karna, Shakuni Soubala and the other foremost brothers
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protected Drona in the battle. When Drona was thus protected by those great-souled ones in the battle, the Panchalas made efforts, but were incapable of glancing at him. O venerable one! At this, Bhimasena became angry with Dhrishtadyumna. O bull among men! The eloquent one wounded him with these fierce words. ‘You have been born in the lineage of Drupada. You are supreme among those who have knowledge of all weapons. You are honoured as a kshatriya. How can such a person merely look on, when his enemy is stationed before him? Having seen his father killed, what man leaves the task unfinished, especially when he has taken a pledge in the midst of the assembly of kings? With his bow and arrows as kindling, Drona is like a fire, which is growing because
of his energy. He is consuming the kshatriyas with his energy. He will soon destroy all the Pandava soldiers. All of you remain here as spectators and behold my deeds, as I myself advance against Drona.’ Having said this, Vrikodara angrily penetrated Drona’s army. He firmly drew his bow back all the way and routed your army. Panchala Dhrishtadyumna also penetrated that large army. A battle commenced with Drona and a great and tumultuous sound arose. A battle like that has not been seen earlier, nor heard of. O king! When the sun arose, the great battle commenced. O venerable one! Large numbers of chariots were seen to be engaged. Living beings were slain and their bodies were strewn around. Others wished to go elsewhere, but were attacked along the way. There were those who fled and were struck on their backs. Others were struck on their sides. That extremely terrible engagement and fight continued. In a short while, it became morning and the sun arose.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! It was morning and with its one thousand rays, the sun arose. The one with the thousand rays arose and its complexion was like that of molten gold. In the forefront of the battle, the armoured ones worshipped it and as the world became illuminated, the battle commenced again. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those who were engaged with each other earlier, continued to fight with each other after the sun arose. Rathas fought with horse riders, horse riders with elephant riders, infantry with elephants, horses clashed with horses and foot soldiers with foot soldiers. In that battle, the warriors attacked, sometimes together and sometimes separately. They were exhausted because of the deeds they had performed during the night. The sun’s energy made them hungry and thirsty. Many of them lost all sensation in their limbs. There was the sound of conch shells, drums and battle drums, together with the trumpeting of elephants. There was the sound of bows being
stretched and drawn. O king! O bull among the Bharata lineage! The sound that was generated seemed to touch the sky.