How then, O tiger among men, hath that Karna been slain by thee in battle? Tell me, O son of Kunti, how that Karna hath been slain by thee! How, while he was engaged in battle, didst thou, O tiger among men, strike off his head in the very sight of all his friends like a tiger tearing off the head of a ruru deer? That Suta’s son who in battle searched all the points of the compass for finding thee, that Karna who had promised to give a car with six bulls of elephantine proportions unto him that would point thee out, I ask: doth that Karna of wicked soul lie today on the bare ground, slain with thy keen arrows equipped with kanka feathers? Having slain the Suta’s son in battle, thou hast accomplished a deed highly agreeable to me! Encountering him in battle, hast thou really slain that Suta’s son, who, filled with arrogance and pride and bragging of his heroism, used to search everywhere on the field of battle for thee? Hast thou, O sire, really slain in battle that sinful wretch who used to always challenge thee and who was desirous for thy sake of giving unto others a magnificent car, made of gold along with a number of elephants and bulls and steeds?
Hast thou really slain today that sinful wight who was exceedingly dear to Suyodhana, and who, intoxicated with pride of heroism, used always to brag in the assembly of the Kurus? Encountered in battle, doth that wretch lie today on the field, his limbs exceedingly mangled with sky-ranging shafts sped by thee from thy bow and all steeped in blood? Have the two arms of Dhritarashtra’s son been (at last) broken? Have those words been unfulfilled, uttered from folly by him who, filled with pride, used to always boast in the midst of the kings for gladdening Duryodhana, saying, ‘I will slay Phalguna’? O son of Indra, hath that Karna of little understanding been slain by thee today, that Suta’s son who made the vow that he would not wash his feet as long as Partha lived? That Karna of wicked understanding who in the assembly; before the Kuru chiefs, had addressed Krishna, saying, ‘Why, O Krishna, dost thou not abandon the Pandavas that are divested of might, exceedingly weak, and fallen?’
That Karna who had vowed for thy sake, saying that he would not return from battle without having slain Krishna and Partha. I ask, doth that Karna of sinful understanding lie today on the field, his body pierced with shafts? Thou knowest the nature of the battle that took place when the Srinjayas and the Kauravas encountered each other, the battle in which I was brought to that distressful plight. Encountering that Karna, hast thou slain him today? O Savyasaci, hast thou today, with blazing shafts sped from gandiva, cut off from the trunk of that Karna of wicked understanding his resplendent head decked with earrings? Pierced with Karna’s shafts today, I had, O hero, thought of thee (that thou wouldst slay him)! Hast thou then, by the slaughter of Karna, made that thought of mine true? In consequence of the protection granted him by Karna, Suyodhana, filled with pride, always recked us little. Displaying thy prowess, hast then today destroyed that refuge of Suyodhana? That Suta’s son of wicked soul, that Karna of great wrath, who had formerly, in the presence of the Kauravas and in the midst of the assembly called us sesame seeds without kernel, encountering that Karna in battle, hast thou slain him today?
That Suta’s son of wicked soul who had, laughing the while, commanded Duhshasana to forcibly drag Yajnasena’s daughter won in gambling by Subala’s son, hath he been slain today by thee? That Karna of little understanding who, having been counted as only half a car-warrior during the tale of rathas and atirathas, had upbraided that foremost of all wielders of weapons on Earth, our grandsire Bhishma, hath he been slain by thee? Extinguish, O Phalguna, this fire in my heart that is born of vindictiveness and is fanned by the wind of humiliation, by telling me that thou hast slain Karna today, having encountered him in battle! The news of Karna’s slaughter is exceedingly agreeable to me. Tell me, therefore, how the Suta’s son hath been slain! Like the divine Vishnu waiting for the arrival of Indra with the intelligence of Vritra’s slaughter, I had so long waited for thee, O hero!”‘”
67
“Sanjaya said, ‘Hearing these words of the righteous king who had been filled with anger, that high-souled atiratha, Jishnu of infinite energy, replied unto the invincible Yudhishthira of great might, saying, “While battling with the samsaptakas today, Drona’s son who always proceedeth at the head of the Kuru troops, O king, suddenly came before me, shooting shafts that resembled snakes of virulent poison. Beholding my car, of rattle deep as the roar of clouds, all the troops began to encompass it. Slaying full five hundred of those, I then, O foremost of kings, proceeded against Drona’s son. Approaching me, O king, that hero with great resolution rushed against me like a prince of elephants against a lion, and desired to rescue, O monarch, the Kaurava car-warriors that were being slaughtered by me.
Then, in that battle, O Bharata, the preceptor’s son, that foremost of heroes among the Kurus, incapable of being made to tremble, began to afflict me and Janardana with whetted shafts resembling poison or fire. While engaged in battle with me, eight carts, each drawn by eight bullocks, carried his hundreds of arrows. He shot them all at me, but like a wind destroying the clouds I destroyed with my shafts that arrowy shower of his. He then shot at me, with skill and force and resolution, thousands of other arrows, all sped from his bow-string stretched to his very ear, even like a black cloud in the season of rains pouring in torrents the water with which it is charged. So quickly did Drona’s son career in that battle that we could not discern from which side, the left or the right, he shot his arrows, nor could we notice when he took up his arrows and when he let them off. Indeed, the bow of Drona’s son was seen by us to be incessantly drawn to a circle.
At last, the son of Drona pierced me with five whetted arrows and Vasudeva also with five whetted arrows. Within the twinkling of an eye, however, I afflicted him with the force of thunderbolts. Exceedingly afflicted with those shafts sped by me, he soon assumed the form of a porcupine. All his limbs became bathed in blood. Beholding his troops, those foremost of warriors all covered with blood and overwhelmed by me, he then entered the car-division of the Suta’s son. Seeing the troops overwhelmed by me in battle, and struck with fear, and beholding the elephants and steeds flying away, that grinder (of hostile hosts), viz., Karna approached me quickly with fifty great carwarriors. Slaying them all and avoiding Karna, I have quickly come hither for seeing thee. All the Pancalas are afflicted with fear at sight of Karna like kine at the scent of a lion. The Prabhadrakas also, O king, having approached Karna, are like persons that have entered the wide open jaws of Death. Karna has already despatched to Yama’s abode full seventeen hundred of those distressed car-warriors.
Indeed, O king, the Suta’s son did not become cheerless till he had a sight of us. Thou hadst first been engaged with Ashvatthama and exceedingly mangled by him. I heard that after that thou wert seen by Karna. O thou of inconceivable feats, I thought that thou must have, O king, been enjoying rest (in the camp), having come away from the cruel Karna. I have seen, O son of Pandu, the great and wonderful (Bhargava) weapon of Karna displayed in the van of battle. There is now no other warrior among the Srinjayas that is able to resist the mighty car-warrior Karna. Let Sini’s grandson Satyaki and Dhrishtadyumna, O king, be the protectors of my car-wheels. Let the heroic princes Yudhamanyu and Uttamauja protect my rear. O thou of great glory, encountering that heroic and invincible car-warrior, viz., the Suta’s son, staying in the hostile army, like Sakra encountering Vritra, O foremost of kings, I will, O Bharata, fight with the Suta’s son if he can be found in this battle today. Come and behold me and the Suta’s son contending with each other in battle for victory.
There, the Prabhadrakas are rushing towards the face of a mighty bull. There, O Bharata, 6,000 princes are sacrificing themselves in battle today, for the sake of heaven. If, putting forth my strength, I do not, O king, slay Karna today with all his relatives while engaged in battle with him, then that end will be mine, O lion among kings, which is his that does not accomplish a vow taken by him. I beg of thee, bless me, saying that victory will be mine in battle. Yonder, the Dhartarashtras are about to devour Bhima. I will, O lion among kings, slay the Suta’s son and his troops and all our foes!”‘”