“‘Thus commanded, Visoka said, “Of arrows, O hero, thou hast yet 60,000, while thy razor-headed shafts number 10,000, and broad-headed ones number as much. Of cloth-yard shafts thou hast still 2,000, O hero, and of Pradaras thou hast still, O Partha, 3,000! Indeed, of the weapons, O son of Pandu, the portion that still remains is not capable of being borne, if placed on carts, by six bullocks. Shoot and hurl them, O learned one, for of maces and swords and other weapons used with the arms alone, thou hast thousands upon thousands, as also lances and scimitars and darts and spears! Never fear that thy weapons will be exhausted.”
“‘Bhima said, “Behold, O Suta, today this awful battle in which everything will be shrouded with my impetuous arrows sped fiercely from my bow and, mangling all my foes, and in consequence of which the very sun will disappear from the field, making the latter resemble the domains of Death! Today, even this will be known to all the Kshatriyas including the very children, O Suta, that Bhimasena hath succumbed in battle or that, alone, he hath subjugated all the Kurus! Today, let all the Kauravas fall in battle or let all the world applaud me, beginning with the feats of my earliest years. Alone, I will overthrow them all, or let all of them strike Bhimasena down. Let the gods that aid in the achievement of the best acts bless me.
Let that slayer of foes Arjuna come here now like Sakra, duly invoked, quickly coming to a sacrifice. Behold, the Bharata host is breaking! Why do those kings fly away? It is evident that Savyasaci, that foremost of men, is quickly shrouding that host with his shafts. Behold, those standards, O Visoka, and elephants and steeds and bands of foot-soldiers are flying away. Behold, these cars, assailed with shafts and darts, with those warriors riding on them, are being scattered, O Suta! Yonder, the Kaurava host, assailed with the shafts, equipped with wings of gold and feathers of peacocks, of Dhananjaya, and resembling thunderbolts in force, though slaughtered extensively, is repeatedly filling its gaps. There, cars and steeds and elephants are flying away, crushing down bands of foot-soldiers. Indeed, all the Kauravas, having lost their sense, are flying away, like elephants filled with panic at a forest conflagration, and uttering cries of woe. These huge elephants, again, O Visoka, are uttering loud cries, assailed with shafts.”
“‘Visoka said, “How is it, O Bhima, that thou dost not hear the loud twang of the yawning Gandiva stretched by Partha in wrath? Are these two ears of thine gone? All thy wishes, O son of Pandu, have been fulfilled! Yonder the Ape (on Arjuna’s banner) is seen in the midst of the elephant force (of the enemy). Behold, the string of Gandiva is flashing repeatedly like lightning amid blue clouds. Yonder the Ape on Dhananjaya’s standard-top is everywhere seen to terrify hostile divisions in this dreadful battle. Even I, looking at it, am struck with fear. There the beautiful diadem of Arjuna is shining brilliantly. There, the precious jewel on the diadem, endued with the splendour of the sun, looketh exceedingly resplendent. There, beside him, behold his conch Devadatta of loud blare and the hue of a white cloud. There, by the side of Janardana, reins in hand, as he penetrates into the hostile army, behold his discus of solar effulgence, its nave hard as thunder, and its edge sharp as a razor. Behold, O hero, that discus of Keshava, that enhancer of his fame, which is always worshipped by the Yadus. There, the trunks, resembling lofty trees perfectly straight, of huge elephants, cut off by Kiritin, are falling upon the earth. There those huge creatures also, with their riders, pierced and split with shafts, are falling down, like hills riven with thunder.
There, behold, O son of Kunti, the Panchajanya of Krishna, exceedingly beautiful and of the hue of the moon, as also the blazing Kaustubha on his breast and his triumphal garland. Without doubt, that first and foremost of all car-warriors, Partha, is advancing, routing the hostile army as he comes, borne by his foremost of steeds, of the hue of white clouds, and urged by Krishna. Behold those cars and steeds and bands of foot-soldiers, mangled by thy younger brother with the energy of the chief of the celestials. Behold, they are falling down like a forest uprooted by the tempest caused by Garuda’s wings. Behold, four hundred car-warriors, with their steeds and drivers, and seven hundred elephants and innumerable foot-soldiers and horsemen slain in this battle by Kiritin with his mighty shafts. Slaughtering the Kurus, the mighty Arjuna is coming towards thy side even like the constellation Citra. All thy wishes are fulfilled. Thy foes are being exterminated. Let thy might, as also the period of thy life, ever increase.”
“‘Bhima said, “Since, O Visoka, thou tellest me of Arjuna’s arrival, I will give thee four and ten populous villages and a hundred female slaves and twenty cars, being pleased with thee, O Suta, for this agreeable intelligence imparted by thee!”‘”
77
“Sanjaya said, ‘Hearing the roars of cars and the leonine shouts (of the warriors) in battle, Arjuna addressed Govinda, saying, “Urge the steeds to greater speed.” Hearing these words of Arjuna, Govinda said unto him, “I am proceeding with great speed to the spot where Bhima is stationed.” Then many lions among men (belonging to the Kaurava army), excited with wrath and accompanied by a large force of cars and horse and elephants and foot-soldiers and making the earth resound with the whizz of their arrows, the rattle of their car wheels, and the tread of their horses’ hoofs, advanced against Jaya (Arjuna) as the latter proceeded for victory, borne by his steeds white as snow or conchs and decked in trappings of gold and pearls and gems like the chief of the celestials in great wrath proceeding, armed with the thunder, against (the asura) Jambha for slaying him.
Between them and Partha, O sire, occurred a great battle destructive of body, life, and sin, like the battle between the asuras and the god Vishnu, that foremost of victors for the sake of the three worlds. Alone, Partha, decked with diadem and garlands, cut off the mighty weapons sped by them, as also their heads and arms in diverse ways, with his razor-faced and crescent-shaped and broad-headed arrows of great keenness.
Umbrellas, and yak-tails for fanning, and standards, and steeds, and cars, and bands of foot-soldiers, and elephants, fell down on the earth, mutilated in diverse ways, like a forest broken down by a tempest. Huge elephants, decked in caparisons of gold and equipped with triumphal standards and warriors (on their backs), looked resplendent, as they were pierced with shafts of golden wings, like mountains ablaze with light. Piercing elephants and steeds and cars with excellent shafts resembling Vasava’s thunder, Dhananjaya proceeded quickly for the slaughter of Karna, even as Indra in days of yore for riving (the asura) Vala. Then that tiger among men, that mighty-armed chastiser of foes, penetrated into thy host like a makara into the ocean. Beholding the son of Pandu, thy warriors, O king, accompanied by cars and foot-soldiers and a large number of elephants and steeds, rushed against him. Tremendous was the din made by them as they advanced against Partha, resembling that made by the waters of the ocean lashed into fury by the tempest.
Those mighty car-warriors, resembling tigers (in prowess) all rushed in that battle against that tiger among men, abandoning all fear of death. Arjuna, however, routed the troops of those leaders of the Kurus as they advanced, shooting at him showers of weapons, like a tempest driving off masses of congregated clouds. Those great bowmen, all skilled in smiting, united together and proceeded against Arjuna with a large number of cars and began to pierce him with keen shafts. Then Arjuna, with his shafts, despatched to Yama’s abode several thousands of cars and elephants and steeds. While those great car-warriors in that battle were thus struck with shafts sped from Arjuna’s bow, they were filled with fear and seemed to disappear one after another from their cars. In all, Arjuna, with his sharp arrows, slew four hundred of those heroic car-warriors exerting themselves vigorously in battle.