His assailants, meanwhile, filled with rage, O monarch, endeavoured to afflict that mighty car-warrior of the Pandavas and checked other combatants (that tried to rescue him). Encountered by those warriors, Bhima became filled with fury. Quickly alighting from his car, he proceeded on foot against them. Taking up his massive mace adorned with gold, he began to slay thy troops like the Destroyer himself armed with his club. The mighty Bhima, with his mace, crushed those 21,000 foot-soldiers who were without cars and steeds and elephants. Having slain that strong division, Bhima, of prowess incapable of being baffled, showed himself with Dhrishtadyumna in his front. The Dhartarashtra foot-soldiers, thus slain, lay down on the ground, bathed in blood, like Karnikaras with their flowery burthens laid low by a tempest.
Adorned with garlands made of diverse kinds of flowers, and decked with diverse kinds of earrings, those combatants of diverse races, who had hailed from diverse realms, lay down on the field, deprived of life. Covered with banners and standards, that large host of foot-soldiers, thus cut down, looked fierce and terrible and awful as they lay down on the field. The mighty car-warriors, with their followers, that fought under Yudhishthira’s lead, all pursued thy illustrious son Duryodhana.
Those great bowmen, beholding thy troops turn away from the battle, proceeded against Duryodhana, but they could not transgress him even as the ocean cannot transgress its continents. The prowess that we then beheld of thy son was exceedingly wonderful, since all the Parthas, united together, could not transgress his single self. Then Duryodhana, addressing his own army which had not fled far but which, mangled with arrows, had set its heart on flight, said these words, “I do not see the spot on plain or mountain, whither, if ye fly, the Pandavas will not pursue and slay ye! What is the use then of flight? The army of the Pandavas hath been reduced in numbers. The two Krishnas are exceedingly mangled. If all of us make a stand, victory will be certainly ours! If you fly away, losing all order, the sinful Pandavas, pursuing you will slay you all! If, on the other hand, we make a stand, good will result to us! Listen, all you Kshatriyas that are assailed here! When the Destroyer always slays heroes and cowards, what man is there so stupid that, calling himself a Kshatriya, will not fight? Good will result to us if we stay in the front of the angry Bhimasena! Death in battle, while struggling according to Kshatriya practices, is fraught with happiness! Winning victory, one obtains happiness here. If slain, one obtains great fruits in the other world! You Kauravas, there is no better path to heaven than that offered by battle! Slain in battle, you may, without delay, obtain all those regions of blessedness.” Hearing these words of his, and applauding them highly, the (Kuru) kings once more rushed against the Pandavas for battling with them.
Seeing them advancing with speed, the Parthas, arrayed in order of battle, skilled in smiting, excited with rage, and inspired with desire of victory, rushed against them.
The valiant Dhananjaya, stretching his bow Gandiva celebrated over the three worlds, proceeded on his car against the foe. The two sons of Madri, and Satyaki, rushed against Shakuni, and the other (Pandava) heroes, smiling, rushed impetuously against thy forces.'”
20
“Sanjaya said, ‘After the (Kuru) army had been rallied, Shalva, the ruler of the Mlecchas, filled with rage, rushed against the large force of the Pandavas, riding on a gigantic elephant, with secretions issuing from the usual limbs, looking like a hill, swelling with pride, resembling Airavata himself, and capable of crushing large bands of foes. Shalva’s animal sprung from a high and noble breed. It was always worshipped by Dhritarashtra’s son.
It was properly equipped and properly trained for battle, O king, by persons well-conversant with elephant-lore. Riding on that elephant, that foremost of kings looked like the morning sun at the close of summer. Mounting on that foremost of elephants, O monarch, he proceeded against the Pandavas and began to pierce them on all sides with keen and terrible shafts that resembled Indra’s thunder in force. While he shot his arrows in that battle and despatched hostile warriors to Yama’s abode, neither the Kauravas nor the Pandavas could notice any lapses in him, even as the Daityas, O king, could not notice any in Vasava, the wielder of the thunder, in days of yore, while the latter was employed in crushing their divisions. The Pandavas, the Somakas, and the Srinjayas, beheld that elephant looking like a 1,000 elephants careering around them, even as the foes of the gods had in days of yore beheld the elephant of Indra in battle. Agitated (by that animal), the hostile army looked on every side as if deprived of life. Unable to stand in battle, they then fled away in great fear, crushing one another as they ran. Then the vast host of the Pandavas, broken by king Salwa, suddenly fled on all sides, unable to endure the impetuosity of that elephant. Beholding the Pandava host broken and flying away in speed, all the foremost of warriors of thy army worshipped king Salwa and blew their conchs white as the moon. Hearing the shouts of the Kauravas uttered in joy and the blare of their conchs, the commander of the Pandava and the Srinjaya forces, the Pancala prince (Dhrishtadyumna) could not, from wrath, endure it.
The illustrious Dhrishtadyumna then, with great speed, proceeded for vanquishing the elephant, even as the Asura Jambha had proceeded against Airavata, the prince of elephants that Indra rode in the course of his encounter with Indra. Beholding the ruler of the Pandavas impetuously rushing against him, Salwa, that lion among kings, quickly urged his elephants, O king, for the destruction of Drupada’s son. The latter, seeing the animal approaching with precipitancy, pierced it with three foremost of shafts, polished by the hands of the smith, keen, blazing, endued with fierce energy, and resembling fire itself in splendour and force. Then that illustrious hero struck the animal at the frontal globes with five other whetted and foremost of shafts. Pierced therewith, that prince of elephants, turning away from the battle, ran with great speed. Salwa, however, suddenly checking that foremost of elephants which had been exceedingly mangled and forced to retreat, caused it to turn back, and with hooks and keen lances urged it forward against the car of the Pancala king, pointing it out to the infuriate animal. Beholding the animal rushing impetuously at him, the heroic Dhrishtadyumna, taking up a mace, quickly jumped down on the Earth from his car, his limbs stupefied with fear.
That gigantic elephant, meanwhile, suddenly crushing that gold-decked car with its steeds and driver, raised it up in the air with his trunk and then dashed it down on the Earth. Beholding the driver of the Pancala king thus crushed by that foremost of elephants, Bhima and Shikhandi and the grandson of Sini rushed with great speed against that animal. With their shafts they speedily checked the impetuosity of the advancing beast. Thus received by those car-warriors and checked by them in battle, the elephant began to waver. Meanwhile, king Salwa began to shoot his shafts like the sun shedding his rays on all sides. Struck with those shafts, the (Pandava) car-warriors began to fly away. Beholding that feat of Salwa, the Pancalas, the Srinjayas, and the Matsyas, O king, uttered loud cries of “Oh!” and “Alas!” in that battle, all those foremost of men, however, encompassed the animal on all sides. The brave Pancala king then, taking up his mace which resembled the lofty crest of a mountain, appeared there. Fearlessly, O king, that hero, that smiter of foes, rushed with speed against the elephant.
Endued with great activity, the prince of the Pancalas approached and began to strike with his mace that animal which was huge as a hill and which shed its secretions like a mighty mass of pouring clouds. Its frontal globes suddenly split open, and it uttered a loud cry; and vomiting a profuse quantity of blood, the animal, huge as a hill, suddenly fell down, even as a mountain falling down during an earthquake. While that prince of elephants was falling down, and while the troops of thy son were uttering wails of woe at the sight, that foremost of warriors among the Sinis cut off the head of king Salwa with a sharp and broad-headed arrow. His head having been cut off by the Satwata hero, Salwa fell down on the Earth along with his prince of elephants, even like a mountain summit suddenly riven by the thunderbolt hurled by the chief of the celestials.'”
