Bhishma-Vadha Parva — The fight with Civet

Sanjaya said O king, when the greater part of that fearful day passed away, Durmukha, Kritavarma, Kripa, Shalya and Vivingshati, urged by your son, came to Bhishma and began to protect him in that fearful battle which was so destructive of the foremost of men.

O best of the Bharata race, protected by those five great car-warriors that great hero penetrated the Pandava army.

O descendant of Bharata, the palmyra standard of Bhishma was seen to glide continuously through the Chedis, the Kashis, the Karushas and the Panchalas.

That hero (Bhishma) cut off the heads (of the foes) and their cars with yokes and standards with broad-headed, swifts and perfectly straight arrows.

O best of the Bharata race, Bhishma seemed to dance on his car as it moved about. Some elephants vitally wounded by him, shrieked in great agony.

Thereupon Abhimanyu angrily rushed towards Bhishma's car on his own car yoked with excellent horses of brown colour.

And adorned with a standard decked with pure gold and resembling a Karnikara tree, he attacked Bhishma and those five foremost of car-warriors.

Striking with a sharp arrows the palmyra standard (of Bhishma) that hero fought with Bhishma and those others warriors who were protecting him.

Wounding Kritvarma with one arrow and Shalya with five, he weakened his great grandfather with nine arrows.

With one arrow shot from his bow drawn to its fullest extent, he cut off (Bhishma's) standard adorned with gold,

With one broad-headed and straight arrow capable of penetrating every thing, he cut off the head of Durmukha's charioteer.

With another sharp arrow, he cut down the gold-decked bow of Kripa. With many sharp arrows that great car warrior wounded them all. Seeing his lightness of hand, even the celestial were pleased.

Seeing the great exactness of Abhimanyu's aim, all the car-warriors with Bhishma at their head, considered that he possessed the great capacity (of his father) Dhananjaya.

His bow, sending forth sound like the twang of Gandiva while stretched and restretched, seemed to revolve like a circle of fire.

Then that chastiser of foes, Bhishma rushing on him with great impetuosity, soon, wounded the son of Arjuna with nine arrows.

He too with three broad-headed arrows cut off the standard of that greatly powerful warrior. Of rigid vows, Bhishma also struck his adversary's charioteer.

O sire, Kritavarmana, Kripa and Shalya, piercing Arjuna's son, all failed to make him, waver for he stood firm like the Mainaka mountain.

Though surrounded by those greatest carwarriors of Dhritarashtra's army, the heroic son of Arjuna still showered, on those five carwarriors, a down pour of arrows.

Baffling their great weapons by a shower of arrows and pouring on Bhishma a shower of his arrows, the mighty son of Arjuna sent up a loud roar.

When he was thus struggling in the battle, and afflicting Bhishma with (his) arrows, the strength of his arms we saw then was very great.

Possessed of such great power, Bhishma shot his arrows at him. But he (Abhimanyu) cut off in the fight all the arrows shot from Bhishma's bow.

Then that brave bowman cut off with nine arrows, the standard of Bhishma in the great battle. When this great deed was done, the people sent forth a loud shout.

Adorned with jewels and made of silver, that tall palmyra-deviced standard. 0 descendant of Bharata, cut off by the arrows of Subhadra's son, fell down on the ground.

0 best of the Bharata race, seeing that standard cut down by the arrows of Subhadra's son, the proud Bhishma sent up a loud shout to cheer up the son of Subhadra.

Then in that great battle, the mighty Bhimasena caused many powerful celestial weapons to app-ear.

The high-souled great grandsire (Bhishma) then covered Subhadra's son with thousands of arrows.

Thereupon ten great bowmen and mighty car-warriors of the Pandava (army) soon rushed on their cars to protect the son of Subhadra.

O king, these were Virata and his son, the descendant of Prishata, Dhrishtadyumna, Bhima, the five Kaikeya brothers, and Satyaki.

As they were rushing upon him with great impetuosity, the son of Shantanu, Bhishma, in that great battle, wounded the Panchala prices with three arrows and Satyaki with nine.

With one winged arrow as sharp as a razor shot from his bow drawn to its fullest stretch, he cut off the standard of Bhimasena.

O foremost of men, the lion-deviced standard of Bhimasena, made cf gold, being cut off by Bhishma, fell from the car.

Thereupon Bhima wounded the son of Shantanu with three arrows, Kripa with one and Kritavarman with eight.

The son of Virata, Uttara, also riding on an elephant with upraised trunk attacked the king of Madra.

But Shalya checked the great impetuosity of that foremost of elephants rushing towards his car.

But that foremost of elephants angrily placed his let on the yoke of (Shalya's) car and killed his four large and swift horses.

The king of Madra,. staying on the car the horses of which had been killed, hurled an iron dart, which resembled a snake, in order to kill Uttara.

His armour being cut through by the dart, he lost consciousness and fell from the elephant, the hook and the lance also fell loosened from his grasp.

Shalya then took up his sword and jumping down from his excellent car, he with great force cut off the large trunk of that great elephant.

His armour pierced all over with a shower of arrows and his trunk cut off, that elephant sent forth a loud shriek. He then fell down and expired.

O king, performing this great feat, the Madra king soon got the of Kritavarman.

Seeing his brother Uttara killed and seeing Shalya on the Kritavarman's car, Virata's son Shveta blazed up in anger as fire blazed forth with Ghee. That great warrior stretching his large bow that looked like that of Indra, rushed upon Shalya, the king of Madra with the desire of killing him. Surrounded on all sides with innumerable car-warriors, he advanced towards Shalya's chariot and poured upon him a on car shower of arrows. Seeing him rush to the fight with the prowess of an infuriated elephants, seven car-warriors of your side surrounded him on all sides with the desire of protecting the ruler of Madra who seemed to be already within the jaws of death.

Those seven warriors were Brihadbala, the king of the Kosalas, Jayatsena of Magadha, Rukmaratha, the brave son of Shalya, Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, Sudakshina the king of the Kambojas, and Jayadratha, the king of the Sindhus and the kinsman of Brihatkshatra.

The stretched bow of these illustrious warriors, decorated with various colours, looked like the flashes of lightning in the clouds.

They all poured on the head of Shveta a continuous shower of arrows as the clouds, tossed by the wind, pure rain on the mountain breast when summer is passed.

The great bowman, that commander of the force, being greatly enraged at this struck their bows with seven broad-headed arrows of great impetuosity.

O descendant of Bharata, we saw those bows were cut off. Then within half the time of a wink of the eye they took up other bows.

That mighty-armed and high-souled warrior then with seven swift arrows again cut off the bows of those bowmen.

Those heroes, those great car-warriors whose large bows had been cut down swelled in wrath, and grasping darts, sent forth a loud shout.

O best of the Bharata race, they hurled these seven darts on Shveta's chariot. Those blazing darts, which flew like large meteors with the sound of thunder, were all cut down by that great warrior with seven broad-headed arrows before they could reach him. O best of the Bharata race, then taking up an arrow which was capable of penetrating into every part of their body, he hurled it on Rukmaratha. That great arrow penetrated into his body.

Then, O king, being thus struck by the arrow, Rukmaratha sat down on his car and lost all consciousness.

His charioteer, however, without betraying any fear, carried him away, senseless and fainted, from the field of battle.

Then taking up six other arrows decked with gold, Shveta cut off the standards of his six adversaries.

Wounding their horses and charioteers also and covering those six warriors with a continuos shower of arrows, that chastiser of foes, went towards the car of Shalya.

O descendant of Bharata, when that great general (Shveta) was rushing with great force towards the car of Shalya, loud cries of “Oh" "Alas" rose in your army.

Then your great son, with Bhishma, at the head and with many other heroic warriors and troops, went towards Shveta's car.

He thus rescued the Madra King who was at the point of death. Then a fearful and hairstring battle was fought between your troops and those of the enemy in which cars and elephants all got mixed up in confusion. The old grandfather of the Kurus poured showers of arrows on Subhadra's son, on Bhimsena and on that great car-warrior Satyaki and also upon the king of the Kaikeyas, on Virata, on the descendant of Prishata, Dhrishtadyumna, and also upon Chedi troops.