Bhishma-Vadha Parva — Withdrawal of the forces in the eighth day's fight

Sanjaya said Hearing his son Iravat slain, Dhananjaya, overwhelmed with grief and sighing like a snake.

Spoke, O king, these words addressing the son of Vasudeva, even on the field of battle. "Surely the high-minded Vidura of great wisdom divined before hand this dreadful destruction of the Kurus and the Pandavas. It he was therefore that forbade king Dhritarashtra.

Innumerable other heroes, Oslayer of Madhu, have been slain by ourselves and the Kauravas in this sanguinary war.

For the sake of wealth, O foremost of men, vile deeds are being perpetrated. Fie on that wealth for the sake of which this destruction of kinsmen is being perpetrated.

Death is preferable, for him who has no wealth, to the acquisition of wealth by the slaughter of his kinsmen. What good 0 Krishna, shall we reap, slaughtering these our kinsmen assembled together.

In consequence of the faults of Duryodhana and those of Shakuni the son of Subala, and in consequence of the wicked counsels of Karna, the Kshatriyas are suffering destruction.

Now, O slayer of Madhu, do I realize what a great act of piety, O mighty-armed, one, did the king (Yudhishthira) do by begging of Suyodhana,

Either half of the kingdom or else five villages only. But the pervert Duryodhana turned deaf ears to our solicitations. Beholding these Kshatriyas, all brave warriors, prostrate on the surface of the earth.

I can not but reproach myself. Fie on the life of a Kshatriya. These Kshatriyas may consider me incapable of batting any longer,

But, O slayer of Madhu, this battle with my kinsmen does not at all please me. However, swiftly drive the horses towards the army of the sons of Dhritarashtra.

I shall cross this ocean of battle incapable of being crossed by the strength of my arms. Surely, O Madhava, this is not the time for the display of feminine sentiments."

Thus spoken to by the son of Pritha that slayer of hostile heroes Keshava, urged on those cream colored steeds endued with the fleetness of the wind.

Thereupon a deafening uproar was set up by your troops. O Bharata, like that of the ocean lashed into fury by the wind in the day of the new moon or the full moon.

Then in the afternoon, O mighty monarch, the battle that was fought between Bhishma and the Pandavas, resembled in its din the rumble of the rain clouds Parjanya.

Then your sons, O king, surrounding Drona like the Vasus encircling Vasava, assailed Bhimasena.

Thereafter Bhishma the son of Shantanu, Kripa the foremost of car-warriors, Bhagadatta and Susharma rushed against Dhananjaya.

The son of Hridika and Balhika both assailed Satyaki. King Ambashtaka encountered Abhimanyu.

The rest of the warriors, O mighty monarch, engaged with other great car-warriors of the hostile party. Then commenced an awful engagement whose aspect was indeed terrible.

Bhimasena beholding your sons, O ruler of me, in battle, blazed forth in anger like the sacrificial fire blazing forth with clarified butter.

Your sons, o king, covered that son of Kunti with a shower of arrows like clouds covering a mountain with torrents of rain during the rainy season.

Then, O ruler of men, when thus covered with arrows by your sons, that hero Bhima, agile as a tiger, began to lick the corners of his mouth.

Thereafter, 0 Bharata, he felled Vyudoraska with a sharp arrow furnished with a head like that of a horse-shoe; and the letter was deprived of his life.

Then again with an well tempered and well sharpened broad-headed shaft, he felled Kundalin, like a lion felling a smell deer.

Then Bhima fixed on his bow-string arrows well-tempered and of exceeding sharpness. Getting near your sons. O sire, he let these arrows go with great lightness and with good aim.

These arrows sped by that firm bowman Bhimasena began to overthrow your sons, all mighty car-warriors, from their seats.

Bhima felled Anadhrishti, Kundabheda, Vairata, Deerghalochana, Deerghabhau and Kanakdhvaja.

When falling, these heroes, O scion of the Bharata race, appeared beautiful like blossoming mango trees falling down in the spring.

Then considering the highly puissant Bhima to be the Destroyer incarnate, the rest of your sons, O ruler of men fled with haste.

Then Drona covered that hero (Bhima) who had been consuming your sons, with a shower of shafts, like showers of rain covering the mountain breast.

Then indeed we beheld the wonderful prowess of the son of Kunti, in as much as, though opposed by Drona himself, he succeeded in slaughtering your sons.

Just as a heifer bears the shower of rain falling from the skies, so did Bhima bear the arrowy downpour discharged by Drona, like one undaunted.

Really, O mighty monarch, Vrikodara achieved marvellous feats, in as much as he succeeded in slaying your sons and opposing Drona simultaneously.

Then the elder brother of Arjuna played amidst your heroic sons like, O monarch, a powerful tiger roving amidst a herd of deer.

Just a wolf, remaining inside a herd of cattle, chases and terrifies them, so, in that battle, did Vrikodara crush and frighten your sons.

The son of Ganga, Bhagadatta, the mighty car-warrior Gautami's son, all opposed in battle Arjuna himself the son of Pandu.

Then that Atiratha checking the enemies weapons with his own weapons, dispatched many mighty heroes of the hostile rank to the regions of Death.

Then Abhimanyu with his shafts, deprived that foremost of car-warriors, viz., king Ambashta of world-wide fame, of his car.

Deprived of his car and wondered by the illustrious son of Subhadra, he quickly jumped down from his car in shame and O lord of men.

Hurled his sword at the high-souled son of Subhadra. Thereafter that highly-powerful hero ascended the car of the son of Hridika.

Then that slayer of hostile hero, namely Abhimanyu, versed in all the modes, of warfare, beholding the swiftly advancing sword, evaded its strike by the agility of his movements.

Beholding the sword thus baffled by the son of Subhadra, in that battle, the troops, O ruler of men, set up an uproar crying 'well-done' 'well-done'.

Other warriors of the Pandava host headed by Dhrishtadyumna himself, engaged with your warriors; so also your warriors fought against the troops of the Pandavas.

Then when they were thus slaughtering one another mercilessly and achieving feats difficult of being accomplished, fierce was the battle that raged between your and their warriors.

In that battle the warriors, O sire, dragging one another by the hair, fought on striking one another with their finger-nails, their teeth, their blows and thighs,

Their sabers and palms and sinewy arms. Availing themselves of another's one weaknesses, they dispatched one another to the regions of Death.

Father slew son and son slew father in that battle men fought on making the best use of all limbs.

Beautiful bows with their staves decked with gold, O Bharata, loosened from the hold of slain warriors, and precious ornaments,

And whetted shafts furnished with golden or Argentine wings and cleansed with oil and resembling snakes that have recently cast of their slough, bone on the field (as they lay scattered thereon).

Swords with hilts made of ivory and decked with gold, and bucklers, belonging to bowmen, embossed with gold, lay scattered on the field, loosened from the grasp of their wielders.

Lances and dares and battle-axes, and javelins, all decked with gold and of golden hue,

And, O sire, beautiful coats of mail, heavy and light bludgeons, inaces, battle-axes and small arrows,

And diverse-sharped, capricious for elephants, and chamaras and fans and numerous bows variegated and decorated with gold, lay scattered on the field.

Men lying on the field with diverse weapons in grasp looked as if alive, though those mighty car-warriors were all deprived of the vital breaths.

With their bodies crushed with strokes of maces, their heads smashed with the blows of bludgeons, and thoroughly mangled by the cars and elephants and steed, men lay on the field.

Then the surface of the earth covered over with carcasses and corpses of men and elephants and steeds, appeared, O king, as if covered with hillocks.

The field of battle was strewn over with fallen dares, swords, arrows, lances, sabers, axes, piked stakes, iron crows, battle-axes, clubs and bludgeons, and Shataghnees and bodies mutilated with weapons.

O slayer of enemies, the earth covered with some warriors silent in death, with others weltering in their blood and with some again moaning feebly, became highly beautiful.

O Bharata, the field of battle assumed a beautiful aspect, being strewn over with arms of mighty warriors smeared with sandal paste and adorned with leather fences and bracelets, as also with well snapped thighs resembling the trunks of elephants, and with severed heads of large-eyed combatants, graced with gems and car-rings.

Covered over with blood-soiled amours and golden ornaments, the field of battle appeared most beautiful as of scattered over with fires of mild flames.

With ornaments of various kinds loosened from their places, with bows fallen about, with shafts of golden wings lying about,

With many broken cars decked with rows of bells, with numerous slain steeds bespattered with gore and their tongues protruding,

With car-bottons, and standards quivers, pennons, huge milk white conchs, belonging to mighty warrior,

With trunkless elephants, scattered on the field, the earth appeared charming like a damsel adorned with various of ornaments.

Then also with other elephants pierced with lances and pained to the extreme, and repeatedly uttering shrinks of agony with their trunks, the field of battle appeared beautiful as if covered with moving mountains. With blankets of various colors, and caparisons of elephants, sorts

With well-shaped hooks having their handles decked with lapses, with bells of huge elephants scattered here and there.

With clean housing of wonderful workmanship, with the skins of Ranku deer, with beautiful neck-laces and golden girths,

With many broken implements of war, with golden dares, with many gold fringed breast plates of steeds soiled with dust,

With served arms of horse soldiers, adorned with bracelets and scattered about, with well polished lances of keep points and with resplendent swords,

With variegated turbans fallen off and lying about, with wonderful crescent shaped arrows of golden effulgence,

With housings of steeds with skins of Ranku deer, torn and soiled, with beautiful and precious gems that had graced the turbans of the kings,

With umbrellas, and chamaras and fans scattered about, with moon-like or lotus-like faces of warriors conspicuous with charming ear-rings,

And graced with well clipped beards and beautified, O king, with Kundalas of golden effulgence,

The earth looked like the sky be-spangled with the stars and the planets. Thus, O Bharata, the two mighty armies crushed one another,

Encountering one another in battle. When, O Bharata, the two armies were crushed and exhausted and completely broken,

The hideous pall of night fell over the earth and the fight could no longer be discerned. Then the Kurus and the Pandavas withdrew their forces from the field.

When that hideous night, fierce and dreadful, set in, both the Kurus and the Pandavas, having withdrawn their forces, entered their encampments and retired to their respective tents.