The laying aside of weapons by the Pandava troops

were

Sanjaya said Thereafter the son of Drona began to crush his foes like the Destroyer at the end of the Yuga slaughtering all creatures.

Slaying his foes with his broad-headed shafts, he caused a mountain by corpses, whose trees were constituted by standards, peaks by weapons, stones by slain elephants; which teemed with Kimpurusas formed by slain horses, which was covered with creepers constituted by bows, whose cranes constituted by flesh-cating animals, and which was full of birds formed by the ghosts.

Then, O foremost of the Bharatas, once more exclaiming aloud with great force, Ashvatthaman made your son to hear his vow.

"Inasmuch as Kunti's son Yudhishthira, disguised in the garb of righteousness, has spoken to the fighting Preceptor, saying 'lay you weapons aside.'

For that reason I shall crush his army even before his very eyes. Shattering the ranks of the hostile aimy I will slay the sinful son of the Panchala king

I will slay them all in battle if they only face me in battle. This I speak to you for sooth. Let the army be rallied and return to the charge.

Hearing those words of Drona's son your son rallied the troops, having dispelled their fear by uttering a loud leonine shout.

Thereupon O king, once more a terrible encounter took place between the armies of the Kurus and the Pandavas, resembling the dashing of two oceans at full tide.

The Kouravas were rallied and incited with revenge by Drona's son, the Pandavas and Panchalas were also excited to fury by having slain the Preceptor Drona.

The violence of tie collision was indeed very great collision that then took place on the field of battle between those warriors all of whom were filled with joy and rage and inspired with hopes of victory.

The collision between the Kurus and the Pandavas was like that between a mountain against a mountain or an ocean against an Ocean.

Then the Kuru and the Pandava troops filled with delight struck up ten thousand Bheris and blew a thousand conches.

Like the deep roar of the ocean when it was churned, a tremendous din was then heard in those troops. son

Thereafter Drona's invoked into existence the Narayana weapon and he aimed it at the armies of the Panchalas and the Pandavas.

Then thousands of arrows with blazing tips appeared in the welkin looking like snakes of fiery mouth, that continued to agitate the Pandavas.

Those arrows, O king, like the rays of the Sun, in that terrible battle, covered all the quarters of heaven, the sky and the Pandava soldiers.

Then, O ruler of earth, countless iron balls appeared there like lustrous orbs in the cloudless firmament.

Shataghnis of four or two wheels and a large number of maces and sharp-edged discs, effulgent like the sun also appeared there.

Then beholding the firmament densely covered by those weapons, O foremost of the Bharatas, the Pandavas, the Sanjaya and the Panchalas became exceedingly anxious.

The weapon showed its exceeding strength in all those places, O ruler of men, where the great car-warriors of the Pandava hosts contended furiously.

Slaughtered by the Narayana weapon, as if burnt down by a raging fire, the troops of the Pandavas were greatly distressed in battle.

O lord, as fire consumes a heap of dry grass in summer, even so did that weapon begin to consume the army of the Pandavas.

The very virtuous king Yudhishthira was filled with fear, as his army became reduced in number and that weapon swelled in its fury.

Then behoiding the army broken and deprived of its senses and seeing the indifference of Partha, the very virtuous king Yudhishthira thus spokeधृष्टद्युम्न पलायस्व सह पाञ्चालसेनया।

“Fly, O you Dhristadyumna, taking with you all the Panchala divisions; you also, Satyaki, go away with all Vrishnis and the Andhkas.

The high-souled son of Vasudeva will look after his own safety. Indeed he is competent to protect all the worlds; what to speak of his own self; it is useless to give him advise.

Ye soldiers, I command you to desist from the battle. I with my uterine brothers, am going to enter into a burning fire. was

In this war so dreadful to the timid, having crossed the oceans represented by Bhima and Drona, I shall now sink in the water contained in the vestige of a calf-foot represented by the son of Drona.

Let king Duryodhana today attain the fruition of his desires for I have slain the prcccptor who used to treat us so mercifully and like a friend.

Indeed this preceptor with the help of other cruel warriors, slew and did not spare the son of Subhadra of tender years, who unacquainted with the modes of warfare.

This preceptor with his son remained indifferent, when Krishna, dragged into the open court and about to be made a slave, asked him to speak the truth in answer to her question.

This preceptor gave an impenetrable armour to Duryodhana, when all other warriors were worn out with fatigue, in order that the latter may slay Phalguna and effect the protection of Jayadratha.

Indeed this preceptor with his Brahma weapon exterminated that whole Panchala division under Satyajit, who had been entering to bestow victory on me.

Indeed this preceptor did not with-hold his permission though solicited to do so by our friends, when despoiled of our kingdom we were on the point of being exiled into the woods.

Alas, such a well-wishing friend of ours who did us many good turns has been slain by us. For his sake I shall with all my relatives embrace death."

When the son of Kunti was thus speaking, the scion of the Dasaratha race, Krishna, forbidding the troops with the waive of his

“Quickly throw aside your weapons and come down from your vehicles; even this is the means ordained by the high-souled Narayana, for baffling this weapon.

All of you quickly alight from the elephants, horses and chariots in the ground. Thus when you stand in earth laying aside your arms this weapon will not slay you.

Whatever you shall contend in battle for checking the force of this weapon, in all those places the Kouravas will become more powerful than

Those men, on the other hand, who will thrown down their weapons and alight form their vehicles, will not be slain by this weapon. yourselves.

Those who will even think of contending against this weapon will be slain by it, even if he takes shelter within the bowels of the earth."

Hearing those words of Vasudeva, O Bharata, all the Pandava warriors laid their weapons aside and discarded all thoughts of battle from their mind.

But Bhimasena the son of Pandu, beholding the Pandavas about to abandon their weapons had thus spoken, O king, gladdening the hearts of all.

None should throw his weapons aside. I shall check the weapon of Drona's son with my swift-flying arrows.

Or armed with this heavy mace adorned with gold I shall career on the field of battle like Death himself, quelling the weapons of Drona's son.

Just as no luminary is equal to the Sun in effulgence, so there is no man equal to me in prowess and strength.

Look at my strong arms like the trunks of the foremost of elephants. They are capable of pulling down the crests of the Himavat mountain.

Among men, I am I am the only person possessed of the strength of ten thousand elephants, Like Shakra among the gods in heaven, I am known to be matchless on earth.

Today you shall behold the strength of my arms and my expanded chest, when I shall exert in resisting the effulgent and burning weapon of Drona's son.

If there is none who can venture to contend against the Narayana weapon, let then the Kurus and the Pandavas behold how I shall quell that weapon.

O Arjuna, O Arjuna, O Vibhatsu, it befits you not to lay aside your Gandiva-bow; then from yourself the halo of glory will be gone, like that of moon leaving it."

Arjuna said O Bhima, my great vow is that I shall not use the Gandiva-bow against Brahmanas the kine and the Narayana weapon and against these I shall lay it aside.

Sanjaya said Thus spoken to, Bhima, that subduer of foes, rushed against Drona's son on a chariot whose clatter resembled the roll of thunder and whose effulgence out-vied that of the Sun.

Endued with great activity and prowess, the son of Kunti possessed as he was of extreme lightness of hands, succeeded in covering Drona's son with a net-work of arrows, within the twinkling of the eye.

Thereupon Drona's son smilingly eyeing the rushing Bhima, challenged him and then covered him with arrows of keen points and inspired with Mantras.

Then Pritha's son shrouded with those shafts, of blazing points like the mouths of snakes, capable of penetrating to the very vitals, looked as if covered with speaks of gold.

Then O king, the appearance of Bhimasena became like that of a mountain surrounded by the fire-flies at the close of day.

That weapon of Drona's son directed against Bhimasena, swelled in fury like a conflagration assisted by the wind.

Beholding that weapon of great energy increasing in its fury, the troops of the Pandavas were filled with fear with the exception of Bhima.

Thereupon laying aside their celestial weapons on the ground they alighted on all sides from their cars and their horses.

Thus when they had thrown their weapons down and when they had alighted from their vehicles and horses, that weapon of immense energy flew towards the head of Bhima.

All creatures cried Oh and Alas and specially the Pandavas did so, at the sight of Bhimasena wrapt in the effulgence of that weapons.