Shalya Parva — The fight between Shalya and Bhima. Shalya strikes Yudhishthira. The death of Chekitan

Sanjaya said Seeing his charioteer fallen, Shalya, O king, quickly took up his mace made entirely of iron and stood firm as a hill.

Bhima, however, armed with his mighty mace, rushed impetuously towards Shalya who shone like the blazing Yuga fire or the Destroyer armed with the noose or the Kailasa mountain with his summit or Vasava with this thunder or Mahadeva with his thunder or Mahadeva with his trident or an infuriate elephant in the forest.

At that time there arose the sound of thousands of conchs and trumpets and loud leonine roars increasing the joy of horses.

The warriors of both armies, looking at those two foremost of heroes from every side, lauded them both, saying-well done! well done.

Except the ruler of the Madras or Rama, that delighter of the Yadus, there is none else that can venture to stand the impetuosity of Bhima in battle.

Similarly except Bhima there is no other warriors that can venture to stand the force of the mace of the illustrious king of the Madras in battle.

Those two varriors Vrikodara and the king of the Madras, roaring the bulls, moved about in circles, frequently leaping up in the air.

In that encounter between those two best of men, no difference was perceptible between them either in their movement or in the manner of their holding the mace.

The mace of Shalya, coated with a shining cloth of gold that looked like a sheet of fire, made the on-lookers afraid.

The mace of the great Bhima, as he moved about in circles, looked like lighting in the midst of the clouds.

Struck by the king of Madras with his mace, the mace of Bhima, O king, sent forth scintillations of fire in the sky which was as if on fire.

Similarly struck by Bhima with his mace, the mace of Shalya produced a shower of burning coals.

Like two huge elephants striking each other with their tusks or two huge bulls striking each other with their horns, those two heroes began to strike each other with their maces, like a pair of heroes striking each other with iron clubs.

On being struck with each other's mace, they soon became bathed in blood and looked more beautiful like two blossoming Kinshukas.

Struck by the king of the Madras on both his left and right, the mighty-armed Bhimasena stood firın like a mountain.

Similarly, though struck again and again with Bhima's mace, Shalya, O king, moved not like a mountain struck by an elephant with his tusks.

The sound caused by the strokes of the maces of those two best of men was heard on all sides like peals of thunder.

Having stopped for a moment those two energetic warriors once more, with uplifted maces, closed each other.

Again an encounter took place between those two warriors of superhuman power, each having advanced towards the other by eight steps and each, striking the other with his uplifted iron club.

Then desiring to reach each other, they once more moved about in circles. Both the expert warriors began to display their superiority of skill.

Uplifting their terrible weapons, they again strucks each other like mountains striking each other with their summits at the time of an earthquake.

Struck heavily with each other's mace, both of them dropped down simultaneously like a couple of poles set up for Indra's worship.

Threat the brave warriors of both armies, cried Oh and Alas. Cut to the quick, both of them had become exceedingly agitated.

Then the powerful Kripa, taking up Shalya, that king of the Madras, on his own car, quickly took him away from the battle field.

Bhimasena, rising up, however, within the twinkling of an eye and still reeling as if drunk, challenged, with an uplifted mace, the king of the Madras.

Then your warriors, armed with various weapons, fought with the Pandavas, causing the blowing and beating of various musical instruments.

Raising up arms, taking weapons and making a loud noise, O king, your warriors, led by Duryodhana, rushed against the army of the Pandavas.

Beholding the Kauravas the sons of Pandu, sending up leonine shouts, rushed against those Warriors led by Duryodhana.

Then your son, O foremost of Bharatas, aiming at Chekitana amongst them, cut him deeply with a lance in the chest.

Thus struck by our son, Chekitana dropped in a faint down on his car, bathed in blood.

Seeing Chekitana slain, the great carwarriors among the Pandavas continually showered arrows (upon the Kauravas).

Indeed, the Pandavas, filled with the desire of victory, O king, moved about on all sides amongst your soldiers.

Kripa and Kritavarman and the powerful son of Subala, placing the king of the Madras before them, fought with king Yudhishthira.

Duryodhana, O king, fought with heroic and powerful Dhrishtadyumna, the slayer of Bharadvaja's son.

Three thousand cars, O king, dispatched by your son and headed by Drona's son, fought with Vijaya.

All those warriors, O king, were bent upon winning victory even at the sacrifice of their lives. Indeed, O king, your warriors entered into the midst of the Pandava army like swans into a large lake.

A fierce encounter then took place between the Kurus and the Pandavas, the combatants being worked up with the desire of killing one another and deriving great pleasure from giving and receiving blows.

During the progress, O king, of that battle in which great heroes were killed a terrible dust was raised by the wind.

From only the names we heard of the Pandava warriors) that were uttered during that battle and from those of the Kuru warriors) that were uttered by the Pandavas, we knew the heroes that fought with one another fearlessly.

That dust, however, O foremost of men, was soon dispelled by the blood that was shed and all the points of the horizon became once more clear.

Indeed, during that terrible and awful battle, no one, among either your warriors or those of the foc, took to his heels.

Desirous of going to the regions of Brahman and longing for victory by fair fight, the warriors displayed their prowess worked up with the hope of heaven.

For paying off the debt they owed to their masters on account of the maintenance received or bent upon achieving the objects of their friends and allies, the warriors, desirous of going to heaven, fought with one another.

Discharging various weapons, great carwarriors roared at the struck one another.

Slay, seize, strike, cut off-these were the words that were heard in that battle, ultered by your people and those of the enemy.

Then Shalya, O king, desirous of killing him, struck king Yudhishthira, a mighty carwarrior, with many sharp arrows.

Acquainted with the vital parts of the body, the son of Pritha, however, O king, struck the king of the Madras with fourteen cloth-yard shafts, aiming at the latter's vital parts.

Resisting the son of Pandu with his arrows the illustrious Shalya, filled with ire and desirous of killing his antagonist, struck hiin in that battle with innumerable Kanka-feathered arrows.

Again, O king, he struck Yudhishthura with a straight shaft in the very presences of all the troops.

King Yudhishthira, possessed of great renown and filled with range, cut the ruler of the Madras with many keen Kanka and peacock feathered arrows.

That nighty car-warrior then pierced Chandrasena with seventy arrows and Shalya's driver with nine and Drumasena with sixty four.

When the two protectors of his car-wheels were (thus) killed by the great son of Pandu, Shalya, O king, slew twenty five warriors among the Chedis.

And he struck Satyaki with twenty five keen arrows and Bhimasena with seven and the two sons of Madri with a hundred, in the battle.

While Shalya was thus fighting in that battle, that best of kings, the son of Pritha, shot at him many arrows that resembled snakes of virulent poison.

With a broad-headed arrow, Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, then cut off from his car the standard of his antagonist as the latter stood before him.

We saw the standard of Shalya, which was thus cut off by the son of Pandu in that great battle, drop down like a mountain summit.

Seeing his standard fallen and observing the son of Pandu standing before him, the king of the Madras, worked up with range, shot a number of shafts.

That foremost of Kshatriyas, viz., Shalya of great energy poured over the Kshatriyas in that battle dense. showers of arrows like Indra pouring torrents of rain.

Piercing Satyaki and Bhimasena and the twin sons of Madri by Pandu, each with five arrows, he assailed Yudhishthira greatly.

We then, O king, beheld a net of arrows spread before the chest of Pandu's son like a mass of risen clouds.

The great car-warrior Shalya, in that battle, filled with rage, covered Yudhishthira with straight shafts.

At this, king Yudhishthira, afflicted with those arrows, felt himself deprived of his prowess, even as the Asura Jambha had become before the killer of Vritra.