Shalya Parva — The fight between Duryodhana and the sons of Pandu

Sanjaya said Filled with the courage of despair, that best of car-warriors, O king viz., your son, looked resplendent on his car in that battle like Rudra himself.

With the thousands of arrows shot by him, the Earth was completely covered. He drenched his enemies with showers of arrows like the clouds pouring rain on mountain breasts.

There was then not a man amongst the Pandavas in that great battle or a horse or an elephant or a car, who or which was not struck with Duryodhana's arrows.

O king, amongst the warriors every one, O Bharata, was struck by your son with his arrows.

The Pandava army was then covered with the arrows of that great warriors even as a army is covered with the dust it raises while marching for battle.

The Earth then, O king, was as if converted into one sheet of arrows by your son Duryodhana, that bowman endued with great lightness of hand.

Amongst those thousands of warriors on the field, of your side or that of the enemy, it appeared as if Duryodhana was then the only man.

The prowess displayed by your son was highly wonderful, since the Parthas, even in a body, could not approach him who was single.

He struck Yudhishthira, O best of Bharata's race, with a hundred arrows and Bhimasena with seventy and Sahadeva with seven.

And he struck Nakula with sixty four and Dhrishtadyumna with five and the sons of Draupadi with seven and Satyaki with three arrows. With a broad-headed arrow, he then, O king, cut off the bow of Sahadeva.

Casting off that broken bow, the heroic son of Madri, took up another formidable bow and rushing against the king, viz., Duryodhana struck him with ten arrows in that battle.

The great and brave bowman Nakula then struck the king with nine terrible arrows and uttered a loud war cry.

Satyaki struck the king with a single straight shaft; the sons of Draupadi struck him with seventy three and king Yudhishthira struck him with five. And Bhimasena assailed the king with eighty arrows.

Though struck thus from all sides with numerous arrows by those illustrious warriors, Duryodhana still, O king, did not waver, in the presence of all the soldiers assembled there.

The quickness, the skill and the prowess of that illustrious warrior excelled those of every man.

Meanwhile the Dhartarashtras, O king, who had not fled far away, beholding the king, rallied and returned there, clad in mail.

The noise made by them when they returned was exceedingly awful, like the roar of the surging deep during the rainy season.

Approaching their invincible king in that battle, those great bowmen rushed against the Pandavas for fight.

The son of Drona opposed in that battle the angry Bhimasena.

With the arrows, O king, that were shot in that battle, all the points of the horizon were completely covered, so that the brave warriors could not distinguish the cardinal from the subsidiary points of the compass.

As regards Ashvatthaman and Bhimasena, O Bharata, both of them performed wonderful feats. Both of them were invincible in battle. The arms of both continued marks of bowstring for having repeatedly drawn the same. Opposing each other, they fought on, frightening the entire universe.

The heroic Shakuni struck Yudhishthira in that battle. Having killed the four horses of the king the powerful son of Subala uttered a loud roar, making all the soldiers tremble with fear.

Meanwhile the valiant Şahadeva carried away the heroic but defeated king on his car from that battle.

Then riding on another car, returned king Yudhishthira and having pierced Shakuni at first with nine arrows, once more struck him with five. And that best of all bowmen then sent up a loud roar.

That battle presented a wonderful spectacle, It filled the spectators with delight and was praised by the Siddhas and the Charanas.

Heroic Uluka rushed against the mighty bowman Nakula, in that battle, discharging showers of arrows from all sides.

The heroic Nakula, however, in that battle opposed the son of Shakuni with a dense shower of arrows from every side.

Both those heroes were born in high family and both were great car-warriors. They were seen to fight with each other, each enraged with the other.

Similarly Kritavarman, O king, fighting with the grandson of Shini, that scorcher of foes, shone like Shakra fighting with the Asura Vala.

Having cut off Dhrishtadyumna's bow in that battle, Dhrishtadyumna struck his bowless antagonist with kcen arrows.

Then, in that battle, having taken up a formidable bow, Dhrishtadyumna fought with the king before all the bowmen.

The encounter between those two heroes was exceedingly dreadful, O best of Bharata's race, like that between two wild and infuriate elephants with temporal juice trickling down.

Worked up with rage in that battle, the heroic Gautama struck the mighty sons of Draupadi with many straight arrows.

The encounter that took place between him and those five resembled that which takes place between a man and his five senses. It was awful and fierce and no party showed any consideration for the other.

The five sons of Draupadi assailed Kripa like the senses afflicting a foolish man. He, on the other hand, fighting with thein, opposed them vigorously.

That battle between him and them was indeed wonderful because it resembled the struggles, O king, between men and their Senses.

Men fought with men, elephants with elephants, horses with horses and car-warriors with car-warriors. Once more O king, that encounter became general and dreadful.

Here an encounter was beautiful, there another was dicadful and there another was exceedingly fierce. O lord, many dreadful encounters took place in course of that battle.

Belonging to both armies and encountering one another, those chastisers of foes struck and killed one another in that dreadful battle.

A thick cloud of dust was raised by the cars and the animals. Thick dust was also raised by the running of the horses, a dust that was carried from one place to another by the wind.

A dust, thick as an evening cloud, was caused in the sky by the wheels of cars and the breaths of the elephants.

On that dust being raised and the sun himself hidden therewith, the Earth became shrouded and the heroic and great car-warriors were not visible.

That dust disappeared and everything became clear when the Earth, O best of the Bharatas, was covered with the blood of heroes.

When that dense and awful cloud of dust was put down there were seen many single encounters, O Bharata, that the heroes fought at the noon each according to his strength and his rank. They were all exceedingly fierce. The sheen of the weapons in those encounters, O king, appeared full in view.

Loud noise, of the falling shafts in that battle, resembled that of a vast forest of bamboo's while burning on every side.

Loud noise, of the falling shafts in that battle, resembled that of a vast forest of bamboo's while burning on every side.