Karna Parva — The general encounter

Sanjaya said Thereupon the troops on your side who were most invincible in battle, having placed Karna in the front part (of the army) and returning back, engaged in a battle that looked like the war between the celestials and the Asuras.

Then the multitudes of elephant-warriors, the car-warriors, the foot-soldiers and the horsemen, who were roused by the sound of conches, as well as by the roars of elephants, men, cars and horses and filled with great rage, stood on the face of the antagonists and continued to slaughter them.

In that fierce battle, numerous elephants, cars and horses, as well as slaughtered by the foremost of horses with their sharp battle axes, scimitars, axes and men were several sorts of shafts, as also with their conveyances.

The earth looked most resplendent with the severed heads of persons scattered over her, that resembled either the lotus, or the sun, or the moon in splendour and also that were furnished with the white teeth, excellent faces, eyes and noses and that and ornamented with beautiful ear-rings, upon their ears.

Thus thousands of elephants and men and horses were slaughtered by means of hundreds of spiked maces, short bludgeons, arrows, called Shakti and lances, as also by the hooks, Bhushandis and clubs which caused the torrents of a river of blood flow down.

Then that entire body of slain car-warriors, men, horses and elephants, that were all slaughtered by the antagonists and thus were most terrific to look at, lying (upon the field) with their gaping wounds, seemed to be like the kingdom of the prince of the Dead at the time of the utter destruction of all creatures.

Thereupon, O god among men, your troops and your sons, those foremost of the Kuru race, who are like the sons of the celestials, having placed at the front of the battle the heroes of immeasurable prowess, all rushed against that descendant of the Shini race (Satyaki).

Then that force, which was filled with men, the best of horses, cars and innumerable elephants and that sent forth an uproar resembling the roar of a vast ocean of salt and also that looked like the army of the Asuras or of the celestials and again, that was most terrifying to look at, looked most resplendent with extraordinary beauty.

Thereupon the son of Ravi (Sun), who was like the chief of the celestials (Indra) in prowess, struck that best of the Shini race, who also resembled the younger brother of the Tridashas (celestials), by means of arrows, that had the splendour of the rays of the sun, in the field of battle.

Thereafter that foremost one of the Shini race, with threat activity, wholly covered, in the field of battle, that chief among men, along with his car, horses and charioteer, with numerous arrows, that were as fierce as the virulent poison of the snake, in that dreadful field of battle.

Then the most expert car-warriors, who are your friends, being attended by their elephants, cars, horses and the foot-soldiers, with immense activity, rushed against Vasusena, that foremost of car-warriors, who was then highly oppressed with the shafts, shot by that chief of the Shini race.

That army, which was like a vast ocean and dispersed in all directions, was wholly inade to run away from the battle by the Pandava heroes, headed by the sons of Drupada, with extraordinary quickness. On this occasion, a great slaughter of men, cars, horses and elephants took place.

Thereupon those two best of all persons, Arjuna and Keshava, who were resolved upon slaughtering all their antagonists, after having finished the worship of lord Bhava, according to the ordained rites and also having performed their daily prayer ceremonies, with great rapidity proceeded against your force.

Then their antagonists, namely the Kuru warriors, highly gratified at heart, looked upon that car, that had its rattle resembling the uproar of the masses of clouds and also whose banners and standards were being by the air and to which again, beautiful white horses were yoked and moreover, that was proceeding towards them like the very Death himself.

Thereupon Arjuna, after having stretched his bow, called Gandiva, as if dancing upon the car, spread showers of arrows all over the firmament and the different points of the horizon, as well as all the subsidiary points of the compass.

After this, he (the son of Pandu, Arjuna) smote down numerous cars, that resembled the celestial balloons and that were furnished with all their equipments and also that were adorned with the weapons and standards, along with the charioteers themselves, by means of diverse kinds of arrows even as the great tempest disperses the congregated masses of clouds.

He then led, to the abode of Death by means of his numerous arrows, large numbers of elephants, along with their riders, that were equip with the most beautiful flags, weapons and standards, as also numerous horsemen and horses and many foot-soldiers.

Thereupon Duryodhana, unattended by any body else, rushed against that most powerful car-warrior, who was like the very Death himself and who was filled with great wrath and who, again, was most invincible in battle, smiting him with his numerous straight arrows.

Arjuna, on the other hand, after having destroyed his (antagonist's) bow, charioteer, horses and the standard by means of seven sharp shafts, severed his (foe's) umbrella by means of another winged arrow.

Then he (Arjuna), finding an opening in his antagonist, shot the foremost of his arrows, that was powerful enough to take away the very life itself (of the person struck with it), at Duryodhana. This the son of Drona severed into seven fragments.

Thereupon the son of Pandu, having first cut-off the bow of the son of Drona and slaughtered his horses, that were the best of their species, by means of his arrows, again, shattered that formidable bow belonging to Kripa.

Then he (the son of Pandu), having severed into pieces the bow, owned by the son of Hridika, cut-off his standard and slaughtered his horses. Again, he, cutting off the bow of Dushasana, rushed against the son of Radha,

Thereupon Karna, having abandoned Satyaki and penetrated Arjuna with three sharp shafts most activity, pierced Krishna with twenty other arrows; and again, penetrated the son of Pritha often and often.

Karna, resembling Indra himself, when he is greatly filled with wrath, felt no fatigue while he was shooting large numbers of arrows in the field of battle, slaughtering the antagonists.

Thereupon Satyaki, having advanced to him, pierced Karna with ninety-nine sharpheaded and dreadful arrows and again, struck him with one hundred others.

Afterwards all the best heroes among the Parthas continued to oppress Karna greatly. Thus Yudhamanyu, Shikhandin, the sons of Draupadi, as well as all the Prabhadrakas.

And also Uttamanjas and Yuyutsu along with the twin brothers and the several divisions of the Chedis, the Karushas, the Matsyas and the Kaikeyas.

And Chekitana, who was possessed of immense prowess and the king of righteousness (Yudhishthira), observing the most excellent vows, all these heroes, perfectly aggrandised them by their cars, horses and elephants, as well as by their foot-soldiers, possessing fierce strength.

They all, having surrounded Karna on all sides, poured forth showers of numerous kinds of arrows upon him; and they, then having addressed him in a very harsh language, all deterinined to bring about the fall of Karna.

Then Karna, having severed into several fragment that shower of weapons by means of his sharp-headed arrows, cast away his foes with the help of his prowess in the use of weapon even as the wind uproots the tree that stands in its way.

Karna, who was highly enraged, was found to slaughter large numbers of car-warriors, elephants along with their riders, horses with men riding upon them, as well as throngs of foot-soldiers.

Then the entire army of the Pandavas, being thus slain by the prowess of those weapons belonging to Karna and being deprived of wcapons and also having had their limbs torn and shattered, almost fled away from the field of battle.

Thereupon Arjuna, smiling for a time and smiting down in return the weapons of Karna by means of the weapons of his own, shrouded the different points of the horizon, the entire firmament and the earth will the showers of arrows.

Some of the arrows, shot by Arjuna, dropped down upon the earth like the maces; and some, like the spiked clubs; and other fell like the Shataghnis; whereas several other shafts fell down upon the ground like the most dreadful thunderbolt.

That force, belonging to the Kauravas, that consisted of numerous foot-soldiers, horses, cars and elephants and that were being slaughtered with the above weapons, that seemed to shut up the eyes, roved about (in the field of battle) ceaselessly and roared most loudly.

Thereupon the battle became most dreadful, as numerous horses, men and elephants were continually slaughtered. Then, again, a large number of them, highly afflicted with the arrows and struck with terror, fled away from the field of battle,

Thus whilst the battle raged most fearfully amongst your troops, who most were enthusiastic with the desire of victory, the Sun, approaching the setting mountain, entered into it.

O great monarch, we could not behold anything in the field, either favourable or unfavourable, owing to the thick darkness and especially on account of the dust,

O descendant of the Bharata race, then the most powerful bowman (belonging to the Kuru army), being afraid of a battle that would take place in the night, made retreat from the field of battle, accompanied by all their combatants.

Thereupon, O monarch, at the fall of night when the Kaurava divisions had all field away (from the field), the sons of Pritha, highly gratified to attain the victory, retired to their own cainps.

And they (the Pandava troops) continued to mock at the antagonists by raising various sorts of sounds with all their musical instruments and also by sending froth leonine-roars and uproars; and moreover, they praised both Achyuta and Arjuna.

Thus when that force of the Kauravas was routed by those heroic warriors, all the troops, as well as the lords of men, began to utter benedictions upon the Pandavas.

Thereupon, when the hostile army had made their retreat from the field, the Pandava warriors as well as the lords of men, became highly gratified and having retired to their camps, passed the night most cheerfully.

Thereafter large numbers of Rakshasas and Pisachas, as well as numerous other beasts, came to that dreadful field of battle, the looked like the sporting ground of Rudra himself.