भीष्म-वध पर्व — तीसरे दिन के युद्ध का आरम्भ

Sanjaya said When your troops and those of the Pandavas were placed in battle array, that great car-warrior Dhananjaya made a great slaughter by cutting down with his arrows many leaders of car-warriors; your troops though thus slaughtered in the battle by the son of Pritha who resembled the destroyer himself at the end of a Yuga, yet fought with the Pandavas with perseverance. Desiring to win blazing glory and making death their final goal with minds undirected to anything else, they broke the Pandava ranks in many places, but their ranks also were in many places broken.

Then both the Kuru and the Pandava army broke and fled away. Nothing could then be distinguished.

A thick cloud of dust rose covering the sun. No body could distinguish any of the cardinal points.

O king, everywhere the battle raged the combatants were guided only by the indications afforded by colours, by watchwords, by names and by tribal distinctions.

O sire, O king, the Vyuha protected as it was by the son of Bharadvaja (Drona) could by no means be broken.

So did the formidable Pandava Vyuha remain unbroken, protected as it was by Savyasachi (Arjuna), and well-guarded by Bhima.

O king, the cars and the elephants of both the armies and other combatants came out of their respective arrays and engaged in the fight.

In that fearful battle, horse-men cut down horsemen with sharp and polished swords and long lances.

Car-warriors getting car-warriors within reach cut them down with their arrows decked with golden wings.

The elephant riders in your own army and in the army of Pandavas' destroyed the elephant riders of rival party in counter by blowing sharp Naracha, arrows and tomaras from all sides (viz. mutually they killed themselves).

Innumerable foot-soldiers angrily and at the same time cheerfully cut down one another with short arrows and battle axes.

O king, car-warriors, getting elephants riders within reach cut them down with the elephants. elephants riders also cut down carwarriors.

O best of the Bharata race, horse-men with their lances cut down car-warriors in that battle; car-warriors also cut down horse-men.

In both the armies, foot-soldiers cut down many car-warriors, many car-warriors cut down innumcrable foot-soldiers with their sharp weapons.

Elephant-riders cut down horse-men and horse-men cut down warriors who were on the back of elephants; every thing appeared to be exceedingly wonderful. Foot soldiers were seen to be cut down by the foremost of elephant-riders and the elephant-riders were also to be seen cut down by the foot-soldiers.

It has been seen there that innumerable foot-soldiers were cut down by horse-riders and horse-riders cut down foot-soldiers,

O best of the Bharata race! the battle field, strewn with broken standards bow, lances, housings of elephants, costly blankets, bearded darts, maces, clubs with iron spikes, Kampanas, various sorts of armours, arrows with golden wings, looked as if it were covered with garlands of flowers.

The ground becoming muddy with flesh and blood, became impassable with the bodies of men, horses and elephants, that were killed in that fearful battle.

O majesty! The dust on the upper surface of earth was stuck to layer on being soaked in blood flown in that battle-field. On being this, all directions became clearly visible.

O descendant of Bharata, innumerable headless bodies were seen rising from the ground, an omen to indicate that the destruction of the world is near.

In that fearful and terrible battle, car warriors were to run away in all directions; then Bhishma, Drona, Jayadratha seen the king of the Sindhus, Purumitra, Vikarna, the son of Subala Shakuni, these invincible and lion-like heroes broke the Pandava rank.

O descendant of Bharata, Bhimasena, the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha, Satyaki, Chekitana, the sons of Draupadi, backed by all the kings, chastised your troops and your sons, as the celestials did the Danavas.

Those foremost of Kshatriya struck one another in battle. They became terrible to look at. covered with blood, they shone like the Kinshuka flowers.

O king, vanquishing their adversaries, those foremost of warriors of both the armies looked like the brilliant stars in the sky.

Then your son Duryodhana supported by one thousand car-warriors rushed to battle with the sons of Pandu and the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha.

The Pandava also with many thousand troops rushed in battle against those chastiser of foes, the heroic Bhishma and Drona.

The diadem-decked hero (Arjuna) also rushed in anger against those foremost of kings. then the son of Arjuna, Abhimanyu and Satyaki both rushed against the forces of the son of Subala, Shakuni.

Then again commenced a fearful and hairstring battle between the troops and both the sides, both parties being eager to defeat one other.