घोर युद्ध

Sanjaya said Thus when that horripilating battle was progressing on, the Pandavas rushed against the Kauravas divided into three bodies.

Bhimasena rushed against the mighty armed Jalasandha and king Yudhishthira supported by his divisions assailed Kritavarman in battle.

Appearing beautiful like the sun and scattering showers of arrows, Dhrishtadyumna, O mighty monarch, rushed upon Drona in that battle.

Then raged the encounter between all the enraged bowmen of the Kurus and the Pandavas, all eater for encountering each other in fight.

During the progress of that dreadful carnage when the warriors were undauntedly fighting with one another in single combats.

The mighty Drona fought on with the powerful prince of the Panchalas and the myriads of shafts that he then discharged filled everybody with great wonder.

Like a forest of lotuses lying torn hither and hither, the heads of princes were being scattered all over the field by Drona and the prince of the Panchalas.

In every division of heroic warriors, garments ornaments standards, armours and weapons were scen scattered in all directions.

Golden arınours bespattered with blood, looked like masses of clouds illumined with flashes of lightning.

Other mighty car-warriors, stretching their bows full six cubits long, felled with their winged shafts numerous elephants, steeds and men.

In that battle between illustrious combatants, many swords, bucklers, bows, heads and armours of heroes, were seen lying scattered all over the field.

In that extremely terrible encounter, () mighty monarch, thousands of headless trunks were seen to rise up from the ground.

Vultures and Kankas and crows and jackals and numerous other flesh-eating animals, were seen there, O sire.

Eating flesh, drinking blood, dragging the hair and pecking the marrow.

And dragging out the bodies and limbs and heads, O king, of slain men, steeds, elephants.

Accomplished in the use of weapons, skilled in fighting and firmly resolved to fight, warriors exerted themselves vigorously in the battle, desirous of winning fame only.

The soldiers then roamed over the field, performing various evolutionary movements performed by swords-men. With darts, lances, javelins, tridents, tomaras and battle axes.

With maces, bludgeons and many other kinds of weapons as also with their bare arms, men who careered in that arcna, inflamed with rage, fell to slay one another.

Car-warriors became engaged with carwarriors, cavalry soldiers with cavalry-soldiers, elephants with other excellent elephants and infantry with infantry.

Many infuriate elephants as if perfectly mad, uttered loud shrieks and killed one another, after the manner they do so in arenas of sport.

O ruler of men, as that battle, in which none paid any regard to any one, raged, Dhrishtadyumna caused his own horses to be entangled with those of Drona.

Those pegion-white and crimson steeds, endued with the fleetness of the wind, appeared extremely beautiful, being mingled together in that battle.

The horses, O king, then shone like clouds surcharged with lightning. Then Dhrishtadyumna beholding Drona approach him.

Grasped his sword and mace and that hero, O Bharata, left aside his bow. Then that slayer of hostile heroes viz., Prishatas son, desirous of achieving a difficult feat.

Leap over the shafts of Drona's car and entered into it. He then stood sometimes on the yoke and sometimes on its joints.

And sometimes beside the horses. His troops then applauded him highly. When he, armed with the sword, was thus moving quickly on the backs of those crimson steeds.

Drona could find no opportunity for striking him; that indeed seemed extremely marvellous. Indeed like the swoop of a hawk on a piece of meat in a forest.

Looked that sally of Dhrishtadyumna from his own chariot, upon Drona, for his slaughter, Thereafter with a hundred shafts Drona cut-off the shield of Drupada's son, decked with hundred moons and then with another ten he cut-off nis sword.

Thereafter that mighty warrior slew the latter's steeds with sixty-four shafts. Then with a couple of broad-head shafts, he cut-off his enemy's standards and umbrella and his two Parshani charioteers.

Having at first drawn the bow-string back to the very ears, like Indra hurling the thunderbolt.

Then again with great lightness of hands, he sped at Dhrishtadyumna an arrow capable of destroying his life, but soon Satyaki, with fourteen arrows of great sharpness, cut-off that fatal shaft shot by Drona.

Thus, 0 sire, Satyaki rescued Dhrishtadyumna, who had been seized by that foremost of the preceptor, that best of men, like a deer seized by a lion.

That foremost descendant of Sini then rescued the prince of the Panchalas from Drona. Beholding Satyaki save the Panchala prince in that battle. Drona quickly sped at him twenty-six arrows.

Thereupon the grandson of Sini, pierced, with twenty-six arrows of great sharpness, Drona who seemed to swallow up the Srinjayas, on the centre of his breast.

Then, upon the Satvata hero Satyaki advancing upon Drona, all the Panchala carwarriors, desirous of victory, extricated Dhrishtadyumna from that encounter.