The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Virata Parva
Religion
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Virata Parva
Epic literature, Sanskrit
attacked the army from behind by means of clouds of keen-edged arrows
proceeding towards their aims like hawks let off by fowlers. And he soon
covered the entire welkin with clusters of blood-drinking arrows. And as
the (infinite) rays of the powerful sun, entering a small vessel, are
contracted within it for want of space, so the countless shafts of
Arjuna could not find space for their expansion even within the vast
welkin. Foes were able to behold Arjuna's car, when near, only once, for
immediately after, they were with their horses, sent to the other world.
And as his arrows unobstructed by the bodies of foes always passed
through them, so his car, unimpeded by hostile ranks, always passed
through the latter. And, indeed, he began to toss about and agitate the
hostile troops with great violence like the thousand-headed Vasuki
sporting in the great ocean. And as Kiritin incessantly shot his shafts,
the noise of the bow-string, transcending every sound, was so loud that
the like of it had never been heard before by created beings. And the
elephants crowding the field, their bodies pierced with (blazing) arrows
with small intervals between looked like black clouds coruscated with
solar rays. And ranging in all directions and shooting (arrows) right
and left, Arjuna's bow was always to be seen drawn to a perfect circle.
And the arrows of the wielder of the _Gandiva_ never fell upon anything
except the aim, even as the eye never dwelleth on anything that is not
beautiful. And as the track of a herd of elephants marching through the
forest is made of itself, so was the track was made of itself for the
car of Kiritin. And struck and mangled by Partha, the hostile warriors
thought that,--_Verily, Indra himself, desirous of Partha's victory,
accompanied by all the immortals is slaying us_! And they also regarded
Vijaya, who was making a terrible slaughter around, to be none else than
Death himself who having assumed the form of Arjuna, was slaying all
creatures. And the troops of the Kurus, struck by Partha, were so
mangled and shattered that the scene looked like the achievement of
Partha himself and could be compared with nothing else save what was
observable in Partha's combats. And he severed the heads of foes, even
as reapers cut off the tops of deciduous herbs. And the Kurus all lost
their energy owing to the terror begot of Arjuna. And tossed and mangled
by the Arjuna-gale, the forest of Arjuna's foes reddened the earth with
purple secretions. And the dust mixed with blood, uplifted by the wind,
made the very rays of the sun redder still. And soon the sun-decked sky
became so red that it looked very much like the evening. Indeed, the sun
ceaseth to shed his rays as soon as he sets, but the son of Pandu ceased
not to shoot his shafts. And that hero of inconceivable energy
overwhelmed, by means of all celestial weapons, all the great bowmen of
the enemy, although they were possessed of great prowess. And Arjuna
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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