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
Bharata race, beholding Drona completely covered by the wielder of the
_Gandiva_ with his arrows, the Kuru army set up exclamation of '_Oh'!_
and '_Alas'!_ And Maghavat, together with those _Gandharvas_ and
_Apsaras_ that have come there, applauded the fleetness of Partha's
hand. And that mighty car-warrior, the preceptor's son, then resisted
the Pandva with a mighty array of cars. And although enraged with
Arjuna, yet Aswatthaman mentally admired that feat of the high-souled
son of Pritha. And waxing wroth, he rushed towards Partha, and
discharged at him an arrowy shower like a heavy down-pour by the cloud.
And turning his steeds towards Drona's son, Partha gave Drona an
opportunity to leave the field. And thereupon the latter, wounded in
that terrible encounter, and his mail and banner gone sped away by the
aid of swift horses."
SECTION LIX
Vaisampayana said, "Then, O mighty king, Drona's son rushed to an
encounter with Arjuna in battle. And beholding his rush to the conflict
like a hurricane, showering shafts like a rain charged cloud Pritha's
son received him with a cloud of arrows. And terrible was the encounter
between them, like that between the gods and the _Danavas_. And they
shot arrows at each other like Virata and Vasava. And the welkin being
enveloped on all sides with arrows, the sun was completely hidden, and
the air itself was hushed. And, O conqueror of hostile cities, as they
assailed and struck each other, loud sounds arose as of bamboos on fire.
And, O king, Aswatthaman's horses being sorely afflicted by Arjuna, they
became bewildered and could not ascertain which way to go. And as
Pritha's son ranged on the field, the powerful son of Drona finding an
opportunity, cut off the string of the _Gandiva_ with an arrow furnished
with a horse-shoe head. And beholding that extraordinary feat of his,
the celestials applauded him highly. And exclaiming--'Well done!'--'Well
done!' Drona and Bhishma, and Karna, and the mighty warrior Kripa, all
applauded that feat of his greatly. And the son of Drona, drawing his
excellent bow, pierced with his shafts, furnished with the feathers of
the _Kanka_ bird, the breast of Partha, that bull among warriors.
Thereupon, with a loud laughter, the mighty-armed son of Pritha attached
a strong and fresh string to _Gandiva_. And moistening his bow-string
with the sweat that stood on his forehead resembling the crescent moon,
Pritha's son advanced towards his adversary, even as an infuriated
leader of a herd of elephants rusheth at another elephant. And the
encounter that took place between those two matchless heroes on the
field of battle was exceedingly fierce and made the bristles of the
spectators stand on their ends. And as those heroes endued with mighty
energy fought on, the two mighty elephants, the Kurus beheld them with
wonder. And those brave bulls among men assailed each other with arrows
of snaky forms and resembling blazing fires. And as the couple of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account