The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
General
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
Epic literature, Sanskrit
of the all-destroying Sun that rises at the end of the Yuga, having
arrows for his rays, and Gandiva for his beautiful circular disc. Smiling
the while, Partha with his own showers of arrows cut off the excellent
arrows sped at him by those mighty car-warriors. In return, he struck
them with innumerable arrows, drawing his bow Gandiva to a complete
circle. As the sun of fierce rays between the months of Jyaishtha and
Ashadha easily drieth up the waters (of the earth), even so Arjuna,
baffling the arrows of his foes, consumed thy troops, O king of kings!
Then Kripa, and the chief of the Bhojas, and thy son himself shooting
showers of shafts, rushed towards him. Drona's son also, that mighty
car-warrior, rushed towards him, shooting his shafts. Indeed, all of them
rained their arrows on him, like the clouds pouring torrents of rain on a
mountain. The son of Pandu, however, with great activity and speed, cut
off with his own shafts those excellent arrows sped at him with great
care in that dreadful battle by those accomplished warriors desirous of
slaying him, and pierced the chest of each of his adversaries with three
shafts. Having arrows for his fierce rays, the Arjuna sun, with Gandiva
drawn to its fullest stretch constituting his corona, looked resplendent,
as he scorched his foes, like the Sun himself between the months of
Jyeshtha and Ashadha, within his bright corona. Then Drona's son pierced
Dhananjaya with ten foremost of shafts, and Keshava with three, and the
four steeds of Dhananjaya with four, and showered many shafts on the Ape
on Arjuna's banner. For all that, Dhananjaya cut off the full drawn bow
in his adversary's hand with three shafts, the head of his driver with a
razor-faced arrow, and his four steeds with his four other shafts and his
standard with three other arrows and felled him from his car. The son of
Drona then, filled with wrath, took up another costly bow, bright as the
body of Takshaka, and decked with gems and diamonds and gold, and
resembling a mighty snake caught from the foot of a mountain. Stringing
that bow as he stood on the earth, and bringing out one after another
shafts and weapons, Drona's son, that warrior who excelled in many
accomplishments, began to afflict those two unvanquished and foremost of
men and pierce them from a near point with many shafts. Then those mighty
car-warriors, Kripa and Bhoja and thy son, standing at the van of battle,
fell upon and shrouded that bull among the Pandavas, shooting showers of
shafts, like clouds shrouding the dispeller of darkness. Possessed of
prowess equal to that of the thousand-armed (Kartavirya), Partha then
showered his shafts on Kripa's bow with arrow fixed on it, his steeds,
his standard, and his driver, like the wielder of the thunder in days of
yore showering his shafts on (the asura) Vali. His weapons destroyed by
Partha's shafts, and his standard also having been crushed in that great
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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