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
"Sanjaya said, 'Learning that Nakula had been deprived of his car,
afflicted with arrows and mangled with the weapons of Karna's son, and
that he had his shafts, bow, and sword cut off, these eleven formidable
resisters of all foes, the five heroic sons of Drupada, the grandson of
Sini forming the sixth, and the five sons of Draupadi quickly proceeded
on their loud-sounding cars drawn by bounding steeds, with banners waving
in the air, and guided by accomplished drivers. Those well-armed warriors
began to destroy thy elephants and cars and men and steeds with shafts
that resembled formidable snakes. Then Hridika's son and Kripa and
Drona's son and Duryodhana and Shakuni's son and Vrika and Kratha and
Devavridha, those foremost of Kaurava car-warriors, speedily proceeded
against them, armed with their bows and mounted upon their cars of rattle
deep as the roar of elephants or the clouds. These Kaurava warriors,
assailing those foremost of men and first of car-warriors, those eleven
heroes (of the Pandava army), O king, with the mightiest of shafts,
checked their progress. At this, the Kulindas, riding upon their
elephants of impetuous speed that looked like mountain summits and that
were of the hue of newly-risen clouds, advanced against those Kaurava
heroes. Well-equipped, and covered with gold, those infuriated elephants,
born in Himalayan regions and ridden by accomplished warriors longing for
battle, looked resplendent like clouds in the welkin, charged with
lightning. The prince of the Kulindas then vigorously assailed Kripa and
his driver and steeds, with ten shafts made wholly of iron. Struck (in
return) with the shafts of Sharadvata's son, the prince fell down with
his elephant on the ground. The younger brother of that prince then,
assailing Kripa's car with a number of lances made wholly of iron and all
bright as the rays of the sun, uttered loud roars. The ruler of the
Gandharas, however, cut off the head of that warrior while still
uttering those roars. Upon the fall of those Kulindas, those mighty
car-warriors of thy army, filled with joy, blew their sea-born conchs,
and, armed with bows, rushed against their enemies. The battle then that
once more took place between the Kurus on the one side and the Pandavas
and the Srinjayas on the other, with arrows and scimitars and darts and
swords and maces and battle-axes, became fierce and awful and exceedingly
destructive of men and steeds and elephants. Car-warriors and steeds and
elephants and foot-soldiers, striking one another, fell down on the
ground, making the field of battle look like the welkin when congregated
masses of clouds charged with lightning and producing incessant peals of
thunder are assailed by fierce winds from all sides. Then the chief of
the Bhojas struck the huge elephants, the car-warriors, the innumerable
foot-soldiers, and the horse under Satanika. Struck with Kritavarma's
shafts, these soon fell down on the ground. About this time, struck with
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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