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
thus cut off Satyasena's head, he then despatched Citravarman with a
number of keen shafts, and then the latter's driver, O sire, with a keen
calf-toothed arrow. Filled with rage, the mighty Partha then, with
hundreds of shafts, felled the samsaptakas in hundreds and thousands.
Then, O king, with a razor-headed arrow equipped with wings of silver,
that mighty car-warrior cut off the head of the illustrious Mitrasena.
Filled with rage he then struck Susharma in the shoulder-joint. Then all
the samsaptakas, filled with wrath, encompassed Dhananjaya on all sides
and began to afflict him with showers of weapons and make all the points
of the compass resound with their shouts. Afflicted by them thus, the
mighty car-warrior Jishnu, of immeasurable soul, endued with prowess
resembling that of Sakra himself, invoked the Aindra weapon. From that
weapon, thousands of shafts, O king, began to issue continually. Then O
king, a loud din was heard of falling cars with standards and quivers and
yokes, and axles and wheels and traces with chords, of bottoms of cars
and wooden fences around them, of arrows and steeds and spears and
swords, and maces and spiked clubs and darts and lances and axes, and
Sataghnis equipped with wheels and arrows. Thighs and necklaces and
Angadas and Keyuras, O sire, and garlands and cuirasses and coats of
mail, O Bharata, and umbrellas and fans and heads decked with diadems lay
on the battle-field. Heads adorned with earrings and beautiful eyes, and
each resembling the full moon, looked, as they lay on the field, like
stars in the firmament. Adorned with sandal-paste, beautiful garlands of
flowers and excellent robes, many were the bodies of slain warriors that
were seen to lie on the ground. The field of battle, terrible as it was,
looked like the welkin teeming with vapoury forms. With the slain princes
and Kshatriyas of great might and fallen elephants and steeds, the Earth
became impassable in that battle as if she were strewn with hills. There
was no path on the field for the wheels of the illustrious Pandava's car,
engaged as he was in continually slaying his foes and striking down
elephants and steeds with his broad-headed shafts. It seemed, O sire,
that the wheels of his car stopped in fright at the sight of his own self
careering in that battle through that bloody mire. His steeds, however,
endued with the speed of the mind or the wind, dragged with great efforts
and labour those wheels that had refused to move. Thus slaughtered by
Pandu's son armed with the bow, that host fled away almost entirely,
without leaving even a remnant, O Bharata, contending with the foe.
Having vanquished large numbers of the samsaptakas in battle, Pritha's
son Jishnu looked resplendent, like a blazing fire without smoke.'"
28
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