ing friendly rauks, and fell down with loud shrieks.** Prodigious elephants looking like newly-risen clouds and roaring also like the clouds, were seen to run in all directions, deprived of their coats of mail. And, O sire, their Chamarus and variegated standards, their umbrellas with golden staves, and the bright lances (of their riders), lay scattered about.*24-25 And elephant-riders, O king, deprived of their elephants, belonging both to thy army and theirs, were seen to run (on foot) amid that awful press." And steeds from diverse countries, decked with ornaments of gold, were seen, by hundreds and thousands, to run with the speed of the wind." And horse-riders, deprived of their horses, and armed with swords, were in that battle seen to run, or made to run (by others assailing them).” Elephant, meeting with a flying elephant in that dread battle, proceeded, quickly crushing foot-soldiers and steeds." And, similarly, O king, those prodigious creatures crushed many cars in that battle, and cars also, coming upon fallen steeds, crushed them (in their course). And steeds too, in the press of battle, crushed many foot-soldiers, O king, (with their hoofs) And thus, O monarch, they crushed one another in diverse ways. And in that fierce and awful battle there flowed a terrible river of bloody current." And heaps of bows obstructed its straight course, and the hair (of slain warriors) formed its moss. And (broken) cars formed its lakes, and arrows its

80

And heads (severed And it abounded with And coats of mail and

eddies. And steeds formed its fishes. from trunks) formed its blocks of stone. elephants that formed its crocodiles. head-gears formed its froth. And bows (in the hands of the warriors) constituted the speed of its current, and swords its tortoises. And banners and standards in profusion formed the trees on its banks. And mortals constituted its banks which that river continually ate away. And it abounded with

repeat Chamarais in the

*Both the Bombay and the Bengal texts second line of 24th. This is certainly erroneous. The Burdwan Pundits read it tomarais. This is correct.-T.

+ In the second line of 30th, the correct reading is Rathas (nom. plural) and not Rathan. So in the first line of 31st, the word is turangās (nom. plural) and not turangan.-T.

And that stream (instead of

cannibals that formed its swans. swelling the ocean with its discharge) swelled the population of Yama's kingdom." And brave Kshatriyas,-mighty carwarriors,-casting off all fear, O king, sought to cross that river with the aid of cars, elephants, and steeds that played the part of rafts and boats. And as the river Vaitarani beareth all departed spirits towards the domains of the King of the Dead, so that river of bloody current bore away all timid men deprived of their senses in a swoon.87 And theKshatriyas, beholding that awful carnage, all exclaimed, say-. ing,-Alas, through Duryodhana's fault the Kshatriyas are being exterminated ! Why, Oh, Dhritarashtra of sinful soul, deluded by avarice, harboured envy for the sons of Pāndu, who are graced with numerous virtues !*—Diverse exclamations of this kind were heard there, made by one another, fraught with the praises of the Pandavas and censure of thy sons. Hearing then these words uttered by all the combatants, thy son Duryodhana, that offender against all, addressed Bhishma and Drona and Kripa and Calya, Q Bhārata, saying,-Fight ye without boastfulness! Why tarry ye at all? Then the battle was resumed between the Kurus and the Pandavas, that fierce battle, O king, caused by the match at dice and marked by an awful slaughter.** Thou beholdest now, O son of Vichitravirya, the dread fruit of that rejection by thee (of the counsels of thy friends) though warned against it by many illustrious persons !*** Neither the sons of Pandu, O king, nor their troops, nor they that follow them, nor the Kauravas, show the least regard for their lives in battle. For this reason, O tiger among men, a dreadful destruction of kinsmen is taking place, caused either by Destiny or by thy evil policy, O king!'"

40

45

SECTION CV.

"Sanjaya said, 'O tiger among men, Arjuna sent those Kshatriyas that followed Suçarman, to the abode of the King

* I have expanded the original a little to make the sense clear.-T.

of the Dead by means of his whetted shafts.' Suçarman, however, in that battle, pierced Partha with his shafts. And he pierced Vasudeva with seventy, and Arjuna once more with nine shafts. Checking those shafts by means of his arrowy showers, that mighty car-warrior, viz, the son of Indra, despatched Suçarman's troops unto Yama's abode. Those mighty car-warriors, while being slaughtered by Pārtha in that battle as if by Death himself at the end of the Yuga, all fled away from the field, O king, struck with panie. Some abandoning their steeds, some abandoning, O sire, their cars, and others their elephants, fled away in all directions. Others, taking with them their horses, elephants, and cars, fled away, O king, with great speed, Foot-soldiers, in that dreadful battle, throwing aside their weapons, and without any regard for one another, fled away hither and thither." Though forbidden by Suçarman the ruler of the Trigartas, and by other foremost of kings, they stayed not yet in battle, Beholding that host routed, thy son Duryodhana himself at the head of the whole army and with Bhishma ahead, attacked Dhananjaya with all his vigor, for the sake, O king, of (protecting) the life of the ruler of the Trigartas.10 Alone he stayed in battle, scattering diverse kinds of arrows, supported by all his brothers. The rest of the men all fled away." Similarly, the Pandavas, O king, clad in mail and with all their vigor, proceeded, for the sake of Phalguna, to the spot where Bhishma was. Although acquainted with the awful prowess, in battle, of the wielder of Gandiva, these yet proceeded with loud cries and great bravery to the spot where Bhishma was and surrounded him on all sides." Then the palmyra-bannered hero covered the Pandava army, in that battle, with his straight shafts.1 The Sun had reached the meridian, the Kauravas, O king, fought with the Pandavas in one confused mass. 15 The heroic Satyaki, having pierced Kritavarman with five arrows, stayed in battle, scattering his arrows by thousands. And so king Drupada also, having pierced Drona with many whetted shafts, once more pierced him with seventy shafts and his charioteer with nine." Bhimasena also, having pierced, his great grandsire king Välhika, uttered a loud roar

1.6

like a tiger in the forest." Arjuna's son (Abhimanyu), pierced by Chitrasena with many shafts, deeply pierced Chitrasena in the chest with three arrows." Engaged with each other in battle, those two foremost of men looked resplendent on the field like the planets Venus and Saturn, O king, in the firmament.*20 Then that slayer of foes, viz., the son of Su. bhadrā, having slain his antagonist's steeds and charioteer with nine arrows, uttered a loud shout." Thereupon that mighty car-warrior, (viz., Chitrasena,) quickly jumping down from that car whose steeds had been slain, mounted O king, without delay, the car of Durmukha." The valiant Drona, piercing Drupada with many straight shafts, quickly pierced the latter's charioteer also. Then, O king, Drupada, thus afflicted at the head of his troops, retreated by the aid of his fleet steeds, recollecting the hostility that existed from days of old (be tween himself and Drona)." Bhimasena, within a moment, deprived king Valhika of his steeds, car, and charioteer, in the very sight of all the troops." Fallen into a situation of great danger and with fear in his heart, O king, Vālhika, that best of men, jumping down from that vehicle," quickly mounted upon the car of Lakshmana in that battle. Satyaki, having checked Kritavarman in that dreadful battle," fell upon the grandsire and rained on him shafts of diverse kinds.† Piercing the grandsire with sixty whetted shafts winged with feathers, he seemed to dance on his car, shaking his large bow. The grandsire then hurled at him a mighty dart made of iron, decked with gold, endued with great velocity, and beautiful as a daughter of the Nāgas. Beholding that irresistible dart, resembling Death himself, coursing towards him, that illustrious warrior of the Vrishni race baffled it by the celerity of his movements. Thereupon that fierce dart, unable to reach him of the Vrishni race,1, fell down on the earth like a large meteor of blazing splendour. Then he of Vrishni's race, O king, taking up with a firm hand his

29

* This is differently read in the Bombay edition. I adopt the Bengal reading, which is better.-T.

t Lit. "reached him with shafts &c."-T.

own dart of golden effulgence, hurled it at the car of the. grandsire. That dart, hurled in that dreadful battle with the strength of Satyaki's arms,8-38 coursed impetuously like the fatal night coursing speedily towards a (doomed) man. As it coursed, however, towards him with great force, Bhishma cut it in twain, O Bharata," with a couple of horse-shoe-headed arrows of keen-edge, and thereupon it fell down on the earth. Having cut that dart, that grinder of foes, viz., Ganga's son, excited with wrath and smiling the while, struck Sātyaki in the chest with nine arrows. Then the Pandava warriors, O elder brother of Pandu, with their cars, elephants, and steeds, surrounded Bhishma in that battle, for the sake of rescuing him of Madhu's race. Then commenced again a fierce battle, making the hair to stand on end, between the Pandavas and the Kurus both of whom were desirous of victory.'"87

SECTION CVI.

"Sanjaya said, 'Beholding Bhishma excited with wrath in battle, surrounded on all sides by the Pandavas like the Sun in the firmament, O king, by the clouds at the end of summer,' Duryodhana, O monarch, addressed Dusçãsana, saying, This heroic and great bowman Bhishma, this slayer of heroes, hath, O bull of Bharata's race, been surrounded on all sides by the brave Pandavas. It is thy duty, O hero, to protect that illustrious one! Protected by us in battle, our grandsire Bhishma will slay all the Panchālas along with the Pandavas. The protection of Bhishma, therefore, is, I think, our highest duty, for this great bowman of high vows, viz., Bhishma, is our protector in return! Therefore, surrounding the grandsire with all our troops, do thou protect him, who al

4

* Both the Bengal and the Bombay printed texts are in fault regarding the word Pandupurvaja. The Bombay text makes it a nom. plural. The Bengal text makes it an accusative singular. There can be no doubt that the Burdwan Pundits are right in taking it as a vocative.-T.