03.167
arjuna uvāca॥
Arjuna said.
tato nivātakavacāḥ sarve vegena bhārata। abhyadravan māṃ sahitāḥ pragṛhītāyudhā raṇe ॥03-167-1॥
Then, O Bhārata, all the Nivātakavacas, armed and together, rushed toward me with speed in the battle. (03-167-1)
ācchidya rathapanthānam utkrośanto mahārathāḥ। āvṛtya sarvataste māṃ śaravarṣairavākiran॥03-167-2॥
The great warriors shouted loudly as they blocked the chariot path. Surrounding me from all sides, they covered me with showers of arrows. (03-167-2)
tato'pare mahāvīryāḥ śūlapaṭṭiśapāṇayaḥ। śūlāni ca bhuśuṇḍīś ca mumucur dānavā mayi॥03-167-3॥
Then other powerful Dānavas, holding spears and pattiśas, hurled spears and slings at me. (03-167-3)
tac chūla-varṣaṃ sumahat gadā-śakti-samākulam। aniśaṃ sṛjyamānaṃ tair apatan mad-rathopari॥03-167-4॥
That very great shower of spears, thick with maces and spears and ceaselessly hurled by them, fell upon my chariot. (3-167-4)
anye mām abhyadhāvanta nivātakavacā yudhi । śitaśastrāyudhā raudrāḥ kālarūpāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ॥03-167-5॥
Others, who wore armor impervious to wind, approached me in battle—armed with sharp weapons, terrible, death-like in form, and skilled in striking. (03-167-5)
tān ahaṃ vividhair bāṇair vegavadbhiḥ ajihmagaiḥ। gāṇḍīvamuktaiḥ abhyaghnam ekaikam daśabhiḥ mṛdhe॥ te kṛtā vimukhāḥ sarve matprayuktaiḥ śilāśitaiḥ॥03-167-6॥
I struck each of them in battle with ten different arrows, swift and unfailing, released from the Gāṇḍīva. All of them were turned away by the stone-tipped arrows discharged by me. (03-167-6)
tato mātalinā tūrṇaṃ hayāste sampracoditāḥ। rathamārgādbahūṃstatra vicerurvātaraṃhasaḥ॥ susaṃyatā mātalinā prāmathnanta diteḥ sutān॥03-167-7॥
Then Mātali quickly urged on the horses, and they left the chariot path, swiftly roaming in many directions like the wind. Well-controlled by Mātali, they overpowered the sons of Diti. (03-167-7)
śataṃ śatās te harayas tasmin yuktā mahārathe। tadā mātalinā yattā vyacaran alpakā iva ॥03-167-8॥
In that great chariot yoked with a hundred hundreds of your horses, then, with Mātali controlling them, they moved about like small ones. (03-167-8)
teṣāṃ caraṇapātena rathanemisvanena ca। mama bāṇanipātaiś ca hatās te śataśo'surāḥ ॥03-167-9॥
By the falling of their feet, the sound of chariot-wheels, and also by the impact of my arrows, those asuras were killed by the hundreds. (03-167-9)
gatāsavastathā cānye pragṛhītaśarāśanāḥ। hatasārathayastatra vyakṛṣyanta turaṅgamaiḥ॥03-167-10॥
There, others—who still held their bows but whose life had departed, and whose charioteers were slain—were being dragged by the horses. (03-167-10)
te diśo vidiśaḥ sarvāḥ pratirudhya prahāriṇaḥ। nighnanti vividhaiḥ śastraiḥ tato me vyathitaṃ manaḥ॥03-167-11॥
They, having blocked all the directions and intermediate directions, the attackers strike with various weapons; therefore my mind is troubled. (03-167-11)
tato'haṃ mātalervīryamapaśyaṃ paramādbhutam। aśvāṃstathā vegavato yadayatnādadhārayat ॥03-167-12॥
Then I saw Mātali's supreme and marvelous power, as he controlled those swift horses effortlessly. (03-167-12)
tato'ham laghubhiś citrair astraiḥ tān asurān raṇe। sāyudhān acchinam rājan śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ ॥03-167-13॥
Then, O king, I destroyed those armed asuras in battle with light and varied missiles, by hundreds and thousands. (03-167-13)
evaṃ me caratas tatra sarvayatnena śatruhan। prītimān abhavat vīraḥ mātaliḥ śakrasārathiḥ॥03-167-14॥
Thus, as I moved there with all my effort, the hero Mātali, charioteer of Śakra and destroyer of enemies, became pleased. (03-167-14)
vadhyamānās tatas te tu hayais tena rathena ca। agaman prakṣayam kecin nyavartanta tathā apare ॥03-167-15॥
Then, while being slain by that chariot and its horses, some of them went towards destruction, while others likewise turned back. (03-167-15)
spardhamānā ivāsmābhirnivātakavacā raṇe। śaravarṣairmahadbhirmāṃ samantātpratyavārayan ॥03-167-16॥
As if competing with us, the Nivātakavacas in battle repulsed me from all sides with great showers of arrows. (03-167-16)
tato'haṁ laghubhiś citrair brahmāstra-parimantritaiḥ। vyadhamaṁ sāyakair āśu śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ॥03-167-17॥
Then I swiftly discharged hundreds and then thousands of light, varied arrows, all empowered by the brahmāstra formulas. (03-167-17)
tataḥ sampīḍyamānās te krodhāviṣṭā mahāsurāḥ। apīḍayan māṃ sahitāḥ śaraśūlāsivṛṣṭibhiḥ॥03-167-18॥
Then those great asuras, overpowered by anger as they were beset, all together attacked me with a rain of arrows, spears, and swords. (03-167-18)
tato'ham astram atiṣṭhaṃ paramaṃ tigmatejasam। dayitaṃ devarājasya mādhavaṃ nāma bhārata ॥03-167-19॥
Then, O Bhārata, I took up the supreme weapon of fierce energy called 'Madhava,' which is beloved of the king of the gods. (03-167-19)
tataḥ khaḍgāṁs triśūlāṁś ca tomarāṁś ca sahasraśaḥ। astravīryeṇa śatadhā tair muktān aham acchinam ॥03-167-20॥
Then I cut apart, by the power of weapons, thousands of swords, tridents and javelins released at me, shattering them into a hundred pieces. (03-167-20)
chittvā praharaṇāny eṣāṃ tatas tān api sarvaśaḥ। pratyavidhyam ahaṃ roṣād daśabhir daśabhiḥ śaraiḥ॥03-167-21॥
Having cut the weapons of these, then I also pierced all of them entirely with ten arrows each, out of anger. (03-167-21)
gāṇḍīvāddhi tadā saṅkhye yathā bhramara-paṅktayaḥ। niṣpatanti tathā bāṇās tan-mātalir apūjayat ॥03-167-22॥
Then, from Gāṇḍīva in battle, arrows emerged just like rows of bees, and then Mātali honoured that.
teṣām api tu bāṇās te bahutvāc chalabhā iva | avākiran māṃ balavattān ahaṃ vyadhamam śaraiḥ ॥03-167-23॥
Even so, their arrows, in great numbers, like locusts, showered upon me; but I repelled those strong ones with my arrows. (03-167-23)
vadhyamānās tatas te tu nivātakavacāḥ punaḥ। śaravarṣair mahadbhir māṁ samantāt paryavārayan ॥03-167-24॥
Then, being struck, the Nivātakavacas again surrounded me on all sides with great showers of arrows. (03-167-24)
śaravegān nihatyāham astraiḥ śaravighātibhiḥ। jvaladbhiḥ paramaiḥ śīghraiz tān avidhyaṁ sahasraśaḥ॥03-167-25॥
Having struck down the forces moving at arrow-speed, I pierced them by thousands with supreme, burning, swift missiles that strike like arrows. (03-167-25)
teṣāṃ chinnāni gātrāṇi visṛjanti sma śoṇitam। prāvṛṣīva ativṛṣṭāni śṛṅgāṇīva dharābhṛtām॥03-167-26॥
Their severed limbs were shedding blood, just like the horns of mountains in the rainy season after heavy rain. (03-167-26)
indrāśanisamasparśair vegavadbhir ajihmagaiḥ। madbāṇair vadhyamānās te samudvignāḥ sma dānavāḥ ॥03-167-27॥
Those Dānavas, being struck by my arrows that were swift, direct, and had the impact of Indra's thunderbolt, were greatly agitated. (03-167-27)
śatadhā bhinnadehāntrāḥ kṣīṇapraharaṇaujasaḥ। tato nivātakavacā māmayudhyanta māyayā ॥03-167-28॥
Though their bodies and entrails were torn into a hundred pieces and their strength of weapons was diminished, the Nivātakavacas then fought me by means of illusion. (03-167-28)
