06.069
Pancharatra and Core: Encounter between Arjuna and Ashwatthama, Duryodhana and Bhima, Abhimanyu and Lalkshmana.
sañjaya uvāca॥
Sanjaya said:
virāṭo'tha tribhirbāṇairbhīṣmamārchanmahāratham। vivyādha turagāṃścāsya tribhirbāṇairmahārathaḥ ॥6-69-1॥
Virata, with great skill, attacked the mighty Bhishma using three arrows and also struck his horses with three arrows, demonstrating his prowess as a great chariot-warrior.
taṁ pratyavidhyaddaśabhirbhīṣmaḥ śāntanavaḥ śaraiḥ। rukmapuṅkhairmaheṣvāsaḥ kṛtahasto mahābalaḥ ॥6-69-2॥
Bhishma, the mighty son of Shantanu, skillfully pierced him with ten golden-shafted arrows, demonstrating his prowess as a great archer.
drauṇirgāṇḍīvadhanvānaṃ bhīmadhanvā mahārathaḥ। avidhyadiṣubhiḥ ṣaḍbhirdṛḍhahastaḥ stanāntare ॥6-69-3॥
Drona's son, a great warrior, skillfully shot six arrows into the chest of the warriors wielding the Gandiva and Bhima bows.
kārmukaṃ tasya ciccheda phalgunaḥ paravīrahā। avidhyacca bhṛśaṃ tīkṣṇaiḥ patribhiḥ śatrukarśanaḥ ॥6-69-4॥
Arjuna, known for defeating enemy warriors, cut off his opponent's bow and struck him hard with sharp arrows, causing great distress to his foes.
so'nyatkārmukamādāya vegavatkrodhamūrchitaḥ। amṛṣyamāṇaḥ pārthena kārmukacchedamāhave ॥6-69-5॥
He, overwhelmed with anger and speed, took another bow, unable to tolerate the cutting of his bow by Arjuna in the battle.
avidhyatphalguṇaṃ rājannavatyā niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ। vāsudevaṃ ca saptatyā vivyādha parameṣubhiḥ ॥6-69-6॥
O king, he shot ninety sharp arrows at Arjuna and seventy supreme arrows at Krishna.
tataḥ krodhābhitāmrākṣaḥ saha kṛṣṇena phalgunaḥ। dīrghamuṣṇaṃ ca niḥśvasya cintayitvā muhurmuhuḥ ॥6-69-7॥
Arjuna, his eyes red with anger, sighed deeply and repeatedly as he pondered over the situation with Krishna by his side.
dhanuḥ prapīḍya vāmena kareṇāmitrakarśanaḥ। gāṇḍīvadhanvā saṅkruddhaḥ śitānsaṃnataparvaṇaḥ ॥ jīvitāntakarānghorānsamādatta śilīmukhān ॥6-69-8॥
The wielder of the Gandiva bow, known as the tormentor of foes, pressed his bow with his left hand and, in a fit of rage, took up sharp and deadly arrows, ready to end lives.
taistūrṇaṃ samare'vidhyaddrauṇiṃ balavatāṃ varam। tasya te kavacaṃ bhittvā papuḥ śoṇitamāhave ॥6-69-9॥
They quickly pierced Drona's son, the best among the strong, in battle. Having pierced his armor, they drank his blood on the battlefield.
na vivyathe ca nirbhinno drauṇir gāṇḍīvadhanvanā। tathaiva śaravarṣāṇi pratimuñcannavihvalaḥ ॥ tasthau sa samare rājanstrātumicchanmahāvratam ॥6-69-10॥
Drona's son, though pierced by Arjuna, the wielder of the Gandiva bow, remained unshaken. He continued to release showers of arrows, standing firm in the battle, with the desire to uphold his great vow, O king.
tasya tatsumahatkarma śaśaṃsuḥ puruṣarṣabhāḥ। yatkṛṣṇābhyāṃ sametābhyāṃ nāpatrapata saṃyuge ॥6-69-11॥
The great warriors praised his mighty deed, which, when united with the two Krishnas, did not bring him any shame in the battle.
sa hi nityamanīkeṣu yudhyate'bhayamāsthitaḥ। astragrāmaṃ sasaṃhāraṃ droṇātprāpya sudurlabham ॥6-69-12॥
He fights fearlessly in the eternal armies, having acquired from Drona a collection of weapons capable of great destruction, which is extremely rare to obtain.
mamāyam ācāryasuto droṇasyāti-priyaḥ sutaḥ। brāhmaṇaśca viśeṣeṇa mānanīyo mameti ca ॥6-69-13॥
This teacher's son, who is the very dear son of Drona, is a Brahmin and is especially honorable to me.
samāsthāya matiṁ vīro bībhatsuḥ śatrutāpanaḥ। kṛpāṁ cakre rathaśreṣṭho bhāradvājasutaṁ prati ॥6-69-14॥
Arjuna, known as Bibhatsu and the scorcher of foes, resolved his mind and showed compassion towards Kripa, the son of Bharadvaja, who was the best among charioteers.
drauṇiṁ tyaktvā tato yuddhe kaunteyaḥ śatrutāpanaḥ। yuyudhe tāvakānnighnaṁstvaramāṇaḥ parākramī ॥6-69-15॥
After leaving Drona's son, the valiant son of Kunti, who scorches his enemies, engaged in battle with your forces, swiftly defeating them.
duryodhanastu daśabhirgārdhrapatraiḥ śilāśitaiḥ। bhīmasenaṃ maheṣvāsaṃ rukmapuṅkhaiḥ samarpayat ॥6-69-16॥
Duryodhana, with his skill, shot ten arrows with eagle feathers and golden tips, sharpened on stone, at the mighty archer Bhimasena.
bhīmasenastu saṅkruddhaḥ parāsukaraṇaṃ dṛḍham। citraṃ kārmukamādatta śarāṃśca niśitāndaśa ॥6-69-17॥
Enraged, Bhimasena took up a formidable bow and ten sharp arrows, ready to strike down his foes.
ākarṇaprahitais tīkṣṇair vegitais tigmatejanaiḥ। avidhyat tūrṇam avyagraḥ kururājaṃ mahorasi ॥6-69-18॥
With great composure and speed, he shot sharp arrows drawn to the ear, piercing the chest of the Kuru king.
tasya kāñcanasūtrastu śaraiḥ parivṛto maṇiḥ। rarājorasi vai sūryo grahairiva samāvṛtaḥ ॥6-69-19॥
His golden chain, encircled by arrows, gleamed on his chest like the sun surrounded by planets.
putrastu tava tejasvī bhīmasenena tāḍitaḥ। nāmṛṣyata yathā nāgastalaśabdaṃ samīritam ॥6-69-20॥
Your valiant son, when struck by Bhimasena, could not bear it, just as an elephant cannot bear the sound of a slap.
tataḥ śarairmahārāja rukmapuṅkhaiḥ śilāśitaiḥ। bhīmaṃ vivyādha saṅkruddhastrāsayāno varūthinīm ॥6-69-21॥
Then, O great king, in his rage, he shot arrows with golden tips sharpened on stone at Bhima, instilling fear in the army.
tau yudhyamānau samare bhṛśam anyonyavikṣatau। putrau te devasaṅkāśau vyarocetāṃ mahābalau ॥6-69-22॥
Those two mighty sons of yours, resembling gods, shone brightly as they fought intensely and wounded each other in battle.
citrasenaṁ naravyāghraṁ saubhadraḥ paravīrahā। avidhyaddaśabhirbāṇaiḥ purumitram ca saptabhiḥ ॥6-69-23॥
Saubhadra, the son of Subhadra and destroyer of enemy heroes, shot ten arrows at Citrasena, the tiger among men, and seven arrows at Purumitra.
satyavrataṃ ca saptatyā viddhvā śakrasamo yudhi। nṛtyanniva raṇe vīra ārtiṃ naḥ samajījanat ॥6-69-24॥
The hero, like Indra in battle, pierced with seventy arrows, seemed to dance on the battlefield, alleviating our distress.
taṁ pratyaviddadaśabhiścitrasenaḥ śilīmukhaiḥ। satyavrataśca navabhiḥ purumitraśca saptabhiḥ ॥6-69-25॥
Citrasena attacked him with ten arrows, Satyavrata with nine, and Purumitra with seven.
sa viddho vikṣaranraktaṃ śatrusaṃvāraṇaṃ mahat। ciccheda citrasenasya citraṃ kārmukamārjuniḥ ॥ bhittvā cāsya tanutrāṇaṃ śareṇorasyatāḍayat ॥6-69-26॥
He, bleeding from his wounds, dismantled the formidable defense of the enemy. Arjuna severed the magnificent bow of Citrasena. After piercing through his armor, he struck him on the chest with an arrow.
tataste tāvakā vīrā rājaputrā mahārathāḥ। sametya yudhi saṃrabdhā vivyadhurniśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ॥ tāṃśca sarvāñśaraistīkṣṇairjaghāna paramāstravit ॥6-69-27॥
Then your valiant princes, the great charioteers, gathered in battle and excitedly shot sharp arrows. The supreme master of weapons then killed them all with his sharp arrows.
tasya dṛṣṭvā tu tatkarma parivavruḥ sutāstava। dahantaṃ samare sainyaṃ tava kakṣaṃ yatholbaṇam ॥6-69-28॥
Upon witnessing his actions, your sons retreated, setting your army ablaze in the battlefield as if it were a dreadful environment.
apetaśiśire kāle samiddhamiva pāvakaḥ। atyarocata saubhadras tava sainyāni śātayan ॥6-69-29॥
During the end of winter, Abhimanyu, like a blazing fire, shone brilliantly as he destroyed your armies.
tattasya caritaṃ dṛṣṭvā pautrastava viśāṃ pate। lakṣmaṇo'bhyapatattūrṇaṃ sātvatīputramāhave ॥6-69-30॥
Upon witnessing his actions, Lakshmana, your grandson, swiftly charged at the son of Satyavati in the battle, O lord of the people.
abhimanyustu saṅkruddho lakṣmaṇaṃ śubhalakṣaṇam। vivyādha viśikhaiḥ ṣaḍbhiḥ sārathiṃ ca tribhiḥ śaraiḥ ॥6-69-31॥
Abhimanyu, in his fury, struck Lakshmana, who was auspiciously marked, with six arrows and also hit the charioteer with three arrows.
tathaiva lakṣmaṇo rājan saubhadraṃ niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ। avidhyata mahārāja tadadbhutamivābhavat ॥6-69-32॥
In the same way, O king, Lakshmana shot sharp arrows at Saubhadra, and it seemed quite astonishing, O great king.
tasyāśvāṃścaturo hatvā sārathiṃ ca mahābalaḥ। abhyadravata saubhadro lakṣmaṇaṃ niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ॥6-69-33॥
The mighty Saubhadra, having killed his four horses and the charioteer, attacked Lakshmana with sharp arrows.
hatāśve tu rathe tuṣṭhaṁllakṣmaṇaḥ paravīrahā। śaktiṁ cikṣepa saṅkruddhaḥ saubhadrasya rathaṁ prati ॥6-69-34॥
Lakshmana, though his horses were killed, stood firm in his chariot and, in great anger, hurled his spear towards the chariot of Saubhadra, the son of Subhadra.
tām āpatantīṃ sahasā ghorarūpāṃ durāsadām। abhimanyuḥ śaraistīkṣṇaiściccheda bhujagopamām ॥6-69-35॥
Abhimanyu swiftly cut down the formidable and terrifying figure approaching him with sharp arrows, resembling a serpent.
tataḥ svaratham āropya lakṣmaṇaṃ gautamas tadā। apovāha rathenājau sarvasainyasya paśyataḥ ॥6-69-36॥
Then Gautama placed Lakshmana on his chariot and drove him away from the battlefield, as the entire army watched.
tataḥ samākule tasminvartamāne mahābhaye। abhyadravañjighāṁsantaḥ parasparavadhaiṣiṇaḥ ॥6-69-37॥
In the midst of great fear and confusion, they charged at each other with the intent to kill.
tāvakāśca maheṣvāsāḥ pāṇḍavāśca mahārathāḥ। juhvantaḥ samare prāṇānnijaghnuritaretaram ॥6-69-38॥
In the battle, your warriors and the Pandavas, both renowned for their archery and valor, fought fiercely, sacrificing their lives and killing each other.
muktakeśā vikavacā virathāśchinnakārmukāḥ। bāhubhiḥ samayudhyanta sṛñjayāḥ kurubhiḥ saha ॥6-69-39॥
The Sṛñjayas, with their hair unbound, armor discarded, chariots lost, and bows broken, fought hand-to-hand with the Kurus.
tato bhīṣmo mahābāhuḥ pāṇḍavānāṃ mahātmanām। senāṃ jaghāna saṅkruddho divyairastrairmahābalaḥ ॥6-69-40॥
Then, the mighty-armed Bhishma, in his great power and rage, attacked and devastated the army of the noble Pandavas using celestial weapons.
hateśvarairgajaistatranarairaśvaiścapātitaiḥ। rathibhiḥsādibhiścaivasamāstīryatamedinī॥6-69-41॥
The battlefield was strewn with the bodies of slain lords, elephants, men, horses, charioteers, and riders, covering the earth entirely.
