07.090
Sanjaya said:
O best of the Bharatas, you should not grieve like an ordinary person upon encountering a calamity that has arisen from your own fault, O hero.
O best of human kings, having realized your lack of virtues, favoritism towards your sons, duplicity in matters of duty, and jealousy towards the Pandavas, along with many distressed lamentations.
Vasudeva, the lord and teacher of all worlds, who knows the truth of all, then initiated a great war among the Kurus.
O Bhārata, because of your own fault, you have encountered a significant downfall. There is no good deed of yours visible from the start, in the middle, or at the end. Your defeat is indeed rooted from behind.
Therefore, today, be steady and understand the decision of the world; listen to the terrible battle that occurred, resembling the conflict between gods and demons.
As your army, led by the truthful and valiant Śaineya, entered, the sons of Pṛthā, with Bhīmasena at the forefront, moved forward to confront your forces.
Kṛtavarmā, the great chariot warrior, suddenly confronted the Pāṇḍavas and their followers in battle with anger.
Hārdikya, like the shore containing the overflowing ocean, held back Pandu's army in the battle.
There, they marveled at the valor of Hārdikya, realizing that even together, the sons of Pṛthā could not overpower him in battle.
Then Bhima, with his mighty arms, pierced Kritavarma with three iron arrows and blew his conch, bringing joy to all the Pandavas.
Sahadeva attacked with twenty arrows, Dharmaraja with five, and Nakula with a hundred, all targeting Hardikya.
The sons of Draupadi, along with seventy-three others and Ghatotkacha with seven, Dhrishtadyumna with three, attacked Kritavarma. Virata, Drupada, and Yajnaseni with five others joined in the attack.
Shikhandi, after piercing Hardikya with five swift arrows, again struck him with twenty arrows, seemingly smiling.
Then Kritavarma, O king, attacked those great charioteers from all sides, piercing each with five arrows, and struck Bhima with seven arrows. Skillfully, he caused the bow and the banner to fall from the chariot to the ground.
Then, the great chariot-warrior, in his anger, quickly struck him on the chest with seventy sharp arrows, after his bow was cut.
He, though strong and deeply pierced by Hārdikya's excellent arrows, shook like a mountain in the midst of an earthquake while standing in the chariot.
Upon seeing Bhimasena, who was led by Yudhishthira, they released terrible arrows and tormented Kritavarman.
O dear, they joyfully imprisoned him with the chariot army and pierced him with arrows to protect the son of the wind in the battle.
After regaining his senses, the powerful Bhimasena picked up an iron spear with a golden shaft during the battle and quickly threw it from his chariot towards Kritavarma's chariot.
She, having been released from Bhima's grasp, blazed fiercely like a serpent around Kritavarma.
Hārdikya then swiftly cut her, who was approaching with a radiance like the fire at the end of an era, into two with his two arrows.
The spear, adorned with gold, fell to the ground, severed and illuminating the directions like a great meteor fallen from the sky. Seeing the spear struck down, Bhima became intensely angry, O king.
Then Bhimasena, in his anger during the battle, took up another bow that was swift and resounded greatly, and confronted Hardikya.
Then Bhima, with his immense strength, struck him in the chest with five arrows, O king, as a result of your poor counsel.
Bhoja, though wounded in all his limbs by Bhimasena, shone on the battlefield like a red Ashoka tree in full bloom, O lord.
Then, in anger, he struck Bhimasena with three arrows, as if smiling, and firmly pierced all of them in the battle.
The great archers, while striving, attacked the great charioteers with three arrows each. They also struck him with seven arrows each.
Then, O descendant of Bharata, Shikhandi, the great warrior, angrily cut the bow with a razor-sharp arrow in the battle, as if he was smiling.
Shikhandi, in his anger, swiftly grabbed a radiant sword adorned with a hundred moons during the battle after his bow was broken.
He skillfully spun the large, gold-adorned shield and directed his sword towards Kṛtavarma's chariot.
The great warrior, having severed his bow and arrow in battle, descended to the earth, O king, like a light falling from the sky.
At that moment, the great charioteers, in their haste, deeply wounded Kritavarma with their arrows during the battle.
Then Hārdikya, the destroyer of enemy heroes, took another bow, having abandoned the great one, and was broken, O best of the Bharatas.
In the battle, he shot the Pāṇḍavas with three straight-flying arrows each, and also pierced Śikhaṇḍin with three and then five arrows.
Śikhaṇḍī, known for his great fame, took up another bow and blocked the son of Hṛdika with his swift, turtle-like nails.
Then, O king, the son of Hridika, filled with anger, swiftly charged at Yajnaseni, the great chariot-warrior, in the battle.
O king, in the battle, the hero showed his strength like a tiger overpowering an elephant, revealing the cause of the great Bhishma's death.
The two warriors, resembling the mighty elephants of the quarters and blazing like fire, confronted each other with volleys of arrows, both being subduers of enemies.
They wielded the best of bows, continuously fixing and releasing arrows by the hundreds, resembling the rays of the sun.
The two great warriors, tormenting each other with sharp arrows, shone like the suns, resembling heroes at the end of an era.
Kritavarma, with great skill and precision, targeted the fierce Yajnaseni, a formidable chariot-warrior, striking her first with seventy-three arrows and then again with seven more.
He, deeply wounded and distressed, sat down on the chariot seat, releasing his bow and arrows, overcome with faintness.
Seeing him dejected on the chariot, your people, O best of the Bharatas, showed their affection by honoring him, shaking the garments, and indeed.
The charioteer, realizing that Shikhandin was wounded by Hardikya's arrow, quickly drove the great chariot away from the battlefield.
Upon seeing Shikhandi struck down on the chariot seat, the Pandavas swiftly encircled Kritavarma with their chariots during the battle.
In that place, Kritavarma, a great warrior, performed an extraordinary feat by single-handedly holding back the Pandavas and their followers in the battle.
Kritavarma, the great chariot-warrior, after defeating the sons of Pritha, also conquered the Chedis, Panchalas, Srinjayas, and the mighty Kekayas.
The Pāṇḍavas, under attack by Hārdikya in the battle, were running here and there and could not maintain their steadiness in the fight.
After defeating the sons of Pandu, who were led by Bhimasena in battle, Kritavarma stood in the battlefield like a smokeless fire.
The great warriors, driven in battle by Hārdikya, became disheartened and were tormented by showers of arrows.
