07.165
Sanjaya said:
In that royal assembly, a fierce battle emerged, reminiscent of the wrathful Rudra slaying animals.
O Bharata, in the battle, the hands, heads, bows, umbrellas, and fans were scattered.
The battlefield was littered with chariots with broken wheels, fallen great banners, and the bodies of slain heroes and riders.
O best of the Kurus, even though the warriors were cut down by the arrows, they were still seen engaging in various movements in the great battle.
In the midst of the fierce battle, resembling the conflict between gods and demons, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira addressed the warriors: "Advance with readiness, great charioteers, towards Kumbhayoni."
This is the heroic Parshata, who has joined forces with Bharadvaja. He is striving with all his might to bring about Bharadvaja's downfall.
In the great battle, we indeed see such forms. Today, the angry Drona will bring down the son of Prishata in battle. Together, you all should strive to protect Agastya.
Under the command of Yudhishthira, the great warriors of the Srinjayas, fully prepared, charged towards Bharadvaja with the intent to kill.
Bharadvaja, the great chariot-warrior, charged swiftly towards all of them, resolved to meet his end in battle.
When the truthful one departed, the earth shook, and winds blew with thunder, causing fear in the army.
A great meteor fell from the sky, appearing as if it had come from the sun, shining with heat and seemingly foretelling a great danger.
The weapons of Bharadvaja blazed with intensity, O lord. The chariots made a great noise, and the horses were shedding tears.
Bharadvaja, the great chariot-warrior, appeared as if his energy was diminished. He prepared to release his life through a noble battle, aiming for the heavenly abode, following the path of the sages who speak of Brahman.
Then, Droṇa, surrounded by Drupada's armies on all sides, moved through the battlefield, destroying the groups of warriors.
The enemy crusher, having slain twenty thousand Kshatriyas, then killed another ten thousand with sharp-pointed, sharp arrows.
He stood ready in battle, like a smokeless fire, embodying a divine self for the annihilation of the warriors.
Bhima, with urgency, approached the chariotless and undepressed great soul, the son of Draupadi, who was deprived of all weapons.
Then, the enemy crusher Panchali mounted his chariot and said, observing Drona shooting from a close distance.
No other man here is capable of fighting like you. Hurry up, for the responsibility of killing is indeed placed upon you.
Thus addressed, the mighty-armed hero, capable of bearing all burdens, quickly approached and took the new, firm, and excellent weapon.
Excited and armed with arrows, Asyandrona, who was irresistible in battle, aimed to ward off the teacher by covering him with showers of arrows.
The two best warriors, excited and adorned for battle, stopped and invoked numerous divine weapons of Brahma.
The son of Prishata, with his mighty weapons, overwhelmed Drona in the battle, having neutralized all the weapons of Bharadvaja's son.
Acyuta, while being protected in battle, defeated the Vasatis, Shibis, Bahlika people, and the Kauravas, including Drona.
Then Dhṛṣṭadyumna, O king, shone like the sun, covering all directions with a net of arrows.
Droṇa cut off his bow and pierced him with arrows, striking his vital parts repeatedly; he was overcome with great pain.
Then Bhima, filled with intense anger, embraced Drona's chariot and gently, like a king, spoke to Drona.
If the trained Brahmins, dissatisfied with their own duties, would not fight, then indeed the warrior class would not face destruction.
Non-violence is considered the highest duty among all beings. The root of this duty is the Brahmin, and you are the supreme knower of Brahman.
O Brahman, like a dog-eater, having killed barbarian groups and others of different kinds, and being ignorant like fools, it is done for the desire of sons, wives, and wealth.
For the sake of one, you have killed many, and as known by the unrighteousness of your son, how do you not feel ashamed while being engaged in wrong actions in your own places of duty?
"And today he lies fallen, as informed by the inquiry. You should not doubt that statement made by Dharmaraja."
After being addressed in this manner, Droṇa, having abandoned his bow due to Bhīma, and desiring to renounce all weapons, the virtuous one spoke: "Karna, Karna, great archer, Kripa, and Duryodhana."
In battle, make an effort, I say this repeatedly. May auspiciousness be with the Pandavas, I release my weapon.
Thus, O great king, he cried out to Drona's son, and abandoning his weapon in battle, placed it on the chariot seat, granting fearlessness to all beings, as he was endowed with yoga.
Dhrishtadyumna, realizing the opportunity, quickly rose with his sword, leapt from his chariot, and swiftly approached Drona.
The beings, both human and non-human, lamented upon seeing Drona, who had fallen under the control of Dhrishtadyumna.
They cried out in intense lamentation, exclaiming 'Alas, shame!' Meanwhile, Drona, having abandoned his weapons, stood in supreme equanimity.
Having thus spoken, the great ascetic, having resorted to yoga, became a being of light and ascended to the heavens, accompanied by the virtuous, to a place difficult to ascend.
Our perception was that there were two suns. When it passed, the sky was filled with lights, appearing focused. Bharadvaja and the moon appeared like the sun.
In an instant, the light vanished, and the celestial beings rejoiced with sounds of joy. Drona ascended to Brahma's realm, while Dhrishtadyumna was left bewildered.
We then saw the great soul, endowed with yoga, proceeding towards the supreme destination, through five human births.
I am Dhananjaya, known as Partha, and Kripa, the son of Sharadvata, a Brahmin. Vasudeva, the descendant of Vrishni, and Dharmaraja, the Pandava.
But all others could not perceive the greatness of the wise Bharadvaja, O great king, as he departed, having attained liberation through yoga.
The human beings, unaware of the supreme goal that had been attained, did not see him going with the great sages. The teacher, practicing yoga, reached the world of Brahma, the conqueror of enemies.
The son of Prishata, with his body pierced by hundreds of arrows and weapons laid down, was cursed and touched by all beings as his blood flowed.
He seized the head of the lifeless body and cut it off with a sword, from the one who was not speaking.
With immense joy, as Bharadvaja fell, he let out a lion's roar, brandishing his sword in the battle.
Though he was grey-haired and dark, eighty-five years old, he fought in the battle for your sake as if he were just sixteen.
The mighty-armed Arjuna, son of Kunti, instructed: "Bring the teacher alive; do not kill him, son of Drupada."
The soldiers shouted, "Do not kill, do not kill," and Arjuna, filled with compassion, ran towards him.
As Arjuna cried out and the kings were in disarray, Dhrishtadyumna killed Drona, the bull among men, on his chariot-bed.
The warrior, drenched in blood, fell from his chariot to the earth, resembling the sun with its red hue, and became hard to discern. Thus, the soldiers and people witnessed him lying dead on the battlefield.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna, however, hurled the great head of Bhāradvāja in front of your great archer, O king.
Upon seeing the head of Bharadvaja, your men, O king, became eager to flee and ran in all directions.
"But Drona ascended to heaven and entered the path of the stars. At that time, I witnessed the demise of Drona, O king."
By the grace of the sage, Krishna, and the son of Satyavati, we saw a blazing, smokeless meteor ascending to the sky, standing still, that greatly luminous one.
After Droṇa's death, the Pāṇḍavas and Sṛñjayas, with renewed vigor, charged at the disheartened Kurus, causing their army to scatter.
In the battle, most of the horses were killed by sharp arrows. With Drona slain, your men appeared as if they had lost their lives.
After experiencing defeat and great fear elsewhere, they were deprived by both and could not find courage within themselves.
The kings searched for the body of Bharadvaja, but at that time, O king, they could not find it among the pile of corpses.
The Pandavas, after achieving victory and gaining immense fame in the other world, made loud sounds of arrows and roared like lions abundantly.
Then Bhimasena and Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Prishata, danced together in the army, embracing each other, O king.
Bhima assured Parshata, the tormentor of foes, that he would embrace him again once the wicked Karna and Duryodhana were slain in the battle.
After speaking thus, Bhima, filled with immense joy, shook the earth with the sound of his mighty arms.
Frightened by the sound, your soldiers fled the battlefield, abandoning their duty as warriors, intent only on escape.
The Pandavas, having achieved victory, were filled with joy, O lord of men. Through the destruction of their enemies in battle, they found happiness.
Then, O king, after Droṇa was slain, the Kuru warriors, afflicted by weapons and having lost their heroes, were scattered and deeply immersed in sorrow.
Your son, unconscious and deprived of enthusiasm, whose energy was struck by distress, was surrounded with a loud and great cry.
Menstruating and trembling, she looked around in all ten directions with a choked throat, just like the demoness did when Hiraṇyākṣa was killed in the past.
Your son, surrounded by them, like a king frightened by small animals, unable to stay, went away.
Your warriors, O Bharata, were afflicted by hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. Scorched by the sun, they became greatly dispirited.
It is as impossible as the sun falling, the ocean drying up, the reversal of Mount Meru, or the defeat of Indra.
Seeing the intolerable fall of Bharadvaja, the Kauravas, more terrified, fled in fear, O king.
The King of Gandhara, Shakuni, upon seeing Rukmaratha slain, fled in fear along with his more terrified companions and their chariots.
The son of a charioteer, having surrounded the swift and scattered great army with banners, retreated out of fear.
Observing the army crowded with chariots, elephants, and horses, the lord of the Madras, Shalya, retreated out of fear.
Śāradvata, surrounded by many elephants and foot soldiers, lamented 'difficult, difficult' as he proceeded after the heroes were slain.
Kritavarma, accompanied by the disciplined army of Bhoja and allied with the Kalingas, Arattas, and Bahlikas, set out swiftly with horses, O king.
The group of foot-soldiers, terrified and afflicted by fear, O king, saw Drona fallen, and Uluka fled from there.
Duḥśāsana, who was handsome, young, and marked by signs of valor, became greatly agitated and fled, surrounded by elephants.
Duryodhana, the great king and chariot warrior, set out to the battlefield, accompanied by elephants, horses, chariots, and surrounded by foot soldiers.
People mounted on elephants, chariots, and even the enemy's horses, with their hair disheveled and scattered, were not seen running together in pairs.
The men, feeling dejected and dispirited, said "This is not," and abandoning their armors, others among your men fled, O lord.
The soldiers, O best of the Bharatas, shouted at each other to stand firm, but they themselves did not remain standing there.
The warriors, after freeing the horses from the chariot with the slain charioteers, quickly mounted the well-decorated horses and urged them forward on foot.
The son of Drona, resembling a crocodile swimming against the current, drove away the army that was in disarray, appearing fearful and having lost its vigor.
Intoxicated by battle, he slew various armies of the Pāṇḍavas and somehow escaped danger with the strength and courage of a mad elephant.
Upon witnessing the army in flight and the moment prepared for retreat, Drona's son approached Duryodhana and spoke these words.
O Bhārata, why does this army appear to be fleeing in fear? O king, do you not restrain those who are fleeing in the battle?
You, O king, are not as you were before in your natural state; these kings, including Karna, do not stand firm.
In other battles too, the army did not flee. Is everything well with your army, O mighty-armed Bharata?
O King, in whom has your strength, the lion among charioteers, been slain? Tell me, Kaurava, how this situation has come to be.
Upon hearing the words of Drona's son, Duryodhana, the best of kings, found himself unable to convey the dreadful and unwelcome news.
Your son is overwhelmed with grief, like a broken boat submerged in the ocean, his vision blurred with tears as he sees Drona's son standing on the chariot.
Then the king, with some embarrassment, said to Śāradvata: "Please tell me everything, how this army is moving swiftly."
Then, O king, Śaradvat's son repeatedly expressed his distress to Drona's son, recounting how Drona was killed.
Kṛpa said:
We, having placed Drona at the forefront, initiated a distinguished chariot battle on the earth solely with the Panchalas.
Then, as the battle commenced, the Kurus and Somakas, mixed together, roared at each other and caused bodies to fall with their weapons.
Then Droṇa, the bull among men, wielded the Brahma weapon and slew the students with arrows in hundreds and thousands.
The Pandavas, Kekayas, Matsyas, and especially the Panchalas, met their end upon reaching Drona's chariot in battle, driven by the force of time.
Drona dispatched a thousand mighty chariots and two thousand elephants, all consumed by the Brahmastra, to their demise.
Drona, though eighty-five years old and grey-haired, moved around in the battle with the vigor and agility of a sixteen-year-old.
As the armies were being afflicted and the kings were being slain, the Panchalas, overcome by anger, became disheartened.
In the midst of those who were slightly broken and turned away, the conqueror of enemies appeared, wielding a divine weapon, like the sun rising.
He, having reached the center of the Pāṇḍavas, shone with the brilliance of arrows, like the sun in the middle, and became difficult to behold, was your father.
They were scorched by Drona, shining like the sun, their strength was burnt, and they became disheartened and lost consciousness.
Madhusūdana, upon seeing the sons of Pāṇḍu afflicted by Droṇa's arrows, expressed his desire for their victory with these words.
This formidable warrior, the best among those who bear arms, cannot be defeated by others, not even by Indra himself in battle, as he is the chief among chariot-warriors.
The Pāṇḍavas, abandoning their duty, are urged to protect their victory so that Rukmavāhana does not defeat them in battle.
My belief was that if Ashvatthama were killed, he would not fight. However, someone falsely informed him during the battle that Ashvatthama was dead.
Dhananjaya, the son of Kunti, did not agree with this statement. However, all the others, including Yudhishthira, reluctantly accepted it.
Bhimasena, with a sense of shame, informed your father that "Ashwatthama is killed," and your father comprehended it.
He, suspecting deceit, questioned Dharmaraja whether he was slain or unharmed in battle, as his father was very fond of him.
Yudhishthira, overwhelmed by the fear of deceit and eager for victory, declared that Ashwatthama, the elephant, was slain by Bhima, who was as mighty as the mountain-like Indravarman of Malava.
Approaching Drona, he loudly spoke: "The one for whom you wield your weapon and live by considering, your beloved son Ashwatthama, has indeed been killed."
Upon hearing that, the teacher was deeply disheartened by the grave unpleasantness. He restrained the divine weapons and refrained from fighting as he used to before.
Upon seeing him deeply disturbed and with a mind afflicted by sorrow, the son of the Panchala king, known for his cruel actions, charged towards him.
Seeing that his death was ordained, the wise one, understanding the essence of the world, abandoned his divine weapons and almost sat down in the battlefield.
Then Pārṣata, holding his hair with his left hand, cut off the head of the crying heroes.
"Do not kill him, do not kill him," they shouted from all directions. Similarly, Arjuna got down from his chariot and charged towards him.
The knower of dharma, raising his arms in urgency, repeatedly urged, "Bring the teacher alive, do not kill him."
Despite the efforts of the Kauravas and Arjuna to restrain him, your father was ultimately killed by the cruel one, O best of men.
The soldiers, overwhelmed by fear, fled. We too lost our spirit when your father was killed, O sinless one.
Sanjaya said:
Upon hearing of his father's death in battle, Droṇa's son was filled with intense anger, as if he were a serpent that had been trampled.
