08.013
Sanjaya said:
Then, from the north, a sound arose in the army of the Pāṇḍavas. The chariots, elephants, horses, and infantry were to be slain by the wielder of the staff.
Keshava, having turned back the chariot, spoke to Arjuna while driving the horses with the swiftness of Garuda and the wind.
The king of Magadha, though surpassed by Bhagadatta's mighty elephant, was equally skilled in training and strength.
"Having slain this one, you will again slay the Saṁśaptakas," thus he brought Arjuna to the presence of Daṇḍadhara at the end of the sentence.
The chief of the Magadhas, wielding his goad, was as irresistible and unrestrained as a planet among the celestial bodies. He fiercely crushed the enemy's forces, dominating the entire earth like an unrestrained planet.
The warrior, well-prepared and resembling a demon serpent, roars like a great cloud, crushing his enemies. Standing firm, he destroys thousands of chariots, horses, and elephants with his arrows, even targeting elephants.
He mounted the chariots with horses and charioteer and swiftly crushed the men and chariots with his feet. Then, standing on elephants, he killed the elephants with his feet, steps, and hand, like the relentless wheel of time.
The great and powerful elephant crushed the men adorned with iron armor, along with horses and foot soldiers, with a sound, just as thick reeds are crushed.
Then Arjuna, with the sound of his bowstring and the rim of his chariot, accompanied by the resounding of drums, kettledrums, and many conchshells, approached the excellent elephant with his excellent chariot, amidst the resounding of thousands of men, horses, and elephants.
Then Arjuna pierced Janardana with twelve excellent arrows and Janardana pierced back with sixteen. The wielder of the staff struck the horses with three arrows each, then roared and laughed repeatedly.
Then Arjuna, with his skillful archery, cut down the bow with its strings and the adorned flag. This act, along with the defeat of the charioteers and foot soldiers, enraged the lord of Girivraja.
Then, the elephant with broken armor, moving with the speed of the wind, fiercely struck Arjuna, Janardana, and Dhananjaya with spears, intending to agitate them, like dense clouds.
Then the Pāṇḍava cut off his arms, which were like the trunks of elephants, and his head, which had a face like the full moon, with three arrows. After that, he pierced the elephant with hundreds of arrows.
He, adorned with Arjuna's arrows and golden ornaments, shone like an elephant clad in golden armor. At night, he appeared like a mountain set ablaze by a forest fire, with herbs and trees glowing in the light.
He, in agony and roaring like thunder, moved, wandered, stumbled, and ran distressed, eventually falling broken with his charioteer, just as a mountain is shattered by a thunderbolt.
The snow-white elephant, adorned with a golden necklace and resembling the peak of the Himalayas, returned to the battlefield after the brother was slain, with the intent to kill Indra's younger brother, Dhanañjaya.
He, with three spears shining like sun rays, attacked Janardana with five and Arjuna, and after roaring fiercely, the Pandava then cut off his arms.
The arms, cut by a razor and severely pierced with spears, adorned with fallen armlets and smeared with sandalwood, fell from the elephant simultaneously, shining as if they were great serpents falling from a mountain peak.
Then, the crowned one took the head of the staff with a crescent, and it fell from the elephant to the ground. It shone blood-red like the sun setting in the west.
Then Arjuna shot the elephant, resembling the peak of a white mountain, with his best arrows that shone like the sun's rays. It fell with a roar, like a Himalayan peak hit by a thunderbolt.
Then others, resembling those best elephants, eager for victory in battle against Arjuna, were made by him just like those two elephants; thus, the great army of the enemy was shattered.
In the battle, elephants, chariots, horses, and men moved in groups, attacking each other. They stumbled and were struck down severely, leading to the death of many from various families.
Then the soldiers surrounded Arjuna and spoke to him like the gods to Purandara. The people said they feared him like death; fortunately, the hero and enemy was slain by you.
If you do not protect these people from fear, who are oppressed by enemies and the strong, then it will bring delight to the enemies, just as it happens when you slay these enemies here.
Thus, having heard the words spoken again by his friends, Arjuna, with a good mind, appropriately honored those people and went again to the destroyer of the Saṃśaptakas.
