09.011
Pancharatra and Core: Duryodhana kills Chekitana; the fight between Shalya and Yudhisthira commences; Yudhisthira gains the upper hand by cutting down the flagpole of Shalya.
Sanjaya said.
Upon witnessing the fall of the charioteer, Śalya quickly grabbed the iron mace and stood firm like a mountain, O king.
He appeared blazing like the fire of destruction, holding a noose like death; with peaks like Mount Kailasa and wielding a thunderbolt like Indra.
Bhima, wielding his mighty mace, charged forward with the speed of a lion armed with a spear in the forest, resembling an intoxicated elephant.
Then, the sound of conches and thousands of musical instruments, along with the lion's roar, arose, enhancing the joy of the heroes.
The warriors, both yours and others, looked everywhere at those two warrior-elephants and exclaimed, 'Well done, well done!'
Indeed, no one other than the king of Madra, Rāma, or the delight of the Yadus can withstand Bhīmasena's force in battle.
Thus, no other warrior in the battle can withstand the force of the mace from the great soul, the king of Madra, except Vrikodara.
The Madra king and Vrikodara, with maces in hand, moved around energetically like bellowing bulls, making circles.
In the circular paths and during the mace wielding, an indistinguishable battle occurred between those two lion-like warriors.
The mace of Śalya, adorned with bright golden strips, seemed to increase fear as if it was pierced with flames of fire.
In the same manner, as the great soul moved through the paths and circles, Bhima's mace shone brilliantly, resembling the lightning in the clouds.
The mace, struck by the king of Madra with Bhima's mace, blazed like fire and emitted flames, O king.
Thus, when Bhima struck Shalya's mace with his own, it released a shower of embers, appearing as if something wonderful had happened.
The two warriors, like great elephants with their tusks and great bulls with their horns, attacked each other fiercely with the tips of their maces, as if driven by goads.
The two, struck by maces, were instantly covered in blood, appearing even more beautiful, like blossomed Butea monosperma trees.
Bhimasena, the mighty-armed, was struck left and right by the king of Madra with a mace, yet he stood firm, unmoving like a mountain.
In this way, despite being repeatedly struck by the force of Bhima's mace, Shalya remained unshaken, O king, just like a mountain remains unmoved when struck by an elephant.
The thunderous clash of maces falling echoed in all directions, reminiscent of the mighty roar of thunderbolts, as if heralding the presence of those two lion-hearted warriors.
After withdrawing, the two great heroes, both wielding their maces high, once again stood in the inner path and moved around in circles.
Then, as they approached, the two engaged in a meeting of eight steps, raising their iron rods for a superhuman feat.
The two accomplished ones, while praying, wandered around in circles, demonstrating their special actions.
Then, lifting their dreadful maces, they clashed with each other like two immovable mountains during an earthquake.
The two heroes, struck hard by each other's force and maces, fell simultaneously like the banners of Indra.
The heroes of both armies cried out in distress at that time. Both were severely struck in their vital parts and were deeply agitated.
Then Kṛpa, placing Śalya, the bull of the Madras, on the chariot, quickly carried him away from the battlefield.
Bhimasena, appearing bewildered as if intoxicated, quickly regained his composure and challenged the king of Madra with his mace in hand.
Then, your valiant warriors, armed with diverse weapons, launched an attack on the Pandava army, accompanied by the sounds of various musical instruments.
Raising their arms and weapons, they charged with a great sound, led by Duryodhana, O great king.
Upon observing the army, the sons of Pandu, with the intent to kill Duryodhana, advanced with a roar like that of a lion.
As they attacked swiftly, your son, O best of the Bharatas, struck Cekitana deeply in the heart with a spear.
He fell onto the seat of the chariot, struck by your son, drenched in blood, and entered into a deep darkness.
Upon witnessing the fall of Chekitana, the great charioteers of the Pandavas launched a concentrated barrage of arrows in various directions.
In your armies, O great king, the Pandavas, having conquered the Kashi, moved admirably in all directions.
Kṛpa, Kṛtavarmā, and the mighty Saubala, led by the Madra king, engaged in battle with Dharmarāja.
Duryodhana, the great king, engaged in battle with Dhṛṣṭadyumna, known for his great strength and valor, and the slayer of Bhāradvāja.
Three thousand chariots, O king, driven by your son, engaged in battle for victory, led by Drona's son.
In their quest for victory, your men, O king, were so firmly resolved that they entered the battlefield as if they were swans gracefully entering a vast lake, having completely abandoned any regard for their lives.
Then a fierce battle took place among those desiring mutual destruction, which paradoxically increased their affection for one another.
In that battle that had commenced, O king, the destruction of the best heroes took place, and a terrible dust arose, stirred by the wind.
By hearing and glorifying the names of the Pāṇḍavas, we recognize each other as those who fought without fear.
The dust was settled by the blood, O tiger among men. The directions became clear when the dust was settled.
In the terrifying and dreadful battle that ensued, no one turned away, whether from your side or the enemies.
The men, aspiring for Brahmaloka, became valiant and prayed for victory in battle, desiring heaven through fair fight.
The warriors, determined to fulfill their duty towards their husbands by ensuring the liberation of their funeral offerings, fought with minds set on reaching heaven.
The great charioteers released various forms of weapons, roaring and attacking each other in the battle.
The words 'Strike, pierce, seize, attack, cut' are indeed heard in your and their army.
Then Śalya, the great king, attacked Dharmaraja Yudhishthira with sharp arrows, intending to kill the great chariot-warrior.
Arjuna, the son of Pritha, skillfully shot fourteen iron arrows at the vital points, appearing to smile, O great king.
The greatly renowned warrior, in his anger, stopped Pāṇḍava and pierced him in battle with many feathered arrows, desiring to kill him.
Then again, O great king, he struck Yudhishthira with an arrow with bent joints while the entire army watched.
The illustrious King Yudhishthira, in his anger, shot sharp arrows adorned with peacock feathers at the King of Madra.
The great chariot-warrior struck down Candrasena with seventy arrows, Sūta with nine, and Drumasena with sixty-four.
After the protector of the wheel was slain by the great-souled Pāṇḍava, Śalya then killed twenty-five of the Cedis, O king.
Satyaki pierced with twenty-five arrows, Bhimasena with five, and the sons of Madri with a hundred sharp arrows in battle.
As Arjuna moved through the battlefield, he unleashed arrows as deadly as venomous serpents, O esteemed king.
In the battle, Kunti's son Yudhishthira, standing in front, took away the flag-top of his opponent's chariot with an arrow.
The son of Pandu, with his great soul, cut down his banner. We saw it fall like a mountain peak that had been struck.
Upon seeing the fallen flag and the poised Pāṇḍava, the furious Madra king unleashed a shower of arrows.
Shalya, with his immeasurable spirit, showered arrows like Parjanya, the rain god, pouring rain upon the warrior, the best among warriors.
Satyaki, Bhimasena, and the sons of Madri, the Pandavas, each shot five arrows and tormented Yudhishthira.
Then, O great king, we saw a net made of arrows spread across the chest of Pandava, resembling a rising cloud net.
In the battle, the great chariot warrior Śalya, in his anger, covered all directions and regions with his arrows that had bent joints.
Then King Yudhishthira was overwhelmed by the barrage of arrows and lost his courage, just as Jambha was subdued by Indra, the slayer of Vritra.
