09.022
Core and Pancharatra: As Yudhishthira himself leads the charge, the Pandavas gain the upper hand as Duryodhana retreats. Shakuni, the only one left with a large army attacks from the back. Yudhishthira instructs Sahadeva to kill Shakuni, and Shakuni is forced to retreat.
Sanjaya said:
In the ongoing fierce and terrifying battle, the forces of your son were shattered there by the Pandavas.
Your son, with great effort, restrained the great charioteers and engaged in battle with the Pandavas' army.
The warriors, who suddenly withdrew, were desiring the welfare of your son. When they returned, the battle among them was very fierce.
In the battle resembling that of gods and demons, no one in either your army or the army of others turned away.
By inference and signals, they engaged in battle with each other. Their mutual destruction was immense as they continued to fight one another.
Then King Yudhishthira, filled with immense anger, prepared for battle against the Dhartarashtras and their allied kings.
With three golden-shafted, stone-sharpened arrows, he pierced Śāradvata and with four arrows, he killed the auspicious horses of Kṛtavarman.
Ashwatthama carried away the renowned Hardikya, and then Sharadvata struck Yudhishthira with eight arrows.
Then King Duryodhana sent seven hundred chariots to the battlefield where King Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, was present.
The chariots, driven by skilled charioteers, sped swiftly like the mind and wind towards Arjuna's chariot in the battlefield.
The warriors surrounded Yudhishthira from all sides, making him invisible with their arrows, just as clouds cover the sun.
The chariots, led by Śikhaṇḍi and filled with warriors who were very enraged and intolerant, arrived swiftly with their horses, covered in a network of bells, to protect Kunti's son, Yudhishthira.
Then a fierce and bloody battle began between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, increasing the realm of Yama.
The Pandavas, together with the Panchalas, launched another attack after having slain seven hundred chariots of the aggressive Kurus.
There was a great battle between your son and the Pandavas. We have neither seen nor heard of such a thing.
In the ongoing battle, without any rules, warriors on both sides, yours and others, are being killed all around.
The warriors were sounding with excellent conches, filled with the roars of lions and the roaring of the archers.
O great one, in the intense battle, as the vital points were being cut and the warriors were running, eager for victory.
During the destruction, when sorrow arose everywhere on earth, many noble women also parted their hair.
In the limitless and ongoing fierce battle, dreadful omens appeared to signal destruction. The earth, along with its mountains and forests, trembled and echoed with sound.
O king, meteors with staffs and flames fell from the sky, striking the sun's orbit and scattering all around on the earth.
Winds blew chaotically, descending with gravel rain. Serpents shed tears, trembling intensely.
Ignoring the dreadful omens, the fearless warriors stood ready for battle once more in the sacred land of Kurukshetra, eager to attain heaven.
Shakuni, the son of the Gandhara king, instructed to engage in battle from the front while he would attack the Pandavas from the rear.
Then our swift Madra warriors, who had departed, joyfully made a clamor, and others did the same.
The formidable warriors, having regained their target, approached us again and wielded their bows, showering us with arrows.
At that time, the Madra king's forces were defeated by others there. Seeing this, Duryodhana's army turned away once more.
The King of Gandhara, strong and resolute, addressed them again, urging them to turn back and fight instead of fleeing, questioning their understanding of righteousness.
O best of the Bharatas, the king of Gandhara had an army of ten thousand horses, manned by warriors wielding clear spears.
By their strength, they attacked the Pandava army from behind with sharp arrows during the ongoing destruction of people.
O great king, the mighty army of the Pandavas was shattered like a cloud driven by the wind in all directions.
Then Yudhishthira, observing his army broken nearby, calmly encouraged the mighty Sahadeva.
This son of Subala has attacked our rear and is causing destruction. Look, O Pandava, at this evil-minded one who is devastating the army.
"Go, you and the sons of Draupadi, and slay Shakuni, the son of Subala. I will protect the chariot division along with the Panchalas, O sinless one."
"Let all the elephants, horses, and three thousand foot soldiers accompany you. Defeat Shakuni, the son of Subala."
Then, seven hundred elephants with bow-wielding hands were stationed, along with five thousand horses, and the valiant Sahadeva.
Three thousand foot-soldiers and all the sons of Draupadi attacked Shakuni, who was arrogant in battle.
Then, O king, the son of Subala, eager for victory and powerful, surpassed the Pandavas and struck the army from behind.
The energetic horsemen of the Pandavas, in their excitement, entered the army of Saubala, surpassing the chariots.
The heroic horsemen of Saubala's great army stood amidst the elephants and rained down showers of arrows on their enemies.
The great war, attended by warriors wielding maces and spears, commenced, O king, as a result of your poor counsel.
The sounds of the bows stopped, and the spectators turned into charioteers. Indeed, no difference was visible between their own people and others.
O best of the Bharatas, the Kurus and Pandavas witnessed the fall of the mighty weapons released by the heroic warriors, resembling the fall of celestial bodies.
O lord of men, the sky, covered with flying spears and pure ones here and there, was shining brightly.
O best of the Bharatas, at that time, the scene of the falling spears all around was like moths in the sky, O king.
The horses, covered in blood and abandoned by their charioteers, were running wildly in hundreds and thousands.
The warriors, having approached each other and crushed one another, appear unwounded, yet are seen vomiting blood from their mouths.
Then a terrible darkness arose, enveloped by the dust from the army. I saw the enemies retreating from that place. O king, both the horses and men were shrouded in dust.
On the ground lay others who had fallen, vomiting much blood, their hair entangled with each other's, unable to move.
The mighty warriors, like wrestlers, pulled each other from the backs of horses and struck one another. Many were dragged away by horses and lay lifeless on the battlefield.
On the battlefield, many other warriors who desired victory were seen fallen on the ground, boasting of their heroism here and there.
The earth appeared covered with countless severed arms and hair, drenched in blood, scattered in hundreds and thousands.
It was impossible for anyone to reach there by horse, as the ground was strewn with the bodies of slain horses and their riders.
In the battle, soldiers with armor smeared with blood, wielding various terrible weapons, were engaged in mutual slaughter, with most of them killed.
After fighting for a moment, Saubala, with six thousand remaining horses, departed, O lord of men.
Similarly, the Pandava army, covered in blood, retreated with six thousand remaining horses and exhausted vehicles.
The horsemen of the Pandavas, covered in blood, remarked that in the battle, most had lost their lives.
In this context, it is not feasible to engage in battle using chariots, let alone with mighty elephants. Let the chariots confront other chariots, and elephants face other elephants as well.
Shakuni has returned to his own army and is stationed there. King Saubala will not come to the battle again.
Then, the sons of Draupadi and the intoxicated great elephants proceeded to where Dhrishtadyumna, the great chariot-warrior and son of Panchala, was.
Sahadeva, too, O Kauravya, went alone to the place where King Yudhishthira was, as the dust cloud arose.
After they had left, Shakuni, Subala's son, once more launched an angry assault on Dhrishtadyumna's forces from the flank.
Then again, the fierce battle resumed as both your people and the enemies, having abandoned their lives, sought mutual destruction.
In that heroic assembly, they looked at each other. O king, warriors fell by the hundreds and then by the thousands.
As swords cut off heads during the destruction of the world, a great sound arose, resembling the sound of falling trees.
As the liberated bodies, broken and falling on the ground with weapons, arms, and thighs, there arose a very great and hair-raising rattling sound, O lord of men.
The warriors, killing their brothers, sons, and friends with sharp weapons, fell like birds do for the sake of meat.
They attacked each other fiercely, and as they approached one another, they shouted, "I first, I first," and thus they killed by the thousands.
Due to the collisions, the horse riders were dislodged from their seats and lay lifeless, while the horses ran around in hundreds and thousands.
O lord of the people, there are quivering, trampled horses that move swiftly, and roaring, armored men.
O king, the tumultuous noise of spears, javelins, and lances arose, striking the vital parts, as a result of your poor counsel.
Your men, though overcome by fatigue and thirst, with tired mounts and wounded by sharp weapons, advanced with excitement.
Intoxicated by the smell of blood, many here lost their senses and killed both others and their own, those who came immediately after.
Many warriors, eager for victory, fell lifeless to the ground, O king, covered by a rain of arrows.
On that tumultuous day of celebration for wolves, vultures, and jackals, a terrible destruction of strength occurred as your son watched.
The battlefield was strewn with the bodies of men and horses, creating a terrifying scene for the onlookers. The ground, stained with blood and water, heightened the fear among the timid.
O Bhārata, your men and the Pāṇḍavas, wielding swords, spears, and pikes, continued to fight relentlessly without retreating.
The warriors, striking with all their might as long as they could sustain life, eventually fell, vomiting blood from their wounds.
The headless trunk appeared, holding the head by the hair. It raised a sharp sword that was smeared with blood.
Then, O king, as many headless trunks arose, the warriors were overcome by the smell of blood and fainted.
As the noise died down, the great army of the Pandavas, with only a few horses left, advanced towards Saubala.
Then the Pāṇḍavas, eager for victory, swiftly advanced with their infantry, elephants, and cavalry, all brandishing their weapons.
They completely encircled and surrounded him, striking with various weapons, as they sought to overcome the end of the battle.
Upon seeing your forces being attacked from all directions, the troops, along with horses, infantry, elephants, and chariots, charged towards the Pandavas.
Some foot soldiers, having exhausted their weapons, resorted to fighting with their feet and fists in the battle, and then the heroes fell.
The charioteers fell from their chariots, and the elephant riders from their elephants, just as perfected beings fall from their aerial cars when their merits are depleted.
In this way, the warriors, engaged in mutual combat, killed fathers, brothers, friends, and sons in the great battle; others did the same.
Thus, O best of the Bharatas, the unrestrained and very terrible battle was taking place amidst spears, swords, and arrows.
