09.027
Core and Pancharatra: Bhima and Sahadeva fight Shakuni and his army. Sahadeva first kills Shakuni's son Uluka. Then, he severed the head of Shakuni, after cutting off his hands.
Sanjaya said:
As the battle commenced, amidst the destruction of men, horses, and elephants, Shakuni, the son of Subala, approached Sahadeva, O king.
Then the mighty Sahadeva quickly approached and sent a volley of arrows like swiftly flying birds. Meanwhile, Uluka struck Bhima with ten arrows in the battle.
Shakuni, however, O great king, struck Bhima with three arrows and then showered ninety arrows upon Sahadeva.
The heroes, O king, met each other in battle and shot sharp arrows adorned with peacock feathers, with golden shafts, polished with stones, and dispatched from the ear.
The archers released a shower of arrows that covered all directions like a cloud's streams, O lord of men.
Then, in the battle, the furious Bhima and Sahadeva, O Bharata, engaged in a fierce slaughter, demonstrating their immense strength.
Your army, O Bharata, was enveloped by those two with hundreds of arrows, making it appear as if the sky was filled with darkness, indeed in various places.
O lord of men, a path was made by horses running around, covered with arrows, dragging many slain bodies here and there.
The battlefield was strewn with the bodies of slain horses and horsemen, their armors cut and spears broken, making the earth appear like a field of spotted flowers, O lord.
O great king, the warriors there approached each other and moved about in the battle with anger, striking each other down.
The earth was covered with faces having bulging eyes from anger, lips bitten, and adorned with earrings, resembling the filaments of a lotus.
O great king, the arms were severed like those of the serpent king, adorned with armlets, shields, swords, lances, and axes.
O lord, the earth became a terrifying sight, filled with headless trunks that had risen and were severed, along with others dancing in battle, surrounded by groups of carnivores.
In the great battle, when only a few of the Kaurava army remained, the Pandavas, filled with joy, sent them to the abode of Yama.
During this time, the valiant son of Subala fiercely struck Sahadeva on the head with a spear. Overwhelmed, the great king sat down on his chariot seat.
Upon seeing Sahadeva in that condition, the valiant Bhimasena, filled with rage, held back all the forces, O Bharata.
He pierced the enemies with hundreds and thousands of arrows, and having pierced through them, he roared like a lion, O subduer of enemies.
Upon hearing that sound, all the horses and elephants were terrified and fled suddenly, along with Śakuni's followers, in fear.
Upon seeing them broken, King Duryodhana addressed them, "Return, you who are ignorant of righteousness, and fight! Why do you flee?"
Here, a hero who establishes his fame and leaves his life in battle without turning his back attains the worlds after death.
Thus addressed by the king, the followers of Saubala advanced towards the Pandavas, accepting death as their retreat.
O King, there arose a very terrible sound by the flowing waters, resembling an agitated ocean, and it became disturbed everywhere.
Upon seeing the followers of Saubala approaching, the Pandavas, prepared for victory, advanced, O great king.
Sahadeva, the invincible, directed his attack towards the horses. O lord of men, he pierced Shakuni with ten arrows and his horses with three. He then cut off Saubala's bow with arrows, as if he was smiling.
Then, the arrogant Shakuni, taking another bow, pierced Nakul with sixty arrows and Bhimasena with seven.
Uluka, in an attempt to protect his father during the battle, shot seven arrows at Bhima and seventy arrows at Sahadeva, O great king.
In the battle, Bhimasena pierced him with sharp arrows, and also struck Shakuni with sixty-four arrows, and those standing by with three arrows each.
As they were being struck by Bhima's oil-smeared arrows, they angrily showered arrows upon Sahadeva in battle, resembling clouds with lightning covering a mountain with streams of rain.
Then the brave Sahadeva, with his valor, swiftly cut off Uluka's head with an arrow, O great king.
He fell from the chariot to the ground, struck down by Sahadeva, his body soaked in blood, bringing joy to the Pandavas in the battle.
Upon witnessing his son's death, Shakuni stood there, O Bharata, with tears choking his throat, sighing deeply as he recalled the charioteer's words.
After contemplating for a moment, with tears in his eyes and a sigh, he approached Sahadeva and shot three arrows at him.
Sahadeva, the valiant warrior, released volleys of arrows and cut the bow in the battle, O great king.
When the bow was broken, King, Shakuni, son of Subala, took a large sword and aimed it at Sahadeva.
The lord of men, with a sudden strike, cut the terrifying approaching figure of Saubala into two during the battle, as if he was smiling.
Upon seeing the sword cut in two, he took up the great mace and hurled it towards Sahadeva, but it fell to the ground without effect.
Then, in a fit of anger, Saubala sent a dreadful weapon, akin to the fearsome Kalaratri, towards the Pandava.
Sahadeva, with a smile, swiftly cut her into three parts with his arrows adorned with golden ornaments as she approached in the battle.
She fell to the ground, shattered into three pieces, adorned with gold, disintegrating like a blazing river with a hundred streams descending from the sky.
Upon witnessing the destruction of power and Saubala being stricken with fear, all your men, along with Saubala, fled in terror.
Then, a great uproar arose from the Pāṇḍavas and the victorious Kāśis. Consequently, the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra mostly became disheartened.
Seeing the disheartened warriors, the valiant son of Mādrī, Nakula, courageously stopped them with a barrage of thousands of arrows in the battle.
Then Sahadeva, protected by the Gandharans and supported by horses, approached Saubala as he was going into battle.
The king, recalling his own remaining part, approached Shakuni with a chariot adorned with gold. Sahadeva, having strung the bow, powerfully stretched the mighty bow.
He attacked Saubala with arrows that had vulture feathers and were sharpened on stones, striking him violently like an angry man would strike a great elephant with goads.
The wise one, restraining him and reminding him as if, said: "Be a man situated in the duty of a warrior and fight."
"O foolish one, when you rejoice in gambling with dice in the assembly hall, today you must accept the consequences of those actions, O wicked-minded one."
The wicked ones who oppressed us in the past have been slain. Duryodhana, the bane of our family, is still alive. You are his uncle.
"Today, I will sever your head with a razor, just like a fruit is plucked from a tree with a club by a crusher."
Having spoken thus, O great king, the mighty and enraged Sahadeva, a tiger among men, swiftly approached.
Sahadeva, the invincible lord of battles, approached and drew his strong bow with anger, appearing as if he was smiling.
After piercing Shakuni with ten arrows and his horses with four, and cutting down his umbrella, flag, and bow, he roared like a lion.
Saubala, having his flag, bow, and umbrella cut down by Sahadeva, was subsequently struck in all his vital parts by numerous arrows.
Then again, O great king, the powerful Sahadeva launched an unstoppable barrage of arrows towards Shakuni.
Then, in his anger, the son of Subala swiftly attacked Sahadeva, the son of Mādrī, alone with a spear adorned with gold, intending to kill him.
The son of Mādrī, standing at the forefront of the battle, swiftly cut off his opponent's raised spear and well-formed arms with three arrows simultaneously, and let out a loud roar in the midst of the battle.
His swift and well-aimed arrow, adorned with golden feathers and made of strong iron, pierced through all armor and severed the head from the body once more.
The son of Subala, with his head severed by the Pandava's arrow adorned with gold and shining like the sun, fell to the ground in battle.
In his fury, the son of Pandu shot a swift arrow with golden feathers and a stone-sharpened tip, striking the head that was the source of the Kurus' downfall.
Upon seeing Shakuni decapitated and lying on the ground with his body soaked in blood, your warriors, overwhelmed by fear and having lost their courage, fled in all directions with their weapons in hand.
The warriors, having fled with dry mouths and senseless, were struck by the sound of Gandiva. Afflicted by fear, their chariots, horses, and elephants broken, the foot soldiers along with the sons of Dhritarashtra were in disarray.
Then, after felling Shakuni from the chariot, the sons of Pandu, filled with joy, blew their conches in the battle, elated and accompanied by Keshava, cheering the soldiers, O Bharata.
All the warriors, honoring him, joyfully said to Sahadeva in the battlefield: "It is fortunate that the wicked and evil-minded one, along with his son, has been slain by you, O hero, in battle."
