| BHISHMA PARV MAHABHARAT BOOK 6 CHAPTER 91 Mahabharat
Book 6 Chapter 91 : English
These mighty car-warriors of the Pandav army, these great bowmen, placing Bhimsen at their head, are rushing towards Duryodhan, shooting and hurling diverse kinds of weapons, resolved upon winning success, uttering terrible shouts, and frightening the kings (on your side)'. Hearing these words of the preceptor, many warriors of thy side headed by Somadatta rushed upon the Pandav ranks. Kripa and Bhurisravas and Salya, and Drona's son and Vivingsati, and Chitrasena and Vikarna, and the ruler of the Sindhus, and Vrihadvala, and those two mighty bowmen, viz., the two princes of Avanti, surrounded the Kuru king. Advancing only twenty steps, the Pandavs and the Dhartarashtras began to strike, desirous of slaughtering each other. The mighty-armed son of Bharadwaja also, having said those words (unto the Dhartarashtra warriors), stretched his own large bow and pierced Bhima with six and twenty arrows. And once again that mighty car-warrior speedily covered Bhimsen with a shower of arrows like a mass of clouds dropping torrents of rain on the mountain-breasts in the rainy season.
That mighty bowman Bhimsen, however, of great strength, speedily pierced him in return with ten shafts on the left side. Deeply pierced with those arrows and exceedingly pained, O Bharata, the preceptor, enfeebled as he is with age, suddenly sat down on the terrace of his car, deprived of consciousness. Beholding him thus pained, king Duryodhan himself, and Aswatthaman also, excited with wrath, both rushed towards Bhimsen. Beholding those two warriors advance, each like Yama as he shows himself at the end of the Yuga, the mighty-armed Bhimsen, quickly taking up a mace, and jumping down from his car without loss of time, stood immovable like a hill, with that heavy mace resembling the very club of Yama, upraised in battle. Beholding him with mace (thus) upraised and looking (on that account) like the crested Kailasa, both the Kuru king and Drona's son rushed towards him.
Then the mighty Bhimsen himself rushed impetuously at those two foremost of men thus rushing together towards him with great speed. Beholding him thus rushing in fury and with terrible expression of face, many mighty car-warriors of the Kaurava army speedily proceeded towards him. Those car-warriors headed by Bharadwaja's son, impelled by the desire of slaughtering Bhimsen, hurled at his breast diverse kinds of weapons, and thus all of them together afflicted Bhima from all sides. Beholding that mighty car-warrior thus afflicted and placed in a situation of great peril, many mighty car-warriors of the Pandav army, headed by Abhimanyu, and prepared to lay down dear life itself, rushed to the spot, desirous of rescuing him. The heroic ruler of the low country, the dear friend of Bhima, viz., Nil, looking like a mass of blue clouds, rushed at Dron's son, filled with wrath.
A great bowman, Nila always desired an encounter with Dron's son. Drawing his large bow, he pierced the son of Dron with many winged arrows, like Sakra in days of old, O king, piercing the invincible Danav Viprachitti, that terror of the celestials, who, moved by anger frightened the three worlds by his energy. Pierced after the same way by Nil with his well-shot arrows winged with feathers, Dron's son, covered with blood and exceedingly pained, was filled with wrath. Drawing then his large bow, of twang loud as the roar of Indra's thunder, that foremost of intelligent persons set his heart upon the destruction of Nila. Aiming then a few bright shafts of broad heads and sharpened by the hands of their forger, he slew the four steeds of his adversary and overthrew also his standard. And with the seventh shaft he pierced Nila himself in the chest.
Deeply pierced and exceedingly pained, he sat down on the terrace of his car. Beholding king Nila, who looked like a mass of blue clouds, in a swoon, Ghatotkach, filled with wrath and surrounded by his kinsmen, rushed impetuously towards Drona's son, that ornament of battle. Similarly many other Rakshashs, incapable of being easily defeated in battle, rushed at Aswatthaman. Beholding then that Rakshash of terrible mien coming towards him, the valiant son of Bharadwaja impetuously rushed towards him. Filled with wrath he slew many Rakshashs of formidable visage, that is, those wrathful ones amongst them who were in Ghatotkach's van. Beholding them repulsed from the encounter by means of the shafts shot from the bow of Dron's son, Bhimsen's son Ghatotkach of gigantic size was filled with rage. He then exhibited a fierce and awful illusion. Therewith that prince of the Rakshashs, endued with extraordinary powers of illusion, confounded the son of Dron in that battle. Then all thy troops, in consequence of that illusion, turned their backs upon the field. They beheld one another cut down and lying prostrate on the surface of the earth, writhing convulsively, perfectly helpless, and bathed in blood. Dron and Duryodhan and Salya and Aswatthaman, and other great bowmen that were regarded as foremost among the Kauravs, also seemed to fly away.
All the car-warriors seemed to be crushed, and all the kings seemed to be slain. And horses and horse-riders seemed to be cut down in thousands. Beholding all this, thy troops fled away towards their tents. And although, O king, both myself and Devavrata cried out at the top of our voices, saying, 'Fight, do not fly away, all this is Rakshasa illusion in battle, applied by Ghatotkach. Yet they stopped not, their senses having been confounded. Although both of us said so, still struck with panic, they gave no credit to our words. Beholding them fly away the Pandavs regarded the victory to be theirs. With Ghatotkach (among them) they uttered many leonine shouts. And all around they filled the air with their shouts mingled with the blare of their conches and the beat of their drums. It was thus that thy whole army, routed by the wicked Ghatotkach, towards the hour of sunset, fled away in all directions.'"
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