The valour and death of Sweta! | Bhishma-Parva-Section-048b

(Bhishmavadha Parva -06)

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Dhritarashtra said,--"When that great bowman Sweta proceeded towards Salya's car, what did the Kauravas and the Pandavas do, O Sanjaya? And what also did Bhishma the son of Santanu do? Tell me who ask thee, all this."

Sanjaya said,--"O king, hundreds and thousands of bulls among Kshatriyas, all brave and mighty car-warriors, placing the generalissimo Sweta in the van, and displaying their strength. O Bharata, unto thy royal son and with Sikhandin also at their head, desired to rescue (Sweta). And those mighty car-warriors rushed towards Bhishma's car decked with gold desirous of slaying that foremost of warriors. And the battle that ensued then was terrible. I shall describe to thee that wonderful and terrific battle as it occurred between thy troops and those of the enemy.

The son of Santanu made the terraces of many cars empty, (for) that best of car-warriors showering (his) arrows, cut off many heads. Endued with energy equal to that of the Sun himself, he shrouded the very Sun with his arrows. And he removed his enemies from around him in that combat like the rising Sun dispelling the darkness around. And in that battle, O king, arrows were shot by him in hundreds and thousands that were powerful and possessed of great impetuosity and that took in that conflict the lives of numberless Kshatriyas.

And in that combat he felled heads, by hundreds, of heroic warriors, O king, and elephants cased in thorny mail, like summits of mountains (felled) by heaven's bolt. And cars, O king, were seen to mingle with cars. A car might be seen upon another car, and a steed upon another steed. And impetuous chargers, O king, bore hither and thither heroic riders in the prime of youth, slain and hanging (from their saddles) with their bows (still in their grasp).[339]

With swords and quivers attached (to their persons) and coats of mail loosened (from their bodies), hundreds of warriors, deprived of life, lay on the ground, sleeping on beds (worthy) of heroes. Rushing against one another, falling down and rising up again and rushing again having risen up, the combatants fought hand to hand. Afflicted by one another, many rolled on the field of battle. Infuriate elephants rushed hither and thither, and car-warriors by hundreds were slain.

And car-warriors, along with their cars, were crushed on all sides. And some warriors fell upon his car, slain by another with arrows. And a mighty car-warrior might be seen to fall down from high, his charioteer (also) having been slain. A thick dust arose, and thereupon unto the warrior struggling in battle, the twang of the (hostile) bow indicated the struggling adversary before. From the pressure also on their bodies, combatants guessed their foes.

And the warriors, O king, fought on with arrows, guided by the sound of bow-strings and (hostile) division. The very hiss of the arrows shot by the combatants at one another could not be heard. And so loud was the sound of drums, that it seemed to pierce the ears. And in that tumultuous uproar making the hair stand on end, the name of the combatant uttered in the battle, while displaying his prowess, could not be heard. The sire could not recognise the son of his loins. One of the wheels being broken, or the yoke being torn off or one of the steeds being slain, the brave car-warrior was overthrown from his car, along with his charioteer, by means of straight arrows. And thus many heroic warriors, deprived of their cars, were seen to fly away.[340]

He who was slain had cut off; he who was not slain, was struck at the very vitals: but unstruck there was none, when Bhishma attacked the foe. And in that terrific battle, Sweta caused a great slaughter of the Kurus. And he slew many noble princes by hundreds upon hundreds.[341] And he cut off, by means of his arrows, the heads of car-warriors by hundreds upon hundreds, and (their) arms decked with Angadas, and (their) bows all around. And car-warriors and car-wheels and others that were on cars, and the cars themselves, and standards both small and costly, O king, and large bodies of horses, and crowds of cars, and crowds of men, O Bharata's race, were destroyed by Sweta.

Ourselves, from fear of Sweta, abandoning (Bhishma) that best of car-warriors, left the battle retreating to the rear and, therefore, do we (now) behold your lordship. And all the Kurus, O son of Kuru's race, beyond the range of arrows, and abandoning Bhishma the son of Santanu, in that battle, stood (as spectators though) armed for the combat. Cheerful in the hour of (universal) cheerlessness, that tiger among men Bhishma, alone of our army, in that terrible battle stood immovable like the mountain Meru. Taking the lives (of the foe) like the Sun at close of winter, he stood resplendent with the golden rays (of his car) like the Sun himself with his rays. And that great bowman shot clouds of arrows and struck down the Asuras.[342]

And while being slaughtered by Bhishma in that dreadful combat, those warriors breaking away from their ranks, they all fled from him, as if from a fire fed by fuel.[343] Encountering the single warrior (Sweta), that slayer of foes, Bhishma, was the only one (amongst us) who was cheerful and whole. Devoted to the welfare of Duryodhana, he began to consume the Pandava (warrior). Reckless of his very life which is difficult of being cast off, and abandoning all fear he slaughtered, O king, the Pandava army in that fierce conflict.[344]

And beholding the generalissimo (Sweta) smiting the (Dhartarashtra) divisions, thy father Bhishma, called also Devavrata, impetuously rushed against him. Thereupon, Sweta covered Bhishma with an extensive net-work of arrows. And Bhishma also covered Sweta with a flight of arrows. And roaring like a couple of bulls, they rushed, like two infuriate elephants of gigantic size or two raging tigers, against each other. Baffling each other's weapons by means of their weapons, those bulls among men, viz., Bhishma and Sweta fought with each other, desirous of taking each other's life.

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Footnotes

345. In the first line of 71st verse, the word is not 'Laghu' but 'alaghu', the initial 'a' being only silent according to the rule of Sandhi. Though omitted in the Bengal texts, it occurs in the Bombay edition.

346. 'Ghoram', 'ugram', 'mahabhayam', are pleonastic.

347. In the first line of 87 for Maheswara (meaning Siva) the Bombay text reads Dhaneswara (meaning Kuvera, the lord of treasures). For also 'Bhimainipatitiya' in the second line the Bombay text reads 'Bhishma inipainya'.

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