Drona decided to test his pupils. He placed an artificial bird in a tree top. Drona placed Duryodhana and his brothers and all the other princes. He asked them one after another the same question, but they all replied as did Yudhishthira.
‘Do you see the tree, me, the others and the bird?’
‘Yes, I see them all’, the pupils replied again and again.
Drona called Arjuna.
‘I see the bird’s eye and nothing else.’, Arjuna said. Then Partha sliced off the bird’s head with an arrow.
Sambhava Parva. Mahabharata
Imagine you are a bronze age warrior in a chariot battle. You are on the battlefield. What do you see?
The ground is shrouded in a fog of dust kicked up by the feet of the soldiers, elephants, horses and wheels of chariots. You and your foes are moving targets. The sky is filled with arrows, spears, and swords arcing through the air. With all the orthogonal lines and rhythms the weapon arcing through the sky look like a crazy bird flapping feathers and talons. Do you see every arrow, spear, your allies and foes? Or are you able to tune everything else out and just see the points? Because an arrow or spear coming right at you will look like a point - the points are the eyes of the bird looking at you. Everything else will have some measure of line. The exceptions are lines that point straight at you. These are spears or arrows that are overhead and will descend. If that line collapses to a point, the weapon is descending upon you.
If you are able to just see the points, and you have the skill then you can repulse the weapons that are heading toward you. The warriors had a special type of arrowhead for this defensive attack in the shape of a crescent. When rotating through the air, the crescent would form a mouth that could catch incoming arrows or spears to check the attack.
They released showers of arrows towards Arjuna. Shrouded by that terrible storm of arrows, Arjuna, Krishna, or the chariot could no longer be seen. Believing their arrows found their marks, they told each other in delight, 'Krishna and Arjuna have been killed.' They waved their garments in the air. They sounded conch shells and drums in triumph. Arjuna repulsed all of their weapons that approached. Then Pandava Arjuna emerged from this net and attacked. He used broad-headed arrows to sever their heads and arms, still grasping weapons. He used arrows to slice thighs. Some were wounded on their backs. Others lost their legs, or heads, eyes and fingers. Arjuna deprived their bodies of many limbs. He shattered them, and the horses, chariots and elephants, with his arrows. Wounded by Arjuna's arrows, they fell down on the ground, with their entrails and eyes plucked out. Foot soldiers held swords that looked like nails. These dropped from their hand and their armor was shattered. Their inner organs were mangled. They were killed and whirled around. Because of this, the field of battle looked terrible. A great cloud of dust had arisen and was now pacified by the shower of blood. Strewn with many headless torso, the ground became difficult to cross. But they continued to rush at him, giddy to meet their death at his hand.
Chapter 995
'Arjuna was the best among those who were skilled in the use of weapons and he showed his nature to the enemy. He showered down a flood of arrows on the Kourava army... I heard the twang of Gandiva to the south. Gandiva's roar could be heard above all over the sound of conch shells and fighting... The many different divisions in your son's army were slaughtered by Arjuna. The arrows shot by Arjuna were tufted with the feathers of herons. They descended like locusts. He did not shoot a second arrow at any elephant, horse or man. Shot by a single arrow, they all fell down.'
Chapter 1006. Samshaptaka Vadha Parva
Prince Duhshasana accomplished a difficult task. He severed Bhima's bow with a razor-sharp arrow and pierced his charioteer with six arrows. He then struck Bhimasena with many arrows. Bhimasena hurled a club towards him. It struck Duhshasana and flung him a distance of ten bow-lengths away, rendering him like a shattered elephant. He fell down, trembling. He shrieked in pain. Remembering the hardships they faced, and Draupadi's suffering before Duhshasana, Bhimasena grew angry. Drawing his sword, he inflicted the killing wound on Duhshasana's chest. Drinking blood from this wound, Bhima called out twice, 'This is superior to mother's milk, honey, butter, liquor, holy water, cheese and milk. It is my view that the blood of my enemies is superior in taste to all of these.' All those who witnessed this act grew miserable and terrified. They looked at him with half closed eyes. 'This one is not human', they lamented.
Bhima kills Duhshasana. Karna-Vadha Parva. Chapter 1211
'O king! After a time, a tumultuous sound could be heard, when the warriors prepared to fight. There were the sounds of conch shells and drums. Elephants trumpeted. The wheels of chariots tore the earth apart like thunder. The horses neighed... Duhshasana, Durvisaha, Durmukha, Duhsaha, Vivimshati, Chitrasena (not the Gandharva), and Vikarna protected Bhishma's rear. 20,000 chariots followed them. Then Vasati, Shalva, Matysa, Ambashtha, Trigarta, Kekaya, Souvira, Kitava advanced with an array of chariots. The king of Magadha followed the chariots with an army of 10,000 elephants. Cavalry protected the wheels of the chariots and feet of the elephants. The infantry marched in advance, with bows, shields and swords. The 11 armies of Duryodhana looked like the Ganga separated from the Yamuna (thick and slow moving).
On seeing how the soldiers of Dhritarashtra's sons were arranged in battle formation, Yudhishthira spoke to Arjuna, 'When a small number has to fight with a larger one, the arrangement should be a suchimukha (in the shape of a mouth or needle).' Arjuna replied, 'I will construct a Vajra vyuha. Bhima will lead.' The mighty army of the Pandavas seemed to be like the overflowing, surging and moving Ganga. (ribbon-like, fast, fluid formations.) Bhimasena, Dhrishtadyumna, Nakula, Sahadeva and Dhrishtaketu were in the vanguard. Surrounded by 1 army, Virata was at the rear. Nakula and Sahadeva protected Bhima's wheels. Droupadi's 5 sons and Abhimanyu protected the rear. Dhrishtadyumna protected them. Shikhandi protected him, and Arjuna protected Shikhandi. Satyaki protected Arjuna's rear. King Yudhishthira was in the center of the army surrounded by elephants. Yajnasena went behind Virata, with 1 army.
Chapter 878-9. Bhagavad Gita Parva
Kiriti (Arjuna) made a terrible river flow on the field of battle. The blood was the bodies of men wounded by weapons. The foam was human fat. Its expanse was broad and it flowed swiftly. The banks were formed by the dead bodies of elephants and horses. The mud was the entrails, marrow and flesh of men. Hordes of rakshasas and demons populated it. The moss was formed by heads, with the hair attached. Thousands of bodies were borne in the flow and the waves were formed by shattered fragments of armour. The bones of men, horses and elephants were the stones. A large number of crows, jackals, vultures and herons and many predators like hyenas lined up along its banks. Conveyed through the masses of Arjuna's arrows, that extremely fearful river conveyed fat, marrow and blood." ...
Having surrounded Arjuna with chariots, they enveloped him in all directions with arrows. They hurled polished and sharp lances, clubs, maces, javelins, battleaxes, bludgeons and pestles toward Arjuna's chariot. That shower of weapons descended like a flight of locusts. But Partha sliced all of them with gold-decorated arrows....
Kalinga grasped a terrible arrow that was like the venom of a serpent and dispatched it at Bhima. That arrow descended with great force. However, Bhimasena sliced it in two with his sword. An enraged Kalinga hurled fourteen lances that had been sharpened on stone. The mighty-armed Pandava used his sword to cut them down in the sky. ...
Bhurishrava hurled a gold-shafted lance at Abhimanyu that flew like a serpent. But he cut it down with arrows. ...
Bhimasena hurled a javelin that flew like a venomous serpent. As that gold-shafted lance suddenly descended, Bhishma sliced it down. ...
Subhadra's son used sharp arrows to slay Lakshmana's four horses and his charioteer. Lakshmana remained stationed on his chariot. He hurled a javelin at Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu sliced it down. ...
Though pierced and wounded, Shikhandi whirled the fragment of the shattered sword. It suddenly descended, Ashvvattamha displayed the dexterity of his hands. He sliced it down and pierced Shikhandi with many iron arrows. ...
Pragjyotisha hurled fourteen javelins at Ghatotkacha, who sliced them all down. Having sliced the javelins down, Ghatotkacha lit him up with seventy gold-tufted arrows. Ghatotkacha hurled a javelin at Pragjyotisha's elephant. As it suddenly descended, the king cut it down into three and shattered, it felt down on the ground. Ghatotkacha fled. ...
Yudhishthira dispatched an iron arrow at Bhishma. But before it could reach him, Bhishma used a kshurapra arrow to slide down the missile....
Ghatotkacha became angry and attacked Bhagadatta. He hurled a giant spear, wishing to kill the elephant. It was surrounded by sparks of flaming fire in every direction. On seeing it descend, the king sliced it down with a beautiful arrow that was in the shape of a half-moon. Divided into two and dislodged, the spear, decorated with gold, fell down on the ground. The king grasped a javelin with a golden handle, like the flame of a fire. Beckoning the rakshasa, he hurled it. On seeing it descend, Gatotkacha leaped into the air and grasped it. He placed it on his thigh and broke it. ...
Shantanu's son (Bhishma) hurled an iron javelin at him. It was decorated with gold and was extremely swift. It curved through the air as beautiful as a maiden of the serpent. On seeing it suddenly descend, Varshneya destroyed it (with a kshurapra arrow). Varshneya then hurled a javelin at Bhishma. It advanced with great force. On seeing it suddenly descend, Bhishma used two sharp kshurapra arrows to slice it into two, so that it fell down on the ground. ...
King Saindhava hurled a spear and a lance. Kripa used a shataghni. Bhima use a kshurapra to slice down the spear. He then severed the lance into three pieces. He shattered the shataghni with nine arrows. Then he sliced down the arrow shot by Madra and severed the javelin that had been thrown by Bhagdatta. ...
Parshata hurled a club towards Drona and it was like Yama's staff, decorated with golden garments. On seeing it suddenly descend towards him, Drona countered it. Shattered and fragmented, it fell down on the ground. Parshata hurled a javelin towards Drona. It was beautiful and made of iron. Drona sliced it down with arrows. ...
The massive war elephant was enraged. It placed its leg on the yoke of the chariot and killed the four horses. Though the horses were killed, Shalya remained on his chariot. He hurled a lance that flew like a serpent through Uttara's kshurapra defense. Uttara was pierced through his armor and lost consciousness. Shalya grasped his sword and descended from his chariot. He sliced off the trunk of the elephant. Pierced by arrows and with its trunk severed, the elephant let out a terrible roar and died. ...
Bhimasena roams around with a club, like death. Bhimasena, with the Chedis, met the Kalingas, led by Shrutaya. A fierce battle raged, terrible in form. ... With his horses slain, Bhimasena remained stationed on his chariot. He hurled a club of steel at Shakradeva. The son of Shrutaya was thus killed. Seeing his son fallen, Shrutaya moved to Bhima to attack. With the sword in his hand, Bhima used the elephant's tusks to climb onto its back. He sliced Bhanuman down the middle. He then made his sword descend on the neck of the elephant. With its neck severed, the elephant screamed and fell, like the summit of a mountain shattered by the battering sea. Bhima leaped from the falling elephant. He roamed along many paths, bringing down frightened elephants. Everywhere, he was a whirling wheel of fire. He slaughtered masses of horses, elephants, masses of chariots and infantry. Intoxicated, Bhima was seen in that battle, roaming like an angry hawk. Bhimasena was seen to display many different motions. Leaping onto chariots, horse riders, elephants. The elephants were slain, with the front and rears of their bodies, and their trunks, shattered. The arena was strewn with boulders of dead elephants. Having killed many elephants, Bhima began to destroy the horses. He leapt up and brought down chariots. He cut them and their standards down with his sword. Shrutaya pierced Bhimasena with nine arrows. Bhima ascended a chariot and advanced to Shrutaya, king of Kalinga. Shrutaya pierced Bhima with nine arrows that Bhima rushed through - Bhima stretched his bow and killed the king with seven iron headed arrows.
Bhishma Vadha Parva
'When the narayana weapon was invoked, violent winds mixed with rain began to blow, though there were no clouds in the sky. The earth trembled and the great oceans were agitated. Instead of flowing towards the ocean, the rivers flowed in an opposite direction. Animals became agitated. There was darkness and the sun became dim.... Thousands of arrows, flaming at the tips, appeared in the sky like serpents with flaming mouths. In all directions the sky and the soldiers were enveloped in an instant. After this, iron balls appeared, like blazing stellar bodies in the clear skies. The four directions were covered by wheels of fire that circled and blazed. Wherever they clashed, in those spots, the weapon increased in power. All of them were consumed like dry wood in a conflagration. Krishna upon seeing this understood. He cried out, 'Swiftly lay down your weapons and descend from your mounts and your horses! This is the method of countering. All of you descend from the elephants, the horses and the chariots onto the ground!' ... On seeing they were unharmed, Ashvatthama was miserable. Having thought for some time about his father Drona's death, he was overcome with sorrow. He released deep and warm sighs. He cast aside his bow and descended violently from his chariot. 'Shame on everything. It is all false.' Saying this, Ashvatthama ran away.
Narayana Astra Moksha Parva
References
- Debroy, Bibek. The Mahabharata. Penguin Random House India, 2015.
- Dutt, M.N. The Mahabharata. Sanskrit Text with English Translation. Parimal Publications, 2022.