78. BRAVE BHAGADATTA :

DRONA made many attempts to take
Yudhishthira prisoner, but failed.
Duryodhana led a large elephant division
against Bhima. Bhima defended himself
from his chariot with well-aimed arrows.
He sent crescent-headed shafts and tore
down Duryodhana's flag and cut down his
bow even as he held it in his hand. Seeing
the king harassed in this manner, the
Mlechchha king Anga marched against
Bhimasena seated on a huge elephant.


But Bhima sent shafts that laid the
elephant low and killed the Mlechchha
king, which resulted in scattering that
section of the Kaurava forces in fear and
confusion. When the elephants
stampeded, the horses also took fright and
thousands of footmen were trampled
under the feet of the elephants and the
horses, flying in wild panic.


Seeing this great confusion and the
scattering of the Kaurava forces in all
directions, the king of Pragjyotisha, the
brave Bhagadatta grew indignant.
He got up on his renowned elephant
Supratika and charged against Bhimasena.


The gigantic beast rushed forward with
widespread ears and twirling trunk,
crashed into Bhimasena's chariot. And in
an instant, horses and vehicle were an
unrecognizable mass. But Bhima escaped
by jumping off the car in the nick of time.


He knew all about elephants. He got
below the great and fierce elephant and
showered blows on its vital points. The
great beast got mad and whirled round
like a potter's wheel, trying to throw off
Bhimasena, who was sticking to its legs
and attcking it from below.


It bent down and caught Bhima by its
trunk and was about to crush him under its
knees, when Vrikodara somehow released
himself from its hold and again got below,
in between its limbs and sticking to the
elephant's under-regions, caused
exceeding pain to the beast.


Bhima was thus gaining time in the hope
that some elephant on the Pandava side
would be led to attack Bhagadatta's
elephant and enable him to get away.
But, when Bhima disappeared from view,
being hidden in between the beast's legs,
the soldiers thought Bhima was slain.
They exclaimed: "Bhima is dead!
Bhagadatta's elephant has crushed
Bhimasena!" and the cry was repeated all
over Kurukshetra.


Yudhishthira heard the cry and, thinking
Bhima was slain, urged the forces to
destroy Bhagadatta. The king of Dasarna
charged against Bhagadatta. Dasarna's
elephant was also a fierce beast and there
was great battle between Supratika and
Dasarna's elephant.


But Supratika's tusk pierced Dasarna's
beast in the side and it crashed down dead.
At that moment, Bhima emerged from
below Supratika and ran out safe. And the
Pandava army cheered when they saw
Bhima alive.


Bhagadatta was now attacked on all sides,
but he did not lose heart. Resplendent on
his elephant, he shone like a forest fire on
a hill. Ignoring the enemies around him,
he drove his beast on Satyaki's chariot.
The elephant seized the chariot with its
great trunk and lifting it high dashed it
upside down. Satyaki jumped out of the
chariot in time to save himself.


His charioteer displayed great agility and
skill and saved the vehicle as well as the
horses, and righting the chariot, drove it to
where Satyaki stood.


Bhagadatta's elephant wrought great
havoc in the Pandava army, hurling
warriors about and killing them in great
number, striking terror wherever it went.
Bhagadatta stood on its back, like Indra
on Airavata when he fought the asuras.
With ears spread out rigid in anger and
trunk extended in front, the great beast
trampled upon numerous horses, chariots
and soldiers and wrought destruction all
over the Pandava army. The shafts hurled
at it seemed only to incense it more.
Like a herdsman in the forest driving the
cattle where he would, Bhagadatta drove
the soldiers of the Pandava army before
him. Bhimasena, equipping himself once
again with a chariot, renewed his attack
on Bhagadatta.


The elephant stretched out its trunk and
blew out a violent spray of mucus that
scared the horses of Bhima's chariot and
they bolted in wild flight and the
charioteer could not check them.
A great cloud of dust rose from the field
where this great elephant battle raged.
Arjuna saw this from where he was
fighting the samsaptakas and he also
heard the tumult created by Bhagadatta's
elephant.


He feared things had gone wrong and said
to Krishna: "Madhusudana, this is the cry
of Supratika, Bhagadatta's elephant. This
king of Pragjyotisha is terrible with his
elephant, and has no equal in that kind of
warfare. He is sure to defeat and confound
our men. We must proceed at once and
save the situation. We have punished
these samsaptakas enough. Drive to where
Drona is engaging Yudhishthira." Krishna
drove the chariot accordingly towards the
main battlefront.


Susarma and his brothers came up behind
the chariot and shouted "Stop, stop." At
the same time, they discharged shafts at
Arjuna's chariot.


Arjuna was of two minds.


"Here is Susarma challenging me to battle
and I hated declining this kind of
invitation, but there, to the north of us, our
formation seems broken and our men are
in need of immediate relief."


While Arjuna was pondering thus, a
javelin came hurtling at Arjuna and
another towards Janardana. Wild with
anger, Arjuna sent three well-aimed
shafts, which compelled Susarma to turn
back.


They lost no more time but drove quickly
to where Bhagadatta was doing havoc. As
soon as Arjuna's car was seen, the
Pandava forces rallied and soon Arjuna
reached the lines where Bhagadatta was.
Bhagadatta attacked Arjuna on Supratika
like the Destroyer incarnate. But
Vasudeva's skill avoided the shock, each
time the beast charged.


Bhagadatta showered arrows on Arjuna
and Krishna. But Arjuna's arrows broke
the elephant's armor and began to hurt the
beast. Bhagadatta saw that his elephant
could no longer stand the attack and he
hurled a javelin at Krishna.


Arjuna met it with a shaft from his bow
and broke it into two. Bhagadatta then
discharged another javelin that struck
Dhananjaya's helmet.


Readjusting his helmet, Arjuna bent his
bow exclaiming: "Bhagadatta, take your
last look at the world and prepare for
death!"


Bhagadatta was a veteran of very
advanced age. His grey hair and the
wrinkles on his noble old face gave him
the intrepid appearance of a lion. Indeed,
so old was he that the skin hung loose
down over his eyes and he had tied its
folds over his forehead with a silk
kerchief so that they might not interfere
with his sight.


Bhagadatta was not more renowned for
valor than for purity of character and
conduct and was one of the most
illustrious among the brave men of his
time. Men gave him the title 'Friend of
Indra' in recognition of his greatness.


"Look around for the last time," said
Arjuna to this great man and hurled at him
shafts that broke his bow, shattered his
quiver and pierced the joints of his armor.
In those days, all warriors wore heavy
armor and the secret of hitting weak
points such as joints and moving parts was
specially studied by kshatriyas and was an
important part of military training.


When deprived of all his weapons,
Bhagadatta hurled his elephant goad at
Arjuna. It was sent with deadly aim and
charged with the Vaishnava mantra.
It would have killed Arjuna, but Krishna
came in between and presented himself as
a target for the missile. It settled on his
chest as a shining necklace.


Charged with the mantra of Vishnu, it
could not hurt Vishnu but just became the
Lord's jewelled garland round his neck.


"Janardana, how is it you have offered
yourself as a target for the enemy's
missile? You said you would be charioteer
and leave all the fighting to me. How
could you do this?" protested Arjuna.


"Beloved Arjuna, you do not understand.
This shaft would have killed you if it had
hit you. But it is really my own thing and
came back to its lawful owner," Krishna
said and laughed. Then, Partha sent an
arrow that entered the head of
Bhagadatta's elephant as a serpent enters
into the anthill.


Bhagadatta tried to urge his great beast
forward, but it stood stark rigid. And his
loud command went in vain even as the
words of man, who has lost his wealth, are
disregarded by his wife.


Like a great hill the elephant stood rigid
for a moment and then it suddenly sank
down driving its tusks into the earth and
yielded up the ghost with an agonised
squeal.


Arjuna was somewhat grieved at the death
of the noble animal and for his not having
been able to slay Bhagadatta, without
killing the beast.


Arjuna's shafts tore the silken napkin that
bound up the folds of the aged king's
forehead and he was blinded at once by
his own hanging wrinkles.


Soon, a sharp crescent-headed shaft came
and pierced his chest. And Bhagadatta fell
like a great tree in a storm, his golden
necklace shining like flowers on the
uprooted tree. The Kaurava forces fell into
utter confusion.


Sakuni's brothers Vrisha and Achala tried
their best to oppose Arjuna and attacked
him in front and rear. But their chariots
were soon dashed to pieces and they were
themselves stricken dead on the field like
two lion cubs. They both looked much
alike and equally noble in appearance.


The poet says that the bodies of these two
valiant heroes who did not flee when the
rest fled, shed a strange lustre all around.
Sakuni was full of anger when he saw his
brave and incomparable brothers lying
dead on the field.


He attacked Arjuna fiercely and used all
the weapons of illusion, in which he was
skilled. But Arjuna's strokes broke all the
charms and rendered them useless. And
Sakuni had to leave the field, as fast as his
horses could bear him.


The Pandava forces then attacked Drona's
army and wrought great havoc till the
sunset, and the twelfth day's fight ended.
Drona gave orders to cease fighting and
the Kaurava forces, which had lost
heavily, retired in sullen dejection to their
camp.


The Pandava army, on the other band, was
in high spirits and its warriors gathered
round campfires in cheerful talk and
praise of Arjuna and the other heroes, who
had led them to victory.


NEXT : 79. ABHIMANYU


Continues...