His coat of mail pierced all over with a shower of arrows, and his trunk cut off, that elephant uttered a loud shriek and fell down and expired. Achieving such a feat, O king, the ruler of the Madras speedily mounted on the splendid car of Kritavarman. And beholding his brother Uttara slain and seeing Salya staying with Kritavarman, Virata’s son Sweta blazed up in wrath, like fire (blazing up) with clarified butter. And that mighty warrior, stretching his large bow that resembled the bow of Sakra himself, rushed with the desire of slaying Salya the ruler of the Madras. Surrounded on all sides with a mighty division of cars, he advanced towards Salya’s car pouring an arrowy shower. And beholding him rush to the fight with prowess equal to that of an infuriate elephant, seven car-warriors of thy side surrounded him on all sides, desirous of protecting the ruler of Madras who seemed to be already within the jaws of Death. And those seven warriors were Vrihadvala the ruler of the Kosalas, and Jayatsena of Magadha, and Rukmaratha, O king, who was the valourous son of Salya, and Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, and Sudakshina the king of the Kamvojas, and Jayadratha, the ruler of the Sindhus and the kinsman of Vrihadkshatra. And the stretched bows of those high-souled warriors, decorated with diverse colours, looked like the lightning’s flashes in the clouds. And they all poured on Sweta’s head ceaseless showers of arrows like the clouds tossed by the wind dropping rain on the mountain breast on the expiry of summer. That mighty bowman and commander of the forces, enraged at this, with seven broad-headed arrows of great impetuosity, struck their bows, and then continued to grind them. And those bows we saw were cut off, O Bharata, and thereupon they all took up, within half the time taken up in a wink of the eye, other bows. And they then shot at Sweta seven arrows.Mbh 6.47.1d · Mahabharata · BHISHMA PARVA
Mbh 6.47.1d
Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Themes in this passage
LeadershipWarStrengthChildrenNatureAngerDeathDesire
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