Reading section 82

3. The meeting of the two forces made the ground appear as a billowy sea; like the meeting of two clouds in the sky, giving it the appearance of two hostile forces.

4. The battle array of armoured warriors, flashing as the fire of heaven, was succeeded by their commingled blows, resembling the rattling of thunders above, deafening the ears and dazzling the sight.

5. Then darts and javelins, spears and lances, and many other missiles (_prásas_) began to fall on both sides, like showers of raindrops, hailstones and meteorolites from the skies.

6. Showers of shafts fell with a force, that would pierce the pinions of _garuda_, and struck out the glare of sunbeams, by hitting at the armours of the warriors.

7. The combatants standing face to face with their lifted arms, and staring at each other with steadfast looks, seemed as they were pictures in a painting.

8. The armies drawn in long regiments, standing in lines opposite to each other, were heard to answer one another by their repeated shouts.

9. The battalia of both armies, and the drums on both sides, were put to a stop by the warnings of their leaders, against striking the first blow.

10. The intermediate space of the breadth of two bows, that separated the hostile forces like a bridge from one another, appeared as the gap, caused by the winds in the midst of the ocean at the universal deluge. (Or more like the partition of the waters of the Red sea by the rod of Moses).

11. The leaders were drowned in thoughts for fear of bloodshed and massacre; and the cowardly soldiers groaned in their hearts, with the hoarse noise of croaking frogs.

12. There were numbers of bravoes, eager to yield up their precious lives in a trice; and the bowyers stood with their bowstrings drawn to the ear, and ready to let loose their pointed arrows at the foe.

13. Others stood dreadfully fixed to strike their arms upon the enemy, and many were looking sternly at their adversaries, with their frowning looks.

14. The armours were clashing by mutual concussion, the countenances of the bravoes were burning with rage, and the faces of cowards were turned towards sheltered retreats for flight.

15. The lookers stood in doubt of their lives until the end of the war, and old men like big elephants, were covered with horripilation on their bodies.

16. The silence which ensued at the expectation of the first blow, resembled the calm of the stormy main, and the deep sleep of a city at the dead of night.

17. The musical instruments, the drum and conch-shell were all silent, and a thick cloud of dust, covered the face of the earth and sky.

18. The retreaters were flying from their stronger assailants, who kept running after them, in the manner of sharks pursuing the shoals of fishes in the sea.

19. The glittering fringes of the flags, put the etherial stars to blush, and the lifted goads in the hands of the elephant-drivers, made a forest of tapering trees in the sky.

20. The flinging arrows were flying like flocks of the winged tribe in air, and the loud beating of drums and blowing of pipes, resounded amidst the air.

21. There was a phalanx in a circular form, attacking a host of wicked demons, and here was a squadron in the form of Garuda, with its right and left wings, attacking a body of elephants.

22. Somewhere a great howling was heard to rise from the vanguard of a body of troops, disconcerted by a cohort in the form of eagles: and at another many were seen to fall upon one another with mutual shouts.

23. Thus a tremendous noise was raised by the warriors of the many legions, and a multitude of big mallets were seen to be raised on high by the hands of the combatants.

24. The glaring of sable steel, shaded the sunbeams like a cloud, and hissing darts in the air, emitted a sound, resembling the rustling of breeze amidst the dry leaves of trees.

25. Now the brunt of battle, began like the dashing of clouds upon clouds at the end of a Kalpa, and the war raged like the raging sea ruffled by a hurricane.

26. Big elephants were falling in the field like coal-black rocks, hurled down by gusts of wind.

27. It seemed that the infernal spirits were let loose from their caves of hell, to rage in the battle field with their horrid and dismal figures.

28. The day light was obscured by the sable cloud of swords, and the mallets and lances were raised up by the black Kunta warriors, who seemed bent upon converting the earth to an ocean of bloodshed.

CHAPTER XXXIII.[17]

COMINGLED FIGHTING.

Ráma said:—Sir, relate to me in short and promptly, about this warfare, as my ears are delighted with narratives of this kind.

2. Vasishtha said:—These ladies then, in order to have a better view of the battle below, ascended in their imaginary aerial cars _vimánas_, to a more retired spot in the higher regions of the sky.

3. At this interval, there began a mingled fight of the forces face to face, with a commingled shout of the two armies, as the dashing of the waves against one another in the raging sea.

4. At this instant, Vidúratha the lord of the realm, (formerly Padma—the husband of Lílá), seeing a daring warrior of the hostile force attack one of his soldiers, struck him impatiently on the breast, with the blow of a ponderous mallet.

5. Then the battle raged with the impetuosity of the rolling waves of the stormy main, and the arms on both sides, flamed with living fire and flash of fiery lightnings.

6. Now the edges of waving swords (larattarat), glittered in the sky, and cracking and clashing noise (Kanakana), filled the air with a hideous crackling (kadkada).

7. Then flew the winged arrows, overshadowing the beams of the sun, and emitting a booming noise (hunkára), which hushed the rattling clamour (gharghara) of summer clouds.

8. Armours clashed against armours (Kankata), with a clanking noise (tankára), and shot forth the sparks of glistening fire (Kanatkana); and arms, hashing (ch’hina-bhinna) and slashing (Khanda-khanda) against arms, filled the air with their fragments flying like birds in the air.

9. The shaking (dodulya) shanks and arms of the army, appeared as a moving forest (dordruma) on the land, and the twangings of their bows (tankára), and rumbling of the disks (krenkára), drove away the birds of the air, and crackled like the rattling drive of wheels (dravat) in heaven.

10. The hissing of their loosened strings (halhala), resembled the (ghunghuna) buzzing of bees, heard in the _samádhi_ yoga (by shutting the ears).

11. Iron shafts like sleets of hailstones, pierced the heads of the soldiers, and the (ranat) crashing of armours (sanghatta), broke the arms of the warriors in mail (Kankata sankata).

12. Weapons struck on brazen armours with a howling noise (hunkára), made a clanking sound by the stroke (tánkára), and flying like drifts of rain water (tartara), pierced the face of the air on all sides: (literally, denticulated—dantura dingmukha).

13. The striking of steel on one another (sanghatta), made the hands ring with a jingling sound (jhanjhanat); and the continued rapping on the arms (ásphota), and clapping of hands, (karasphota), raised a pattering and chattering sound (chat chat and pat pat).

14. The whizzing noise of unsheathing the sword (shitkára), and the hissing of the sparks of fire (sansana); the flinging of arrows in all ways (sadatkára), and the flying of darts, likened the rustling of falling leaves (Kharkhara) in autumn.

15. The spouting of life blood (dhakdhak), from the throats separated from the bodies, the mangled limbs and heads, and the broken swords filled the whole space.

16. The flame of fire flaring (sphurat) from the armours; emblazoned the hairs of the warriors, and the fighting and falling (ranatpatat) of swordsmen, raised a giddy and loud jingling of their weapons (jhanjhana).

17. The lofty elephants pierced by the spears of the Kunta lancers, poured out torrents of red-hot blood; while the tusky tribe was goring whole bodies of them with their shrill cries (chitkára).

18. Others crushed by the ponderous maces of their antagonists, creaked grievously under the blows; while the heads of the slain soldiers, swam in the rivers of blood over the plain.

19. Here the hungry vultures were pouncing from above, and there the sky was covered by a cloud of dust; and the weaponless combatants, were engaged in _Kesákesí_ fighting, by holding each other down by the hairs.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE.

Now the generals and ministers of the belligerent powers, and the aerial spectators of the war, were thus talking among themselves.

2. Lo! here the ground has become a lake of blood, with the heads of the slaughtered hosts floating as lotuses upon it; and there the air has become as the starry heaven, glittering with broken weapons, flying like birds in the sky.

3. Behold the air is reddened with the particles of vermeil blood, borne above by the winds, and the sky presenting the evening clouds, with the glow of the setting sun at midday.

4. What are these, says one, that are flying as straws in the firmament? They are, says the other, no straws, but the flight of arrows, that have filled the atmosphere.

5. As long as the dust of the earth, cries another, is moistened by the bloodshed of the brave, so long are the heroes entitled to glory, and have their abode in heaven for myriads of years.[18]

6. Fear not these sable swords, says the sástra, whose blades are worn by the brave like petals of blue lotuses about their necks and breasts; and bravoes are favourites in the eyes of the goddess of fortune. (Fortune favours the brave).

7. The heavenly nymphs that beheld the fighting, felt a desire to embrace the brave, and the god of the flowery bow (Káma or Cupid), was busy to loosen their waist bands. (Cupid by inversion is Dípuc, another name of the Indian Káma. And Fairies or Paries and Huries are said to fall to the lot of the fighters in Jehad-battle. So says Dryden: “None but the brave deserve the fair”).

8. They beckoned their welcome by the waving of their reddish palms, in the shaking of the ruddy leaves of trees, and by the round glances of their eyes, in the blooming blossoms of plants, and by the perfume of their breath in the honied fragrance of flowers.

9. The geniuses of the garden of Paradise, were singing sweetly in the notes of the sylvan choir, and betook themselves to dancing in the wagging tails of peacocks.

10. As the brave warrior was breaking the line of the enemy with his hardy axe; so was his beloved breaking his hard heart and spirit, with the soft glances of her eyes.

11. It is by my lance, says the lancer, that I have severed the head of my adversary with the rings in his ears, like the head of the ascending node of Ráhu, approaching the disk of the sun.