After the fierce onset of Dronacharya upon Drustadyumna, the charioteer and the noble steeds of the latter were struck down, and his car was rendered useless amidst the tumult. Bereft of his vehicle yet unshaken in spirit, he seized a mighty mace and, like a famished lion springing upon its prey, advanced swiftly toward his preceptor. But the Guru, master of celestial archery, shattered that mace into fragments with but a few well-directed shafts. Enraged by so sudden and humiliating a repulse, Drustadyumna grasped sword and shield, and, hewing his way through the hostile ranks, felled warriors as banana trees are cleft by the woodsman; limbs and bodies lay heaped like dry timber gathered upon a mound by the surge of a flooding river. The Kaurava soldiers trembled at his dreadful advance, for he pounced upon their masses, casting confusion and disorder through their lines.
Perceiving the terrible prowess of his own disciple, Drona resolved to restrain him and wove a bridge of arrows that stood firm as a mountain barring the impetuous course of a river. From his bow streamed shafts like torrents descending from the heights into a valley, troubling the warrior who, deprived of his chariot and hemmed in on every side, struggled as one who swims against the rising tides of the ocean. At that perilous hour Bheemasena interposed himself between Drona and Drustadyumna, discharging seven keen shafts and checking the advance of Bheeshma for a brief but precious moment. Seizing that respite, Drustadyumna mounted another chariot that had been brought to him and renewed his assault with redoubled fury. Meanwhile Duryodhana, observing the delicate turn of events, signalled to the King of Kalinga to engage Bheema with his forces. Drona himself pressed hard upon Virata and Drupada, who stood steadfast as twin rocks supporting Drustadyumna against the swelling tide.
As the struggle widened, Duryodhana commanded the tribal chief Kethumantha to aid the King of Kalinga, who was being sorely pressed by the Pandava hosts; and a cruel smile played upon his lips, betraying the dark workings of his mind. The Karusha forces came to Bheema’s support and clashed violently with the Kalingas, and soon more than half the Kalinga warriors lay slain, their blood forming rivulets that mingled with the mire of trampled flesh upon the field. Kethumantha, aided by Sruthayu, assailed Bheema, yet the shafts of the son of Pandu consumed the tribal warrior as fire devours a swarm of locusts. Then Sukradeva, son of the Kalinga king, advanced fiercely and slew Bheema’s steeds and charioteer with relentless arrows; but Bheema, in wrath, hurled his massive mace with unerring aim, and it crushed the prince’s chariot, steeds, and guide as though a mountain had fallen upon them.
Though deprived of his car, Bheema stood undaunted, holding in one hand a broad shield adorned with gold and in the other a flashing sword. Like the Lord of Death at the hour of doom, he strode forward, severing heads that fell like autumn leaves. Sruthayu, maddened by the death of his son, rained volleys of arrows upon him, yet Bheema shattered them all. Fourteen keen, dart-like weapons were launched at once to pierce his body, but to the astonishment of all he cut them to pieces with his blade. Then Bhanumantha, brother of the Kalinga king, surrounded him with a host of elephants and poured shafts upon him; whereupon Bheema roared like a lion, leapt upon the elephant that bore Bhanumantha, and struck off his head. He also severed the neck of the royal beast and hurled it among the enemy, casting their confidence to the dust.
Encircled by the Kalinga forces and fighting on foot without a chariot, Bheema displayed his strength as though the battle were but a sport. He cut down banners, charioteers, and steeds, and drove terror into the hearts of foot soldiers; the very sweep of his stride bewildered the host. At length a fresh chariot was brought to him, and mounting it he stormed against Sruthayu with unrestrained shafts, striking him senseless so that his charioteer bore him away from the field. The Kalinga army, bereft of its head, wavered like storm-tossed waters; and Bheema, blowing his conch in triumph, infused courage into his own ranks while draining the spirit of the foe.
When Bheeshma heard that the King of Kalinga had been struck down by Bheema, the grandsire and commander of the host advanced and showered shafts upon him. Bheema, supported by Drustadyumna, Sikhandi, and Satyaki, stood firm with the pride of victory glowing in his heart. So fierce was the encounter that the rain of arrows obscured all vision, and none could discern who fought with whom save those engaged in the dreadful fray. Thus did Sanjaya relate to the blind monarch Drutharastra that the battle of the second day raged on with equal fury and steadfast resistance from both contending hosts.
