As Satyaki, the illustrious grandson of Sini, pressed onward through the Kaurava ranks to fulfil the command of King Yudhishthira and hasten to the side of Arjuna, the venerable preceptor Drona beheld with concern the disarray spreading among the Kaurava forces. Perceiving that the Pandava warriors were rallying behind Satyaki and that none could withstand his irresistible advance, Drona turned his wrath upon the Panchala and Pandava divisions, scattering them with torrents of arrows. The king of Trigarta and his warriors attempted to stem the tide, but they too were driven back by the master of celestial weapons.
Meanwhile, the mighty king Jalasandha of Magadha, mounted upon a colossal and exquisitely trained elephant that had already wrought havoc among the Pandava ranks, charged directly at Satyaki. With unerring precision, Satyaki checked the beast’s advance by covering it with a storm of arrows. Enraged, Jalasandha shattered Satyaki’s bowstring and struck him with fifty keen shafts. Undismayed, Satyaki seized another mighty bow, cut down Jalasandha’s bow and arrows, and, blazing with fury, severed first his arm and then his head. He next pierced the elephant, causing the great beast to collapse. Standing upon his chariot, Satyaki roared like a lion, and the surrounding armies trembled in fear.
Observing this feat, Drona directed Kritavarma and other Kaurava heroes to confront the advancing warrior. Soon, Durmarshana, Dussaha, Vikarna, Durmukha, and Chitrasena surrounded Satyaki on every side, covering him with dense showers of arrows. Confident that these warriors would delay him, Drona turned once more against the Pandava forces. Duryodhana himself joined his brothers in this great assault.
Yet Satyaki, moving with astonishing swiftness, seemed to each warrior to stand directly before him alone. He cut Duryodhana’s bowstring and pierced the Kuru king with sharp shafts. Though all the Kaurava princes attacked him with renewed determination, Satyaki struck each of them with five arrows and wounded Duryodhana with seven more. He then shattered Duryodhana’s bow, cut down his gem-studded banner, slew his horses and charioteer, and left the king helpless upon the field. Overcome with fear, Duryodhana fled from the battle, mounting the chariot of Chitrasena while cries of dismay arose from the Kaurava ranks. Seeing his adversary retreat, Satyaki smiled with serene confidence.
Hearing the tumult, Kritavarma rushed forward and engaged Satyaki in a dreadful encounter. Satyaki slew Kritavarma’s horses, struck down his charioteer, broke his bow, and with a blazing shaft pierced him deeply in the chest. Kritavarma fell unconscious upon his chariot, and Satyaki, believing him slain, prepared to resume his journey toward Arjuna. But Kritavarma soon recovered and later turned to engage Bhima.
Drona, unwilling to permit Satyaki’s passage, now drove directly against him. He struck Satyaki with three arrows that lodged in his shoulders like mountain peaks. Satyaki answered with a shower of shafts, and a magnificent duel ensued. Both warriors displayed equal mastery, cutting each other’s bows, striking down steeds, and harassing charioteers. When Drona shattered Satyaki’s bow, the Yadava hero hurled a massive mace, but Drona reduced it to fragments before it could strike. Instantly Satyaki took up another bow, pierced Drona repeatedly, and with a razor-headed shaft severed the preceptor’s bowstring.
In the midst of this furious contest, Satyaki’s own charioteer was struck and fell unconscious. Undeterred, Satyaki assumed both duties at once, guiding his steeds with one hand while fighting with the other, like a lion amidst a pack of hunters. When his charioteer recovered, he resumed the reins. Satyaki then slew Drona’s charioteer, causing the preceptor’s horses to run wild and uncontrollable. The Kaurava warriors cried out in alarm, commanding one another to halt Drona’s runaway car and rescue their revered teacher. Thus, having thrown Drona into confusion, Satyaki pressed onward.
Having eluded Drona, Kritavarma, and Duryodhana, Satyaki stood tall upon his chariot and said to his charioteer, “By the valor of Krishna and Arjuna, by the immeasurable strength of Bhima, and by the blessings that attend the sons of Pandu, we have crossed the ocean of hostile warriors. Now drive swiftly toward Arjuna.” Urged by these words, the charioteer guided the steeds with such speed that the chariot seemed to soar through the heavens like the radiant car of the Sun.
Then King Sudarshana barred his path. A fierce contest followed, astonishing both armies. Satyaki cut down all the king’s weapons, slew his horses and charioteer, and finally severed his head with a single shaft. Turning to his charioteer, Satyaki said, “Having crossed the vast ocean of Drona’s army, I do not fear these lesser streams. Let not your heart be troubled.” Smiling, the charioteer replied, “Your valor lends wings to my skill. Command me—where shall I drive?”
Surveying the battlefield strewn with fallen elephants, horses, and warriors, Satyaki listened intently until he heard the unmistakable twang of the Gandiva bow. “Drive in that direction,” he said. “By the knowledge imparted to me by Arjuna and by my devotion to the sons of Pandu, I shall fight in such a manner that Duryodhana, consumed with envy, will imagine that two Arjunas now move upon this field.”
As he advanced, the princes of the Kambojas, Yavanas, Kiratas, Shakas, Barbaras, and Paradas rushed upon him with their numerous followers. Satyaki overwhelmed them all, destroying their chiefs and scattering their armies. Once again Duryodhana, Dussasana, Chitrasena, Vivimsati, Shakuni, Dussaha, Durdharsha, and Kratha attempted to encircle him, shouting, “Do not proceed! Stay and fight!”
Satyaki calmly instructed his charioteer to advance at a measured pace. Then, with ceaseless volleys of arrows, he mowed down elephants, horses, and warriors in countless numbers. So swift and comprehensive was his archery that among the vast fourfold Kaurava army there remained not a single warrior who had not been touched by one of Satyaki’s shafts. Thus did Sanjaya recount to King Dhritarashtra the unparalleled prowess of Satyaki, who, like a blazing comet, carved his way through the Kaurava host toward the side of Arjuna.
