Sanjaya, addressing Dhritarashtra, spoke with grave intensity: “O King, listen with a steady mind. The Pandavas, impelled by urgency to rescue the valiant Abhimanyu, advanced with irresistible force, cleaving through your armies and casting the resources of the Kauravas into confusion and despair. The warriors of Panchalas, Yadavas, Pandyas, Kekayas, and Matsyas, along with King Virata and Yudhishthira, surged forward like a tempestuous wind. Yet, their mighty advance was arrested as though by an immovable mountain, embodied in Jayadratha.”
Hearing this, the king was struck with wonder and doubt, and said: “How could the sons of Kunti, though united in strength and purpose, be turned back by a single warrior? By whose grace did Saindhava acquire such extraordinary might as to restrain heroes of incomparable prowess?”
Sanjaya replied with composed clarity: “During the exile of the Pandavas in the forest, Jayadratha once behaved with arrogance toward Draupadi. For this offense, he incurred the fierce wrath of Bhima and was grievously humiliated, though his life was spared through Draupadi’s compassion. Consumed thereafter by shame and resolve, he undertook severe penance and propitiated Shiva. When granted a boon, he sought the power to withstand his enemies, and thus Shiva ordained that he would be able, for a single day in battle, to hold back all the Pandavas save Arjuna. It is by this divine grace that he now stands as a barrier, preventing them from reaching Abhimanyu.”
Adorned in regal splendor, Saindhava rode forth in a chariot yoked with the finest steeds of Sindhu, embellished with gold, silver, and radiant gems. Its carvings shimmered like constellations beneath the sun, while a lofty banner, studded with jewels, cast flashing rays in all directions. Above him rose a pure white umbrella, resplendent like the full moon. Inflamed by pride in his boon, and roaring like a lion, he rushed against the Pandavas without fear. With swift precision, he struck Satyaki with three arrows, Bhima with eight, Dhrishtadyumna with twenty, and Shikhandi and Virata with ten each. The sons of Draupadi were pierced with fifteen arrows apiece, the Kekayas with twenty-five, and even Yudhishthira was struck with seventy shafts, as Saindhava enveloped the battlefield in a storm of weapons.
Though Yudhishthira shattered his bow, Saindhava swiftly seized another and renewed his assault with undiminished fury. Bhima, wielding a spear, broke his bow and umbrella, yet Saindhava retaliated with equal force, even destroying Bhima’s chariot. Forced to mount Satyaki’s vehicle, Bhima rejoined the fray as your armies roared like the ocean. Though many warriors assailed Saindhava, none could move him from his steadfast resolve, for the boon of Shiva fortified his every action.
Meanwhile, the battlefield lay strewn with the wreckage of war—fallen warriors, shattered chariots, lifeless elephants, and broken weapons—forming obstacles that hindered the Pandava advance. Within this chaos, Abhimanyu alone stood like a blazing fire, cutting down the fourfold army with relentless valor, even as Saindhava held back all who sought to aid him. Thus, the courage and might of the Pandavas were momentarily checked by a single warrior empowered by divine grace.
At that hour, Drona, exerting extraordinary effort, rallied the Kaurava forces and encircled Abhimanyu. Yet the young hero’s spirit remained unbroken. He shattered chariots, scattered elephant ranks, and laid waste to cavalry without hesitation. Amidst this fury, Vrishasena confronted him, releasing swift and piercing arrows that momentarily troubled the prince.
With eyes gleaming like rubies and resolve blazing within, Abhimanyu retaliated with astonishing skill. His arrows struck the mouths of horses, slew charioteers, broke bows, and pierced foes with deadly precision. Vrishasena, grievously wounded, was borne away by his horses in agony, his mouth sealed with arrows, barely clinging to life.
Still pursuing his enemies, Abhimanyu was next confronted by the king of Vasati, who hurled a volley of seventy arrows at him. Undaunted, the son of Arjuna answered with a single, fatal shaft that struck the king down. The fallen monarch writhed in agony before life departed, and at the sight of his death, the assembled kings, inflamed with rage, surged forward like a flood-swollen river against the youthful warrior.
Sanjaya continued, “The scene, O King, resembled a swarm of locusts rushing into a blazing fire. Yet even amidst such overwhelming assault, Abhimanyu stood unconquered, driving your forces once more into despair. The battle grew ever more terrible, its fury mounting with each passing moment, as destiny itself seemed to unfold upon that blood-soaked field.”
