Sanjaya spoke, recounting to Dhritarashtra the stirring movements of that day’s battle, wherein Arjuna, beholding the dreadful sport of death enacted by Bhagadatta’s colossal elephant Suprateeka, turned to Krishna with grave urgency. He declared that the army must be swiftly pierced, for the elephant, tireless and indomitable, possessed the strength to rend entire divisions and endure the mightiest of weapons; to confront it was to invite certain death. Therefore, he urged that they advance together and relieve Dharmaraja of the mounting burden, lest Bhima too suffer harm. At these words, Krishna guided the chariot toward the perilous quarter, while a united host of elite warriors closed in, pouring forth torrents of arrows to impede their course. Fourteen thousand charioteers encircled them, pressing hard upon Arjuna’s path.
For a moment, Arjuna pondered deeply whether he should break through to aid Dharmaraja or first annihilate this formidable force that barred his way; both aims bore equal urgency, yet he resolved that the immediate threat must be crushed. With that decision, he drew the Gandiva, whose resounding twang filled the space between heaven and earth with dread, and blew the divine conch Devadatta, whose reverberation struck terror into all hearts. Then, unleashing celestial weapons, he shattered umbrellas, standards, and banners; he broke fans, drums, conches, and bells; he sundered yokes, bridles, wheels, and axles; elephants fell with severed limbs and trunks, horses with broken forms, warriors with bows and arrows scattered, swords, shields, armours, ornaments, crowns, and jewels strewn across the field. Limbs, heads, and bodies lay heaped in ghastly mounds, mingled with streams of blood and gleaming gems, so that the field resembled a strange and terrible mountain of ruin, astonishing all who beheld it and feeding the dread appetites of spirits and wild beings. The celestials themselves, witnessing this unparalleled display of mastery, applauded Arjuna’s prowess.
Having accomplished this fierce destruction, Krishna turned the chariot again toward the Pandava forces. Yet a few survivors, led by Susharma, undaunted by the devastation, pursued Arjuna with loud cries, challenging him to stand and fight. Their taunts stirred Arjuna, who asked Krishna for counsel, uncertain whether to proceed or to engage. Krishna at once wheeled the chariot toward Susharma, and Arjuna, fixing him with a keen gaze, shattered his banner, slew his brothers, and pierced him with sharp shafts, casting him senseless upon the field.
Casting his eyes toward the Pandava ranks, Arjuna beheld confusion and retreat, dust rising like storm-clouds, and the field thrown into turmoil. Resolving without delay, he directed Krishna toward the mighty Suprateeka and its lord Bhagadatta. With the thunderous twang of the Gandiva and the echoing blast of Devadatta, he advanced and clashed with the towering elephant. Bhagadatta, filled with fierce pride, assailed Arjuna with a storm of arrows, while Arjuna countered every weapon and restrained the beast with skillful shafts, driving it into a frenzy. Spreading a false rumour of their death, Bhagadatta urged the elephant forward in reckless fury, but Krishna, with swift mastery, guided the chariot away from its crushing charge, though the beast wrought havoc among the Pandava soldiers.
Then, exchanging a glance of resolve, Krishna and Arjuna advanced again. Bhagadatta struck Krishna with arrows, but Arjuna instantly broke his bow and rained shafts upon him. Iron bolts hurled by Bhagadatta were shattered mid-air, and the armour and coverings of the elephant were torn away, leaving it like a cloudless mountain. When Bhagadatta launched a mighty Shakti weapon, Arjuna severed it in flight and shattered his opponent’s umbrella, though in return Bhagadatta struck Arjuna’s crown. Admiring the skill yet undeterred, Arjuna pierced him with seventy arrows, grievously wounding him.
In rising fury, Bhagadatta employed a sacred and terrible weapon, blazing with fire and smoke, striking terror across the battlefield. At that moment, Krishna stood as Arjuna’s shield; the weapon, touching his chest, transformed into a radiant garland, adorning him like lightning upon a dark cloud. Astonished and perplexed by this wondrous sight, Arjuna spoke with reverence and concern, questioning whether such intervention was fitting, for Krishna had vowed not to partake in the battle, and such an act seemed both a breach of that oath and a diminishment of the warrior’s own honour.
Thus, Krishna, with gentle wisdom, began to enlighten Arjuna, even as Sanjaya faithfully conveyed these events to the listening Dhritarashtra, revealing the profound interplay of valour, destiny, and divine grace upon the field
