Arjuna said:
1. Then, O Bharata, furnished with arms, all the Nivatakavacha flew in a body towards me furiously in battle,
2. Those mighty car-warriors obstructing the course of the car and uttering loud yells and surrounding me on all sides, enveloped me with downpours of arrows.
3. Then other demons, of great strength armed with spears and Pattishas, hurled at me spears and Bhushundis.
4. That continuous discharge of spears together with maces and clubs fell upon my car.
5. Other dreadful and terrible-looking Nivatakavachas, dexterous in hurling (weapons) and armed with sharpened weapons and bows, rushed at me in fight.
6. I (on my part) in the encounter, discharging several fleet arrows coursing straight, from the Gandiva, pierced each of them with ten (shafts).
7. (And) I drove them back by those arrows of mine sharpened on stones. Then those horses being swiftly driven by Matali,
8. Careered through several courses with the spread of the wind and being dexterously guided by Matali, tramples upon the sons of Diti.
9. (And) Though that mighty car was yoked with hundreds of horses, yet being skillfully driven by Matali, as they began to move, it seemed as if they were a few only.
10. By the press of their hoofs and by the thundering noise of the car-wheels and by the discharge of my arrows hundreds of demons fell dead.
11. Others, holding their bows in their hands, even when deprived of life and their charioteers being slain, were carried (hither and thither) by the horses.
12. (And) all those dexterous in striking, obstructing all sides and directions, became engaged in the fight with various weapons, at which my mind was distressed.
13. Then the prowess of Matali appeared highly wonderful to me in that he guided the swift steeds with ease.
14. O king, then, in the fight, I cut off the Danavas by hundreds and thousands who were furnished with arms, by various swift weapons.
15. O destroyer of foes, the heroic charioteer of Shakra, Matali, seeing me thus course there (on the field of battle) exerting my utmost, became well pleased (with me).
16-17. Then, some (of the Danavas) crushed by the horses and the car, met with destruction and some gave up fighting; while others, in the encounter, challenged by us and afflicted with arrows, opposed me by heavy downpour of shafts.
18. Thereupon, I began to consume them with hundreds and thousands of ornamented swift arrows inspired with Mantras relating to the weapon of Brahma.
19. Then those mighty demons sore pressed by me and fired with anger, afflicted me with simultaneous discharge of clubs, darts and swords.
20. O Bharata, I then, took up that favourite weapon of the lord of the gods, named, Madhava, possessed of exceedingly fiery energy.
21. Then by the power of that weapon, I cut, to a hundred pieces, the swords, tridents and thousands of Tomaras hurled by them.
22. Having destroyed their weapons, I wrathfully pierced watch of them with ten arrows.
23. And the fact that on the battle field mighty arrows like (thick flights of black bees), were discharged from the Gandiva, was admired by Matali.
24. And the skillfulness with which displaying prowess, I cut off, with my shafts, their arrows which completely surrounded me, drew admiration from Matali.
25. Being struck, those Nivatakavachas again completely surrounded me with a mighty discharge of arrows.
26. Having arrested the career of their shafts by excellent, fleet and blazing weapons inspired with mantras, capable of destroying (other) weapons, I pierced them by thousands.
27. Like waters running down from the summit of mountains, in the rainy season, blood began to flow from their mangled bodies.
28. Smitten by mighty, fleet and straight-coursing arrows having the touch of the thunderbolt hurled by Indra, those Danavas became greatly agitated.
29. Their bodies were cut to a hundred pieces and their weapons lost their energy. Then those Nivatakavachas began fighting with me by the help of illusion.
Thus ends the hundred and seventieth chapter, the destruction of the Nivatakavacha Yuddha of the Vana Parva.
Arjuna said:
1. Then commenced a mighty shower of stones from all sides; (and) those stones, big as rocks, sore oppressed me.
2. Thereupon, at that terrible encounter, I crushed (those crags) with showers of fleet arrows, resembling the thunderbolt, discharged from Mahendra's weapon.
3. Those crags being reduced to pieces, there ensued fire and those fragments of stones fell like sparks of flame.
4. Then, those showers of stones having been destroyed, there fell near me a mighty downpour of water having torrents of the size of an axle.
5. Thousands of mighty torrents (of water), falling from the sky, enveloped the entire firmament and (all) the directions and the (ten) cardinal points.
6. (And) I was quite bewildered on account of that (heavy) downpour, blowing of the wind and the yell of the Daityas.
7. Those showers, covering (the entire space) between the heaven and the earth and incessantly falling upon the ground, (quite) confounded me.
8. Thereupon, I discharged that terrible, flaming and celestials weapon, Vishoshana, learnt from Indra, which dried the water up.
9. The showers of stones being destroyed and the watery shower dried up by me, O Bharata, the Danavas created illusions of fire and wind.
10. Then I totally destroyed the fire by Salila (watery) weapon; and arrested the fury of the wind by the mighty Shaila (rock) weapon.
11. (And), O Bharata, on the destruction of these (illusions), the Danavas, irrepressible in battle, produced (simultaneously) several (other) illusions.
12. Then commenced a terrible shower of rocks and of the dreadful weapons of fire and wind, making the hair stand on the end (with terror).
13. And that downpour (of rocks and weapons) oppressed me in battle. Then there spread on all sides a dismal darkness.
14. When the world was enveloped in that terrible and dense darkness, the horses drew back, Matali stumbled,
15. And the golden whip fell on the ground from his hand. O best of the Bharata, getting terrified, he repeatedly cried out “Where are you?”
16. (And), when he lost his senses, I also was seized with a terrible fear. And (thus stupefied) he said to me in a hurry,
17. “O Sinless being, in days of yore a terrible battle was fought between the gods and the demons for the sake of nectar, which I witnessed.
18. (And) in that mighty and terrible encounter, which took place for the destruction of the (Asura) Shambara, I acted as the charioteer of the lord of the gods.
19. Again, I drove the horses on the occasion of Vritra's destruction and also witnessed that awful and terrible encounter with the son of Virochana.
20. O Pandava, I witnessed all those terrible encounters. But never before (this) did I lose my senses.
21. Verily, it has been ordained by Pitamaha (Brahma) that the creation will be destroyed (at this encounter). For I find no other reason for this battle, if it be not for the destruction of the whole universe.”
22. Hearing these words (of Matali) and pacifying my mind with my own efforts and deliberating (within myself) how to battle this mighty illusion created by the Danavas,
23. I spoke to terrified Matali, “behold the prowess of my arms and the power of my weapons and that of my bow Gandiva.
24. O charioteer do not be afraid, calm yourself. I will, this day, destroy the terrible illusion created by them and also this dense darkness, by illusion-creating weapon.”
25. O lord of men, having said this, I produced an illusion by the means of weapons capable of stupefying the whole creating, for the welfare of the celestials.
26. That illusion being dispelled, some of the foremost amongst the Asuras, possessed of unrivalled prowess, again created various sorts of illusions,
27. (In consequence of which) now the world displayed itself, now it was enveloped in darkness, now it disappeared (from view) and, now again, it was submerged into water.
28. And when it displayed itself again to view, Matali with the well-conducted steeds, began to course in battle field which made the hair stand erect (with fear).
29. Then the furious Nivatakavachas flew towards me. Seizing this opportunity, I began to send them to the abode of Yama.
30. In that encounter, fatal to the Danavas, which was still regaining, all on a sudden, I could not behold those demons who concealed themselves under the cover of illusion.
Thus ends the hundred and seventy-first chapter, the illusory war in the Nivatakavacha Yuddha of the Vana Parva.