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80.THE DEATH OF ABHIMANYU
THE Pandavas, proceeding according to
plan, had closely followed Abhimanyu
when he broke into the Kaurava
formation. But Dhritarashtra's son-in-law
Jayadratha, the gallant king of the
Sindhus, swooped down upon the
Pandavas with all his forces and enabled
the breach in the formation to be
effectively and solidly closed up, so that
the Pandavas found it impossible to force
their way in.
Yudhishthira hurled a javelin and cut
Jayadratha's bow. But in an instant, the
Saindhava took up another bow and sent
unerring shafts at Dharmaputra.
Bhimasena's arrows made deadly work,
crashing down the canopy and flagstaff of
Jayadratha's car. But the Saindhava, was
alert and rearmed himself, each time his
equipment was broken. He killed Bhima's
chariot horses, and the latter had to go into
Satyaki's car.
In this manner, Jayadratha, with stubborn
valor, prevented the Pandavas from
entering in Abhimanyu's wake. The young
hero was thus isolated and surrounded by
the Kaurava forces.
The son of Subhadra was however
undaunted. He attacked all the warriors
around him and slew them in great
number. Like rivers losing themselves in
the ocean, the soldiers that went to attack
him, disappeared before his arrows. The
Kaurava army reeled under Abhimanyu's
onslaughts.
Duryodhana's son Lakshmana, a gallant
young warrior, then charged on
Abhimanyu. When they saw this,
retreating soldiers came back and
supported Lakshmana, showering arrows
on Abhimanyu, like rain falling on a hill.
Still, Arjuna's son was undaunted and, his
shaft came swift and shining, like a
serpent fresh-sloughed, and pierced
Lakshmana.
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