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The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 by or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli

o >> or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli >> The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2




"Bhishma continued,--Having said these words unto those gods and Rishis
in days of yore, the illustrious Grandsire, dismissing them all, repaired
to his own abode. And the gods and the Gandharvas, and the Munis and the
Apsaras also, having listened to those words spoken by Brahman, were
filled with delight and repaired to heaven. Even this was heard by me, O
sire, from Rishis of cultured soul talking in their assembly, of
Vasudeva, that ancient one. And O thou that art well-versed in
scriptures, I heard this from Rama, the son of Jamadagni, and Markandeya
of great wisdom, and Vyasa and Narada also. Having learnt all this and
heard of the illustrious Vasudeva as the Eternal Lord, the Supreme God of
all the worlds, and the great Master, from whom hath sprung Brahman
himself, the Father of the Universe, why should not that Vasudeva be
adored and worshipped by men? Forbidden wert thou before, O sire, by
sages of cultured souls, (who said unto thee)--Never go to war with that
Vasudeva armed with bow as also with the Pandavas,--This, from folly,
thou couldst not apprehend. I regard thee therefore, as a wicked Rakshsa.
Thou art, besides, enveloped in darkness. It is for this that thou hatest
Govinda and Dhananjaya the son of Pandu, for who else among men would
hate the divine Nara and Narayana? It is for this, O king, that I say
unto thee that this one is Eternal and Unfading, pervading the whole
Universe, Unchanging, the Ruler, Creator and Upholder of all, and the
truly Existent. He it is who upholdeth the three worlds. He is the
Supreme Lord of all mobile and immobile creatures, and He is the great
Master, He is warrior, He is Victory, He is Victor, and He is the Lord of
all nature. O king, He is full of goodness and divested of all the
qualities of Darkness and Passion. There, where Krishna is, there
righteousness is; and there is victory where righteousness is. It is by
the Yoga of his Supreme Excellence, and the Yoga of his Self, that the
sons of Pandu, O king, are supported. Victory, therefore, will surely be
theirs. He it is that always imparteth to the Pandavas and understanding
endued with righteousness, and strength in battle; and He it is that
always protecteth them from danger. He is the Eternal God, pervading all
beings, and ever blessed. He, of whom thou hadst asked me, is known by
the name of Vasudeva. He it is whom Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas
and Sudras, having distinctive features of their own, humbly serve and
worship with restrained hearts and performing their own duties. He it is
who, towards the close of the Dwapara Yuga and the beginning of the Kali
Yuga, is sung of with Sankarshana, by believers with devotion. It is that
Vasudeva that createth, Yuga after Yuga, the worlds of the gods and the
mortals, all cities girt by the sea, and the region of human
habitation.--"



SECTION LXVII

"Duryodhana said, 'In all the worlds Vasudeva is spoken of as the Supreme
Being. I desire, O Grandsire, to know his origin and glory."

"Bhishma said, 'Vasudeva is the Supreme Being. He is the God of all Gods.
None superior to him of eyes like lotus-petals is to be seen, O bull of
Bharata's race. Markandeya speaketh of Govinda as the Most Wonderful and
the Most high, as the All-being, as the All-soul, as the Highest soul,
and as the Supreme male Being. Water, Air, and Fire,--these three were
created by Him. That Divine Master and Lord of all the worlds created
this Earth. That Supreme Being of illustrious soul laid himself down on
the waters. And that Divine Being made up of all kinds of energy slept
thereon in Yoga. From his mouth He created Fire, and from his breath, the
Wind. Of unfading glory, He created from his mouth Speech and the Vedas.
It was thus that he created first the Worlds and also the gods along with
the diverse classes of Rishis. And he created decay and death also of all
creatures, as well as birth and growth. He is Righteousness and of
righteous soul. He is the giver of boons and the giver of all (our)
wishes. He is the Actor and Action, and He is himself the Divine
Master.[387] He first made the Past, the Present, and the Future; He is
the Creator of the Universe. He is of illustrious soul; He is the Master
possessed of unfading glory. He created Sankarshana, the First-born of
all creatures. He created the divine Sesha who is known as Ananta and who
upholdeth all creatures and the Earth with her mountains. Of Supreme
Energy, He it is whom the regenerate ones know by Yoga meditation. Sprung
from the secretions of his ear, the great Asura known by the name of
Madhu, fierce and of fierce deeds and entertaining a fierce intent and
about to destroy Brahman, was slain by that Supreme Being. And O sire, in
consequence of Madhu's slaughter, the gods, the Danavas, and human
beings, and Rishis, call Janardana the slayer of Madhu. He is the great
Boar. He is the great Lion, and He is the Three-stepped Lord.[388] He is
the Mother and the Father of all living creatures. There never was, nor
will be, any superior to Him of eyes like lotus-petals. From His mouth He
created the Brahmanas: and from His two arms the Kshatriyas, and from His
thighs, O king, He created the Vaisyas, and from His feet He created the
Sudras. One waiting dutifully on Him, observant of vows with ascetic
austerities on days of the full-moon and the new-moon, is sure to obtain
the Divine Kesava, that refuge of all embodied creatures that essence of
Brahma and of Yoga. Kesava is the higher Energy, the Grandsire of all the
worlds. Him, O king, the sages call Hrishikesa (the lord of the senses).
Him also should all know as the Preceptor, the Father, and the Master.
Inexhaustible regions (of blessedness) are won by him with whom Krishna
is gratified. He also who, in a place of fear, seeketh the protection of
Kesava, and he who frequently readeth this description, becometh happy
and endued with every prosperity. Those men who attain to Krishna are
never beguiled, Janardana always saveth those that are sunk in great
terrors. Knowing this truly, O Bharata, Yudhishthira, with his whole
soul, O king, hath sought the shelter of the highly blessed Kesava, the
Lord of Yoga, and the Lord of the Earth."



SECTION LXVIII

"Bhishma said, 'Hear from me, O king, this hymn that was uttered by
Brahman himself. This hymn was in days of old communicated by regenerate
Rishis and the gods (to men) on Earth-Narada described thee as the Master
and the Lord of the god of gods and all the Sadhyas and the celestials,
and as one acquainted with the nature of the Creator of the worlds.
Markandeya spoke of thee as the Past, the Present, and the Future, and
the sacrifice of sacrifices, and the austerity of austerities. The
illustrious Bhrigu said of thee that thou art the God of the gods, that
thine is the ancient form of Vishnu. Dwaipayana said of thee that thou
art Vasudeva of the Vasus, the establisher of Sakra, and the God of gods
and all creatures. In days of old on the occasion of procreating
creatures, the sages spoke of thee as Daksha, the Father of creation.
Angiras said that thou art the creator of all beings. Devala said of thee
that the unmanifest all is thy body, and the manifest is in thy mind, and
that the gods are all the result of thy breath.[389] With thy heads is
pervaded the heavens, and thy two arms support the Earth. In thy stomach
are three worlds and thou art the Eternal Being. Even thus do men exalted
by asceticism know thee. Thou art the Sat of Sat, with Rishis gratified
with sight of Self.[390] With royal sages of liberal minds, never
retreating from battle and having morality for their highest end, thou, O
slayer of Madhu, art, the sole refuse. Even thus is that illustrious and
Supreme Being, viz., Hari, adored and worshipped by Sanatkumar and other
ascetics endued with Yoga. The truth about Kesava, O sire, is now
narrated to thee, both in brief and detail. Turn thy heart in love to
Kesava.'"

Sanjaya continued, "Hearing this sacred story, thy son, O great king,
began to regard highly both Kesava and these mighty car-warriors, viz.,
the sons of Pandu. Then, O monarch, Bhishma the son of Santanu once more
addressed thy son, saying, 'Thou hast now heard truly, O king, about the
glory of the high-souled Kesava and of Nara about which thou hadst asked
me. Thou hast also heard about the object for which both Nara and
Narayana have taken their births among men. Thou hast also been told the
reason why those heroes are invincible and have never been vanquished in
battle, and why also, O king, the sons of Pandu are incapable of being
slain in battle, by anybody. Krishna beareth great love for the
illustrious sons of Pandu. It is for this, O king of kings, that I say,
'Let peace be made with the Pandavas.' Restraining thy passions enjoy
thou the Earth with thy mighty brothers (around thee). By disregarding
the divine Nara and Narayana, thou shalt certainly be destroyed. Having
said these words, thy sire, became silent, O monarch, and dismissing the
king, entered his tent. And the king also came back to his (own) tent,
having worshipped the illustrious grandsire. And then, O bull of
Bharata's race, he laid himself down on his white bed for passing the
night in sleep."



SECTION LXIX

Sanjaya said, "After the night had passed away and the sun had risen, the
two armies, O king, approached each other for battle. Beholding each
other, each rushed in united ranks towards the other excited with rage
and desirous of vanquishing the other. And in consequence of thy evil
policy, O king, the Pandavas and the Dhartarashtras thus rushed, cased in
mail and forming battle-array, for striking each other. And the array
that Bhishma protected from all sides, O king, was of the shape of a
Makara.[391] And so the Pandavas also, O king, protected the array they
had formed (of their troops). Then thy sire Devavrata, O great king, that
foremost of car-warriors, proceeded in advance, supported by a large
division of cars. And others, viz., car-warriors, infantry, elephants,
and cavalry, all followed him, each stationed in the place allotted. And
beholding them prepared for battle, the illustrious sons of Pandu arrayed
their troops in that invincible and prince of arrays called the
Syena.[392] And in the beak of that array shone Bhimasena of great
strength. And in its two eyes were the invincible Sikhandin and
Dhrishtadyumna of Prishata's race. And in the head was the heroic Satyaki
of prowess incapable of being baffled. And in its neck was Arjuna shaking
his Gandiva. And in its left wing was the high-souled and blessed Drupada
with his son and supported by an akshauhini of all forces. And the king
of the Kekayas, owning an akshauhini, formed the right wing (of that
array). And in its back were the sons of Draupadi, and Subhadra's son of
great prowess. And in its tail was the heroic king Yudhishthira himself,
of excellent prowess, supported by his twin brothers. Then in the battle
(that ensued). Bhima, penetrating the Makara array (of the Kauravas)
through its mouth, and approaching Bhishma, covered him with his shafts.
Then in that great battle, Bhishma possessed of great prowess shot his
mighty weapons, confounding the combatants of the Pandavas disposed in
battle-array. And when the combatants (of the Pandava army) were thus
confounded, Dhananjaya, speedily proceeding, pierced Bhishma at the van
of battle with a thousand arrows. And counteracting, in that conflict,
the weapons shot by Bhishma, Arjuna stood ready for the combat, supported
by his own division filled with cheerfulness.[393] Then king Duryodhana,
that foremost of mighty men, that great car-warrior, beholding that
terrible carnage of his troops and remembering the slaughter of his
brothers (on the previous day), came quickly towards Bharadwaja's son,
and addressing him, said, 'O preceptor, O sinless one, thou art ever my
well-wisher,--Relying on thee as also on the grandsire Bhishma,
ourselves, hope to vanquish without doubt the very gods in battle, let
alone the sons of Pandu that are destitute of energy and prowess. Blessed
be thou, act in such away that the Pandavas may be slain. Thus addressed
in battle by thy son, Drona penetrated into the Pandava array in the very
sight of Satyaki. Then O Bharata, Satyaki checked the son of Bharadwaja,
(and thereupon) ensued a battle that was fierce in its incidents and
awful to behold. Then Bharadwaja's son excited with rage and endued with
great prowess, as if smiling the while, pierced the grandson of Sini with
ten shafts at his shoulder-joint. And Bhimasena also, excited with rage,
pierced Bharadwaja's son (with many shafts), desirous of protecting
Satyaki, O king, from Drona that foremost of all warriors. Then Drona and
Bhishma, and Salya also, O sire, excited with rage, covered Bhimasena, in
that battle, with their shafts. Thereupon Abhimanyu excited with wrath,
and the sons of Draupadi, O sire, pierced with their sharp-pointed shafts
all those warriors with upraised weapons. Then in that fierce battle, the
great bowman Sikhandin rushed against those two mighty warriors, viz.,
Bhishma and Drona who, excited with rage, had (thus) fallen upon the
Pandavas. Firmly grasping his bow whose twang resembled the roar of the
clouds, that hero, shrouding the very Sun with his arrows, quickly
covered his antagonists therewith. The grandsire of the Bharatas,
however, getting Sikhandin before him, avoided him, remembering the
femininity of his sex. Then, O king, urged by thy son, Drona rushed to
battle, desirous of protecting Bhishma in that stress. Sikhandin,
however, approaching Drona that foremost of all wielders of weapons,
avoided, from fear, that warrior resembling the blazing fire that appears
at the end of the Yuga. Then, O king, thy son with a large force,
desirous of winning great glory, proceeded to protect Bhishma. And the
Pandavas also proceeded, O king, firmly setting their hearts upon
victory, and the battle then that took place between the combatants of
both armies desirous of victory and fame, was fierce and highly
wonderful, resembling that (in days of yore) between the gods and Danavas.



SECTION LXX

Sanjaya said, "Then Bhishma the son of Santanu fought fiercely,[394]
desirous of protecting the sons from the fear of Bhimasena. And the
battle that then took place between the kings of the Kaurava and the
Pandava armies was awful in the extreme and destructive of great heroes.
And in that general engagement, so fierce and terrible, tremendous was
the din that arose, touching the very heavens. And in consequence of the
shrieks of huge elephants and the neigh of steeds and the blare of
conches and beat of drums, the uproar was deafening. Fighting for the
sake of victory, the mighty combatants endued with great prowess roared
at one another like bulls in a cow-pen. And heads cut off in that battle
with keen-edged shafts, incessantly falling, created, O bull of Bharata's
race, the appearance of a stony shower in the welkin. Indeed, O bull of
Bharata's race, innumerable were the heads lying on the field of battle,
decked with ear-rings and turbans and resplendent with ornaments of gold.
And the earth was covered with limbs cut off with broad-headed shafts,
with heads decked with ear-rings, and with arms adorned with ornaments.
And in a moment the whole field was strewn over with bodies cased in
mail, with arms decked with ornaments, with faces beautiful as the moon
and having eyes with reddish corners, and with every limb, O king, of
elephants, steeds and men. And the dust (raised by the warriors) looked
like a thick cloud, and the bright implements of destruction, like
flashes of lightning. And the noise made by the weapons resembled the
roar of thunder. And that fierce and awful passage-at-arms, O Bharata,
between the Kurus and the Pandavas caused a very river of blood to flow
there. And in that terrible, fierce, and awful battle causing the hair
stand on end, Kshatriya warriors incapable of defeat incessantly poured
their arrowy showers. And the elephants of both thy army and the enemy's,
afflicted with those arrowy showers, shrieked aloud and ran hither and
thither in fury. And in consequence of (the twang of) bows, endued with
great energy, of fierce and heroic warriors excited with fury, and of
flapping of their bow-strings against their leathern fences, nothing
could be distinguished.[395] And all over the field which looked like a
lake of blood, headless trunks stood up, and the kings bent upon slaying
their foes, rushed to battle. And brave warriors of immeasurable energy
and possessed of arms resembling stout bludgeons, slew one another with
arrows and darts and maces and scimitars. And elephants, pierced with
arrows and deprived of riders to guide them with hooks, and steeds
destitute of riders, wildly ran in all directions. And many warriors, O
best of the Bharatas, belonging to both thy army and that of the foe,
deeply pierced with shafts jumped up and fell down. And in that encounter
between Bhima and Bhishma, heaps of arms and heads, as also of bows and
maces and spiked clubs and hands and thighs, of legs and ornaments and
bracelets, were seen lying over the field. And here and there over the
field, O king, were seen large bodies of unretreating elephants and
steeds and cars. And the Kshatriya warriors, urged on by fate, slew one
another with maces, swords, lances, and straight shafts. And others
endued with great heroism and accomplished in fight, encountered one
another with their bare arms that resembled spiked clubs made of iron.
And other heroic warriors of thy army, engaged with the combatants of the
Pandava host, fought on slaying one another with clenched fists and
knees, and slaps and blows, O king. And with the fallen and falling
warriors and those weltering in agony on the ground, the field of battle
everywhere became, O king, terrible to behold, and car-warriors, deprived
of the cars and grasping excellent swords, rushed at one another,
desirous of slaughter. Then king Duryodhana, surrounded by a large
division of Kalingas, and placing Bhishma ahead, rushed towards the
Pandavas. And so the Pandava combatants also, supporting Vrikodara, and
owning fleet animals, rushed, excited with rage, against Bhishma."



SECTION LXXI

Sanjaya said, "Beholding his brothers and the other kings engaged in
battle with Bhishma, Dhananjaya, with weapons upraised, rushed against
the son of Ganga. Hearing the blare of Panchajanya and the twang of the
bow Gandiva, and seeing also the standard of Pritha's son, a great fear
entered our hearts. And the standard that we behold, O king, of the
wielder of Gandiva bore the device of lion's tail and looked like a
blazing mountain in the welkin. Beautiful and of celestial workmanship,
it was variegated with diverse hues, and looking like a risen comet it
could not be obstructed by trees. And in that great battle, the warriors
beheld Gandiva, the back of whose staff was decked with pure gold, and
which looked beautiful like a flash of lightning in the midst of a mass
of clouds in the firmament. And while slaying the combatants of thy army,
the shouts we heard uttered by Arjuna seemed to resemble the loud roars
of Indra himself, and the slaps also of his palms were frightfully loud.
Like a roaring mass of clouds charged with lightning and aided by a
raging tempest, Arjuna incessantly poured his arrowy showers on all
sides, completely shrouding the ten points of the compass. Dhananjaya
then possessed of terrible weapons, quickly proceeded towards the son of
Ganga. Deprived of four senses in consequence of his weapons, we could
not then distinguish the East from the West. And thy warriors, then, O
bull of Bharata's race,--their animals tired, steeds slain, and hearts
depressed,--thoroughly confounded[396] and huddling close to one another,
sought Bhishma's protection along with all thy sons. And in that battle
Bhishma the son of Santanu became their protector. Struck with fear,
car-warriors jumping down from their cars, cavalry soldiers jumping down
from the backs of their steeds, and the foot-soldiers where they stood,
all began to fall down on the earth. Hearing the twang of Gandiva that
resembled the roar of the thunder, all thy warriors were struck with fear
and seemed, O Bharata, to melt away. Then, O king, with many huge and
fleet steeds of the Kamvoja breed, and surrounded by many thousand of
Gopas with a large Gopayana force and supported by the Madras, the
Sauviras, the Gandharas and the Trigartas, and surrounded by all the
principal Kalingas, the king of the Kalingas, and king Jayadratha
accompanied by all the kings and supported by a large force of diverse
races with Dussasana at their head, and fourteen thousand principal
horsemen, urged by thy son, surrounded the son of Suvala (for supporting
him). Then in that battle, all the Pandavas, united together, and riding
on separate cars and animals, began, O bull of Bharata's race, to
slaughter thy troops.[397] And the dust raised by car-warriors and steeds
and foot-soldiers, looking like a mass of clouds, made the field of
battle exceedingly awful. And with a large force consisting of elephants,
steeds and cars, and armed with lances and bearded darts and broad-headed
shafts, Bhishma engaged in battle with the diadem decked (Arjuna). And
the king of Avanti engaged with the ruler of Kasi, and the ruler of the
Sindhus engaged with Bhimasena. And king Yudhishthira with his sons and
counsellors engaged with Salya, the famous chief of the Madras. And
Vikarna engaged with Sahadeva, and Chitrasena with Sikhandin. And the
Matsyas, O king, engaged with Duryodhana, and Sakuni; and Drupada and
Chekitana, and that mighty car-warrior Satyaki engaged in battle with the
high-souled Drona aided by his son. And Kripa and Kritavarman both rushed
against Dhrishtadyumna. And thus, all over the field, rushing bodies of
horses, of elephants and cars, engaged with one another in battle. And
although there were no clouds in the sky, yet flashes of lightning were
seen. And all the points of the compass were covered with dust. And, O
king, fierce meteors were seen failing with thundering noise. And violent
winds blew and a shower of dust fell from above. And the sun, covered by
the dust raised by the troops, disappeared in the firmament. And all the
warriors, covered by that dust and battling with weapons, were deprived
of their senses. And the sound made by weapons, all capable of
penetrating through every armour and hurled from heroic arms, became a
tremendous uproar. And, O bull of Bharata's race, weapons hurled from
excellent arms and possessed of stellar brightness, illumined the whole
welkin. And variegated shields made of bull's hides and embossed with
gold were strewn, O bull of Bharata's race, all over the field. And heads
and limbs were seen falling on all sides, cut off with swords and
scimitars possessed of solar effulgence. And great car-warriors, the
wheels, axles, and boxes of whose cars were broken, fell down on the
ground, their steeds slain and their tall standards tumbling down.[398]
And many car-warriors having been slain, their steeds, mangled with
weapons, fell down as they ran dragging the cars (to which they were
yoked). And, in many places over the field, excellent steeds, afflicted
with arrows, with limbs mangled, and with their traces on, ran, dragging
the car-yokes after them. And many car-warriors, with their charioteers
and steeds, were seen, O king, to be crushed by single elephants endued
with great strength.[399] And in that battle, in the midst of large
forces, many elephants, scenting the odour of the temporal juice of their
compeers, began to snuff the breeze repeatedly. And the whole field was
strewn with slain elephants, deprived of life by means of broad-headed
shafts and falling down with the wooden edifices and the guides on their
backs. And many elephants, in, the midst of large forces crushed, with
the standards and warriors on their backs, by huge compeers urged by
their guides, fell down on the field. And many car-shafts, O king, were
seen to be broken in that battle by huge elephants using their trunks,
each of which resembled the trunk of the prince of elephants (called
Airavata). And many car-warriors also, in that conflict, the Jalas of
whose cars had been broken, were like branches of trees dragged down by
tuskers, seized by the hair of their heads and, thrashed violently on the
ground, were crushed into shapeless masses. And other huge elephants,
dragging cars that were entangled with other cars, ran in all directions
shrieking loudly. And those elephants, thus dragging those cars, looked
like others of their species dragging lotus-stalks growing in lakes. And
thus was that vast field of battle strewn over with cavalry soldiers and
foot-soldiers and great car-warriors and standards."



SECTION LXXII

Sanjaya said, "Sikhandin with Virata king of the Matsyas speedily
approached Bhishma that invincible and mighty bowman. And Dhananjaya
encountered Drona and Kripa, and Vikarna and many other kings, brave in
battle, all mighty bowmen endued with great strength, as also that mighty
bowman the ruler of the Sindhus supported by his friends and kinsmen and
many kings of the west and the south also, O bull of Bharata's race. And
Bhimasena proceeded against that mighty bowman, viz., thy vindictive son
Duryodhana, and also against Dussaha. And Sahadeva proceeded against
those invincible warriors, viz., Sakuni and that mighty car-warrior
Uluka, those great bowmen, who were sire and son. And that mighty
car-warrior Yudhishthira, deceitfully treated by thy son, proceeded in
that battle, O king, against the elephant division (of the Kauravas). And
that son of Pandu and Madri, viz., the heroic Nakula capable of wringing
tears from the foe, engaged in battle with the excellent car-warriors of
the Trigartas. And those invincible warriors, viz., Satyaki and
Chekitana, and the mighty son of Subhadra, proceeded against Salya and
the Kaikeyas. And Dhrishtaketu and the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha, both
invincible in battle, proceeded against the car-division of thy sons. And
that mighty car-warrior Dhrishtadyumna, that generalissimo (of the
Pandava forces) of immeasurable soul, engaged in battle, O king, with
Drona of fierce achievements. And it was thus that those heroic and
mighty bowmen of thy army and the Pandavas, engaged in battle, began to
strike one another. And when the sun had reached the meridian and the sky
was brilliantly illumined by his rays, the Kauravas and the Pandavas
began to slay one another. Then cars, furnished with standards from whose
tops pennons were afloat, variegated with gold and covered with
tiger-skins, looked beautiful as they moved on the field of battle. And
the shouts of warriors engaged in battle from desire of vanquishing one
another, became as loud as leonine roars. And that encounter which we
beheld between the heroic Srinjayas and the Kurus, was fierce in the
extreme and highly wonderful. And in consequence of the arrows shot all
around, we could not, O king, distinguish, O chastiser of foes, the
firmament, the sun and the cardinal and the subsidiary points of the
compass. And the splendour, like that of the blue lotus, of darts with
polished points, of bearded lances hurled (at the foe), of well-tempered
sabres and scimitars, of variegated coats of mail and of the ornaments
(on the persons of the warriors), illumined the welkin and the cardinal
and the subsidiary points with its effulgence. And the field of battle in
many places, O king, shone in consequence of the bodies of monarchs whose
effulgence resembled that of the moon and the sun. And brave
car-warriors, tigers among men shone in that battle, O king, like the
planets in the firmament. And Bhishma, that foremost of car-warriors,
excited with rage, checked the mighty Bhimasena in the very sight of the
troops. And the impetuous shafts shot by Bhishma, furnished with golden
wings, and whetted on stone, and rubbed with oil pierced Bhima in that
battle. Then Bhimasena endued with great strength hurled at him, O
Bharata, a dart of fierce impetuosity that resembled a wrathful snake.
But Bhishma in that combat cut off with straight shafts that dart with
staff made of gold and difficult of being borne, as it coursed
impetuously towards him. And with another broad-headed shaft, sharp and
well-tempered, he cut off Bhimasena's bow, O Bharata, into two parts.
Then, O king, in that battle, Satyaki, coming quickly towards Bhishma,
pierced thy sire with innumerable keen-edged and sharp-pointed shafts of
fierce impetuosity shot from his bowstring drawn to the ear. Then
Bhishma, aiming an exceedingly fierce shaft, felled the charioteer of the
Vrishni hero from his box in the car. And when the charioteer of
Satyaki's car was thus slain, his steeds, O king, bolted away. Endued
with the speed of the tempest or the mind, they ran wild over the field.
Then cries were uttered by the whole army which became a loud uproar. And
exclamation of oh and alas arose from the high-souled warriors of the
Pandava army. And those cries-said--Run, seize, check the horses, go in
haste. And this uproar followed Yuyudhana's car. Meanwhile, Bhishma the
son of Santanu began to slay the Pandava forces like Indra slaying the
Danavas. But the Panchalas and the Somakas, though slain by Bhishma thus,
forming yet a laudable resolution, rushed towards Bhishma. And other
warriors of the Pandava army, headed by Dhrishtadyumna, and desirous of
slaughtering the ranks of thy son, rushed towards Santanu's son in that
battle. And so also, O king, the warriors of thy army, headed by Bhishma
and Drona, impetuously rushed towards their foes. And thereupon another
battle took place."

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We do not know the women's names, but their voices are quite distinct. All are pregnant. But while the first woman awaits the birth of her baby with a moon-like serenity, the other two are not so lucky. One, whose previous pregnancies have failed to go to term, is experiencing a heartbreaking late miscarriage; the other is a young student whose accidental pregnancy will end in her child being put up for adoption.

Sylvia Plath's only play was never intended for the stage, being broadcast instead on BBC radio in August 1962. Less than six months later, Plath killed herself, but not before the burst of astonishing creative energy that produced her extraordinary, terrifying Ariel poems.

Anyone who knows Plath's poetry will see the connection between Three Women and Plath's subsequent poems, particularly in the way she talks about the agony of childbirth, the rush of love for this tiny alien being, and both the wonder and wounded rawness of motherhood. It is a beautiful piece, full of startling imagery that draws you in through the sheer intensity of its femaleness, and because it so precisely articulates the emotions that are often thought but seldom voiced by women - certainly not in the early 1960s - about men, motherhood and our relationship to our bodies.

It's been 20 years since there has been an attempt at a professional stage version and - in a theatre world that happily accepts the poetic offerings of Sarah Kane and Debbie Tucker Green, or the staged possibilities of The Waves, one of Plath's own inspirations for the piece, I see no reason why it shouldn't be brought to life. Sadly, it doesn't breathe here, in a production by Robert Shaw that is clearly a labour of love, but which never finds a way to give the internal a physical reality. Plath's poetry, like most babies, is more robust than it appears - and won't break if treated with a little less reverence and considerably more grit.

Instead, what we are offered is tinkling piano music, mournful mood lighting, an innocuous pale setting, as well as three perfectly good but indisputably ladylike performances that capture none of the wounded redness of Plath's poetry, and do her the disservice of making her sound bleached and somewhat prissy. It's a pity. What might have been a wonder ends up a mere curiosity.

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