"Vaisampayana said, 'Like Duryodhana, king Yudhishthira also, the son of
Kunti and Dharma, ordered out, O Bharata, his heroic warriors headed by
Dhrishtadyumna. Indeed, he ordered that slayer of foes and commander of
force, that leader, steady in prowess, of the Chedis, the Kasis, and the
Karushas, viz., Dhrishtaketu, as also Virata, and Drupada, and Yuyudhana,
and Sikhandin, and those two mighty bowmen, those two princes of
Panchala, viz., Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas, to set out. Those brave
warriors, cased in handsome coats of mail and decked with golden
ear-rings, blazed forth like fires on the sacrificial altar when fed with
clarified butter. Indeed, those mighty bowmen looked resplendent like the
planets in the firmament. Then that bull among men king Yudhishthira,
having duly honoured all his combatants, ordered them to march. And king
Yudhishthira ordered excellent provisions of food for those high-souled
kings with their troops consisting of infantry, and elephants and horses,
and with all their followers, as also for all those that subsisted on
mechanical arts. And the son of Pandu first ordered Abhimanyu, and
Vrihanta, and the five sons of Draupadi, to march with Dhrishtadyumna at
their head. And he then despatched Bhima, and Dhananjaya the son of
Pandu, in the second division of his forces. And the din made by the men
moving and running about for harnessing their steeds and elephants and
loading the cars with implements of battle, and the shouts of the
cheerful combatants, seemed to touch the very heavens. And last of all,
the king marched himself, accompanied by Virata and Drupada and the other
monarchs (on his side). And that army of fierce bowmen commanded by
Dhrishtadyumna, hitherto stationed in one place, but now extended into
columns for marching, looked like the (impetuous) current of Ganga. The
then intelligent Yudhishthira depending on his wisdom, disposed his
divisions in a different order, confounding the sons of Dhritarashtra.
And the son of Pandu ordered that those mighty bowmen, the (five) sons of
Draupadi and Abhimanyu, and Nakula, and Sahadeva, and all the
Prabhadrakas, and ten thousand horses, and two thousand elephants, and
ten thousand foot-soldiers, and five hundred cars, constituting the first
irresistible division of his army, should be placed under the command of
Bhimasena. And he placed in the middle division of his army Virata and
Jayatsena, and those two mighty car-warriors, viz., Yudhamanyu and
Uttamauja, the two high-souled princes of Panchala, both endued with
great prowess and both armed with mace and bow. And in this middle
division marched Vasudeva and Dhananjaya. There were (placed) combatants
highly accomplished in arms and burning with anger. Amongst them were
steeds ridden by brave warriors, and five thousand elephants, and crowds
of cars all around. And foot-soldiers in thousands, that were all brave
and armed with bows, swords, and maces, marched behind them, as thousand
marched before them. And in that part of that sea of troops, where
Yudhishthira himself was, there were stationed numerous lords of earth.
And there also were thousands of elephants, and steeds by ten thousands,
and cars and foot-soldiers also by thousands. And there also marched, O
bull among kings, Chekitana with his own large force, and king
Dhrishtaketu, the leader of the Chedis. And there also was that mighty
bowman, Satyaki, the foremost car-warrior of the Vrishnis, that mighty
combatant, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of cars and leading (them
to battle)! And those bulls among men, Kshatrahan and Kshatradeva,
mounted on their cars, marched behind, protecting the rear. And there (in
the rear) were the waggons, stalls, uniforms, vehicles and draft animals.
There also were thousands of elephants and horses by tens of thousands.
And taking all the invalids and women, and all that were emaciated and
weak, and all the animals carrying his treasures, and all his granaries,
with the aid of his elephant-divisions, Yudhishthira marched slowly. And
he was followed by Sauchitti, who steadily adhered to truth and was
invincible in battle, and Srenimat, and Vasudeva and Vibhu, the son of
the ruler of Kasi, with twenty thousand cars, and hundred million steeds
of high mettle, each bearing scores of bells on its limbs, and twenty
thousand smiting elephants with tusks as long as plough-shares, all of
good breed and divided temples and all resembling moving masses of
clouds. Indeed, these usually walked behind those monarchs. Besides
these, O Bharata, the elephants that Yudhishthira had in his seven
Akshauhinis, numbering seventy thousand with humour trickling down their
trunks and from their mouths, and resembling (on that account) showering
clouds, also followed the king, like moving hills.
'Thus was arrayed that terrible force of the intelligent son of Kunti.
And relying upon that force he battled with Suyodhana, the son of
Dhritarashtra. Besides those already named, other men by hundreds and
thousands and tens of thousands, in divisions numbering by thousands,
followed (the Pandava army), roaring loudly. And the warriors by
thousands and ten thousands, filled with joy, beat their drums by
thousands and blew conchs by tens of thousands!'"
The End of Udyoga Parva