The Pandava army placed Shikhandi at the head, supported by Arjuna and Bheema. The Kauravas had Bheeshma at the forefront, with Drona and Bhagadatta behind him. Bheeshma used different vyuhas like the asura and rakshasa vyuhas for that day’s battle.
The battle then started with Bheema and Satyaki attacking the Kaurava ruthlessly. Bheeshma then attacked the Pandavas and rained iron arrows at them. Even though Shikhandi struck him with arrows, he ignored him, saying he would not fight with a woman.
Arjuna then asked Shikhandi to keep attacking Bheeshma while he would defeat the rest of the Kaurava warriors who protected the grandsire.
Arjuna and Bheema slaughtered Kauravas relentlessly. When Duryodhana brought this to Bheeshma’s notice, he told him that he would free himself from the debt of the king and would either kill the Pandavas or be killed. Bheeshma was in his most ferocious form. Moving around the battlefield with the bow in his hand, he was like Yama with his noose.
Bheeshma killed 10,000 horses, 10,000 elephants, and 200,000 foot soldiers. Seeing Bheeshma destroy the Pandava forces, Arjuna asked Shikhandi to attack Bheeshma. He was joined by other Pandava warriors. Dhristadyumna was countered by Kritavarma, Bhurishravas held off Bheema, and Alambusha fought with Satyaki.
Dhrishtadyumna encouraged his soldiers to fight bravely since Arjuna would ensure that Bheeshma could not harm them. Dushasana stood next to Bheeshma and repeatedly struck Arjuna with arrows all over his body. Soon Dushasana could not counter Arjuna and took refuge in Bheeshma’s chariot.
Alambusha and Bhagadatta attacked Satyaki one after the other, shooting sharp arrows at him and injuring him. Satyaki did not flinch and fought bravely. He cut down a sharp javelin that Bhagadatta hurled at him. Abhimanyu fought with Kamboja while Drupada and Virata took on Bheeshma.
Kripa fought ferociously against Sahadeva and struck him with arrows while his brother Nakula was struck by Vikarna. Ghatotkacha had to face Durmukha and was pierced with powerful arrows. Kritavarma fought with Dhrishtadyumna. Bheema then was hit all over the body by Bhurishravas. Chitrasena fought with Chekitana. As the battle waged relentlessly, thousands of soldiers on both sides died.
Drona then told his son that he was seeing bad omens and that he could not fix weapons in his bow. He feared that a great calamity would occur, and that Bheeshma was in danger from Arjuna.
Bheema fought vigorously and struck Vinda, Anuvinda, Durmukha, and Chitrasena with sharp arrows. He broke Kripa’s bow and hit Vikarna and Jayadratha with arrows. He killed Jayadratha’s horses and charioteer and broke Saindhava’s bow. Shalya joined the others in attacking Bheema. Shalya struck Bheema’s charioteer, Vishoka injuring him. An angry Bheema then injured Shalya.
Bheema struck Bhagadatta with a hundred arrows and broke Kritavarma’s bow. All the opponents hurled spears and arrows at Bheema, but he effortlessly shattered them all. Susharma attacked Arjuna and tried to prevent him from fighting with Bheeshma.
Arjuna struck Susharma with arrows and when the others came to his help, he hit them all with iron arrows. Bheema and Arjuna together took on all the Kaurava greats, showering them with arrows. Shalya’s bow was broken, but he picked up another and struck Arjuna and Krishna.
Bheema defeated Jayatsena and made him flee. Abhimanyu fought with Duryodhana and struck him with arrows on his chest. Satyaki and Ashwatthama fought fiercely while Pourava fought with Dhristaketu.
Abhimanyu fought with Brihadbala and broke his bows, but he kept picking up new ones and fought vigorously. Bheema killed hundreds of elephants, causing panic as the rest of the elephants ran trampling over soldiers. Drona fought with Dhristadyumna, with both great warriors striking each other.
Shikhandi then showered arrows on Bheeshma, with Arjuna behind him. Dushasana came to Bheeshma’s support and fought bravely with Arjuna. All the other kings and warriors who came to Bheeshma’s support had to face the wrath of Arjuna, who showered blazing arrows on them.
Thousands of soldiers died, and the battlefield saw dead bodies, broken chariots, and dead horses and elephants. Bheeshma invoked a celestial weapon, but seeing Shikandi in front of him, withdrew it. All the great warriors assembled with the Kaurava warriors defending Bheeshma while the Pandavas attacked him.
Even as Shikhandi’s arrows hit Bheeshma, Arjuna kept shooting arrows at the grandsire. Bheeshma’s bow was broken, and he picked up another bow. Arjuna shattered that bow. Bheeshma kept picking up one bow after the other, but Arjuna broke them all.
Bheeshma was angry and picking up a spear, he flung it at Arjuna, who effortlessly broke it using five arrows. Bheeshma then announced that his father than blessed him to decide the time of his death and it was now time to make a decision. The Vasus then welcomed his decision and showered flowers from the sky.
Bheeshma then charged towards Arjuna even as Shikhandi kept shooting arrows at him. Arjuna drew his great bow and shot sharp arrows at Bheeshma. As the arrows struck him repeatedly, he turned to Dushasana and said that the powerful arrows that were tearing his body apart were not from Shikhandi. It could only be from Arjuna, who was unbeatable in battle.
He told Dushasana that none could cause him harm other than Arjuna. He then picked up a spear and hurled it at Arjuna, who smashed it. When he picked up a shield, Arjuna shattered it. Arjuna then kept shooting hundreds of arrows that pierced Bheeshma all over his body, mangling his inner organs.
The grandsire then fell from his chariot. The arrows that protruded from his body ensured he did not touch the ground as he fell. The earth shook, and the Gods lamented at the fall of the great son of Shantanu and Ganga.
Ganga then sent sages who came to Bheeshma and advised him not to leave his body when the sun was in the south (Dakshinayana). Bheeshma then announced that he would leave his body once the sun changed its directions to the Uttarayana.
At the fall of Bheeshma, the Pandava side rejoiced while Duryodhana and the Kauravas wept. The two sides laid down their weapons and approached the great Bheeshma to show their respect.
Bheeshma then told them that his head did not have any support, and he wanted a pillow. The kings brought many soft pillows, but Bheeshma rejected them. He summoned Arjuna, who, shedding tears, approached the grandsire. When Bheeshma asked for a pillow that suited a warrior, Arjuna shot three arrows to create an iron pillow to support Bheeshma’s head.
Duryodhana summoned physicians, but Bheeshma sent them away. Yudhishtira then thanked Krishna, telling him that this victory was because of him. The two sides then left for their camps.