heels and traces with chords, of bottoms of cars
and wooden fences around them, of arrows and steeds and spears and
swords, and maces and spiked clubs and darts and lances and axes, and
Sataghnis equipped with wheels and arrows. Thighs and necklaces and
Angadas and Keyuras, O sire, and garlands and cuirasses and coats of
mail, O Bharata, and umbrellas and fans and heads decked with diadems lay
on the battle-field. Heads adorned with earrings and beautiful eyes, and
each resembling the full moon, looked, as they lay on the field, like
stars in the firmament. Adorned with sandal-paste, beautiful garlands of
flowers and excellent robes, many were the bodies of slain warriors that
were seen to lie on the ground. The field of battle, terrible as it was,
looked like the welkin teeming with vapoury forms. With the slain princes
and Kshatriyas of great might and fallen elephants and steeds, the Earth
became impassable in that battle as if she were strewn with hills. There
was no path on the field for the wheels of the illustrious Pandava's car,
engaged as he was in continually slaying his foes and striking down
elephants and steeds with his broad-headed shafts. It seemed, O sire,
that the wheels of his car stopped in fright at the sight of his own self
careering in that battle through that bloody mire. His steeds, however,
endued with the speed of the mind or the wind, dragged with great efforts
and labour those wheels that had refused to move. Thus slaughtered by
Pandu's son armed with the bow, that host fled away almost entirely,
without leaving even a remnant, O Bharata, contending with the foe.
Having vanquished large numbers of the samsaptakas in battle, Pritha's
son Jishnu looked resplendent, like a blazing fire without smoke.'"

28

"Sanjaya said, 'King Duryodhana, O monarch, himself fearlessly received
Yudhishthira, as the latter was engaged in shooting large numbers of
shafts. The royal Yudhishthira the just, speedily piercing thy son, that
mighty car-warrior, as the latter was rushing towards him with
impetuosity, addressed him, saying, "Wait, Wait." Duryodhana, however,
pierced Yudhishthira, in return, with nine keen arrows, and filled with
great wrath, struck Yudhishthira's driver also with a broad-headed shaft.
Then king Yudhishthira sped at Duryodhana three and ten arrows equipped
with wings of gold and whetted on stone. With four shafts that mighty
car-warrior then slew the four steeds of his foe, and with th