t in battle, accompanied by troops that
were all cheerful, themselves filled with rage, and capable of smiting
down thick ranks of cars, fought with the Koshalas, the Kasis, the
Matsyas, the Karusas, the Kaikayas, and the Surasenas, all of whom were
possessed of great courage. That battle fraught with great slaughter and
destructive of body, life and sins, became conducive to fame, heaven, and
virtue, in respect of the Kshatriya, the Vaishya, and the Shudra heroes
that were engaged in it. Meanwhile the Kuru king Duryodhana with his
brothers, O bull of Bharata's race, and supported by many Kuru heroes and
many mighty Madraka car-warriors, protected Karna while the latter was
engaged in battle with the Pandavas, the Pancalas, the Cedis, and
Satyaki. Destroying that vast division with his sharp arrows, and
crushing many foremost of car-warriors Karna succeeded in afflicting
Yudhishthira. Cutting off the armour, the weapons, and the bodies of
thousands of foes and slaying his foes by thousands and sending them to
heaven and making them earn great fame, Karna caused his friends great
joy. Thus, O sire, that battle destructive of men, steeds, and cars,
between the Kurus and the Srinjayas, resembled the battle between the
gods and the Asuras of old.'"

48

"Dhritarashtra said, 'Tell me, O Sanjaya, how Karna, having caused a
great slaughter penetrated into the midst of the Pandava troops, and
struck and afflicted king Yudhishthira. Who were those foremost of heroes
among the Parthas that resisted Karna? Who were they whom Karna crushed
before he could succeed in afflicting Yudhishthira?'

"Sanjaya said, 'Beholding the Parthas headed by Dhrishtadyumna stationed
for battle, that crusher of foes, viz., Karna, rushed impetuously against
the Pancalas. Like swans rushing towards the sea, the Pancalas, longing
for victory, rushed as quickly against that high-souled warrior advancing
to the encounter. Then the blare of thousands of conchs, as if piercing
the heart by its shrillness, arose from both hosts, and the fierce peal
also of thousands of drums. The sound also of diverse musical instruments
and the noise made by elephants and steeds and cars, and the leonine
shouts of heroes, that arose there, became exceedingly awful. It seemed
that the whole Earth with her mountains and trees and oceans, the entire
welkin covered with wind-tossed clouds, and the whole firmament with the
Sun, the Moon, and the stars, trembled with that so