arefully hurled at his antagonist a lance bright as
the rays of the Sun, coursing perfectly straight, and made entirely of
iron. The ruler of the Kulutas then, drawing his bow, cut off that lance
with ten shafts and then pierced the son of Pandu with sixty shafts. Then
Bhima the son of Pandu, taking up a bow whose twang resembled the roar of
the clouds, uttered a loud shout and deeply afflicted with his shafts the
elephants of his antagonist. Thus afflicted in that battle by Bhimasena
with his arrows, that elephant, though sought to be restrained, stayed
not on the field like a wind-blown cloud. The fierce prince of elephants
owned by Bhima then pursued his (flying) compeer, like a wind-blown mass
of clouds pursuing another mass driven by the tempest. Restraining his
own elephant valiant Kshemadhurti pierced with his shafts the pursuing
elephant of Bhimasena. Then with a well-shot razor-headed arrow that was
perfectly straight, Kshemadhurti cut off his antagonist's bow and then
afflicted that hostile elephant. Filled with wrath, Kshemadhurti then, in
that battle, pierced Bhima and struck his elephant with many long shafts
in every vital part. That huge elephant of Bhima then fell down, O
Bharata! Bhima, however, who had jumped down from his elephant and stood
on the Earth before the fall of the beast, then crushed the elephant of
his antagonist with his mace. And Vrikodara then struck Kshemadhurti
also, who, jumped down from his crushed elephant, was advancing against
him with uplifted weapon. Kshemadhurti, thus struck, fell down lifeless,
with the sword in his arm, by the side of his elephant, like a lion
struck down by thunder beside a thunder-riven hill. Beholding the
celebrated king of the Kulutas slain, thy troops, O bull of Bharata's
race exceedingly distressed, fled away.'"

13

"Sanjaya said, 'Then the mighty and heroic bowman Karna began to smite
the Pandava army in that battle, with his straight shafts. Similarly,
those great car-warriors, viz., the Pandavas, O king, filled with wrath,
began to smite the army of thy son in the very sight of Karna. Karna
also, O king, in that battle slew the Pandava army with his cloth-yard
shafts bright as the rays of the Sun and polished by the hands of the
smith. There, O Bharata, the elephants, struck by Karna with his shafts,
uttered loud cries, lost strength, became faint, and wandered on all
sides. While the army was being thus destroyed by the Suta's son, Nakula
ru