sh. And those foremost of
the _Danavas_, of exceeding prowess, in wrath attacked me with arrows
and _bhallas_ and clubs and two-edged swords, and _tomaras_. Thereat, O
king, resorting to my strength of lore, I resisted that great volley of
weapons by a mighty shower of shafts; and also confounded them in
conflict by ranging around in my car. And being bewildered, the
_Danavas_ began to push each other down. And having been confounded,
they rushed at one another. And with flaming arrows, I severed their
heads by hundreds. And hard pressed by me, the offspring of Diti, taking
shelter within (their) city, soared with it to the firmament, resorting
to the illusion proper to the _Danavas_. Thereupon, O son of the Kurus,
covering the way of the _Daityas_, with a mighty discharge of shafts I
obstructed their course. Then by virtue of the bestowal of the boon, the
_Daityas_ supported themselves easily on that sky-ranging unearthly
aerial city, going anywhere at will and like unto the sun. And now (the
city) entered unto the earth and now it rose upwards; and at one time it
went in a crooked way and at another time it submerged into water. At
this, O represser of foes, I assailed that mighty city, going anywhere
at will, and resembling _Amaravati_. And, O best of the Bharatas, I
attacked the city containing those sons of Diti, with multitudes of
shafts, displaying celestial weapons. And battered and broken by the
straight-coursing iron shafts, shot by me, the city of the _Asuras_, O
king, fell to the earth. And they also, wounded by my iron arrows having
the speed of the thunder, began, O monarch, to go about, being urged by
destiny. Then ascending to the sky, Matali, as if falling in front,
swiftly descended to the earth, on that chariot of solar resplendence.
Then, O Bharata, environed me sixty thousand cars belonging to those
wrathful ones eager to battle with me. And with sharpened shafts graced
with feathers of the vulture, I destroyed those (cars). At this,
thinking, "These our hosts are incapable of being vanquished by
mortals," they became engaged in the conflict, like unto the surges of
the sea. Thereupon I gradually began to fix (on the string) unearthly
weapons. At this, thousands of weapons (shot) by those wonderfully
warring charioteers, by degrees opposed my unearthly arms and in the
field I saw hundreds and thousands of mighty (demons) ranging on their
cars, in various manoeuvres. And being furnished with variegated