thy car. Asleep or dead we reckon it as the same, O king,
Rama will not surely die! Apply, therefore, this Praswapa weapon so
happily thought of!'--Having said this, O king, those foremost of
Brahmanas, eight in number and resembling one another in form, and
possessed of effulgent bodies, all vanished from my sight!"'"

SECTION CLXXXVII

"'Bhishma said, "After the night had passed away, I awoke, O Bharata, and
thinking of my dream I was filled with great joy. Then, O Bharata, the
combat began between him and me--a combat that was fierce and unrivalled
and that made the hairs of all creatures stand on their ends. And
Bhargava poured on me an arrowy shower which I baffled with an arrowy
shower of mine. Then filled with wrath at what he had seen the day before
and what he saw that day, Rama hurled at me a dart, hard as Indra's
thunderbolt and possessed of effulgence, resembling the Yama's mace! It
came towards me like a blazing flame of fire and drinking up, as it were,
all the quarters of that field of battle! Then, O tiger among the Kurus,
it fell, O perpetuator of Kuru's line, upon my shoulder, like the
lightning's flame that ranges the sky. Wounded thus by Rama, O thou of
red eyes, my blood, O mighty-armed one, began to flow copiously like
streams of red earth from a mountain (after a shower)! Filled with great
wrath, I then shot at Jamadagni's son a deadly shaft, fatal as the poison
of a snake. That heroic and best of Brahmanas, struck therewith at the
forehead, O monarch, then appeared as beautiful as a crested hill!
Extremely angry, that hero then, changing his position and drawing the
bow-string with great strength, aimed at me a terrible shaft resembling
all-destructive Death himself, and capable of grinding all foes! That
fierce arrow fell upon my breast, hissing (through the air) like a snake.
Covered with blood, I fell down on the earth, O king, thus struck.
Regaining consciousness, I hurled at Jamadagni's son a frightful dart,
effulgent as the thunderbolt. That dart fell upon the bosom of that
foremost of Brahmanas. Deprived of his senses at this, Rama began to
tremble all over. That great ascetic then, viz., his friend, the
regenerate Akritavrana, embraced him and with diverse words of comfort
soothed him. Reassured thus, Rama of high vows was then filled with wrath
and vindictiveness. He invoked the great Brahma weapon. For baffling it I
also used the same excellent weapon. Clashing against each other, t