ierced him with sharp arrows
furnished with excellent wings. And the combat that took place between
them, O king, was fierce in the extreme, for unable to vanquish each
other, they mangled each other terribly. And thus in that general
engagement thousands of single combats took place between men on cars,
warriors on elephants and horsemen, and foot-soldiers, of their side and
thine. For a short while only that engagement offered a beautiful sight.
Soon, however, O king, it became furious and nothing could be discovered.
In the battle (that ensued) elephants rushed against elephants,
car-warriors against car-warriors, steed against steed and foot-soldier
against foot-soldier. The conflict then became confused and fierce in the
extreme, of heroes rushing against each other in the melee. And the
celestial Rishi, and Siddhas and Charanas, that were present there,
beheld that terrific battle to resemble the combat of the gods and the
Asuras. And elephants in thousands, and cars also in thousands, and vast
bodies of infantry, O sire, seemed to alter their character.[327] And, O
tiger among men, it was seen that cars and elephants and steeds and
infantry fought with each other repeatedly on the same places."[328]

SECTION XLVI

Sanjaya said,--"O king, I will now describe to thee the combats of
hundreds and thousands of foot-soldiers, O Bharata, in utter
forgetfulness of all consideration due to others. There the son
recognised not the sire, the sire (recognised not) the son of his loins,
the brother (recognised not) the brother, the sister's son (recognised
not) the maternal uncle. The maternal uncle (recognised not) the sister's
son, the friend not the friend. The Pandavas and the Kurus fought as if
they were possessed by demons. Some tigers among men, fell with cars into
pieces. And the shafts of cars broke clashing against shafts, and the
spikes of car-yokes against spikes of car-yokes. And some (warriors)
united together encountered others that were united together, all
desirous of taking one another's life. And some cars, obstructed by cars,
were unable to move. And huge-bodied elephants with rent temples, falling
upon huge elephants, angrily tore one another in many places with their
tusks. Others, O king, encountering impetuous and huge ones of their
species with arched edifices and standards (on their backs) and trained
to the fight struck with their tusks, shrieked in great agony.[329]
Disciplined by training and