, which my aged self is capable of doing, I will do to the extent
of my power, O best of kings, in this battle. Witness it now with thy
kinsmen. Today, in the very sight of all, alone I shall check the sons of
Pandu at the head of their troops and with all their kinsfolk.' Thus
addressed by Bhishma, thy son, O king, filled with delight, caused
conches to be blown and drums to be beaten. And the Pandavas also, O
king, hearing that loud uproar, blew their conches, and caused their
drums and cymbals to be played upon."

SECTION LIX

Dhritarashtra said, "After that dreadful vow had been made in battle by
Bhishma enraged by the words of my son, what, O Sanjaya, did Bhishma do
unto the sons of Pandu or what did the Panchalas do unto the grandsire?
Tell it all unto me, O Sanjaya."

Sanjaya said, "After the forenoon of that day, O Bharata, had passed
away, and the sun in his westward course had passed a portion of his
path, and after the high-souled Pandavas had won the victory, thy sire
Devavrata, conversant with the distinction of all codes of morality,
rushed carried by the fleetest steeds, towards the army of the Pandavas,
protected by a large force and by all thy sons. Then, O Bharata, in
consequence of thy sinful policy, commenced a dreadful battle, making the
hair stand on end, between ourselves and the Pandavas. And the twang of
bows, the flapping of bowstrings against the leathern fences (casing the
hands of the bowman), mingling together, made a loud uproar resembling
that of splitting hills. Stay--Here I stand,--Know this one,--Turn
back,--Stand,--I wait for thee--Strike,--these were the words heard
everywhere. And the sound of falling coats of mail made of gold, of
crowns and diadems, and of standards resembled the sound of falling
stones on a stony ground. And heads, and arms decked with ornaments,
falling by hundreds and thousands upon the ground moved in convulsions.
And some brave combatants, with heads severed from their trunks,
continued to stand weapons in grasp or armed with drawn bow. And a
dreadful river of blood began to flow there, of impetuous current, miry
with flesh and blood, and with the bodies of (dead) elephants for its
(sub-aqueous) rocks. Flowing from the bodies of steeds, men, and
elephants, and delightful to vultures and jackals, it ran towards the
ocean represented by the next world. A battle such as that, O king, which
(then) took place between thy sons, O Bharata, and the Pandavas, wa