came to
him. Surrounded on all sides, in that battle by Nagas, that Naga, O king,
assumed a huge form mighty as Ananta himself. With diverse kinds of Nagas
then he covered the Rakshasa. While being covered by those Nagas, that
bull among Rakshasas reflected for a moment, and assuming the form of
Garuda, he devoured those snakes. When that Naga of his mother's line was
devoured through illusion, Iravat became confounded. And while in that
state, the Rakshasa slew him with his sword, Alamvusha felled on the
earth Iravat's head decked with ear-rings and graced with a diadem and
looking beautiful like a lotus or the moon.

"When the heroic son of Arjuna was thus slain by the Rakshasa, the
Dhartarashtra host with all the kings (in it) were freed from grief. In
that great battle that was so fierce, awful was the carnage that occurred
among both the divisions. Horses and elephants and foot-soldiers
entangled with one another, were slain by tuskers. And many steeds and
tuskers were slain by foot-soldiers. And in that general engagement
bodies of foot-soldiers and cars, and large numbers of horses belonging
both to thy army and theirs, were slain, O king, by car-warriors.
Meanwhile, Arjuna, not knowing that the son of his loins had been
slaughtered, slew in that battle many kings who had been protecting
Bhishma. And the warriors, O king, of thy army and the Srinjayas, by
thousands, poured out their lives as libations (on the fire of battle),
striking one another. And many car-warriors, with dishevelled hair, and
with swords and bows fallen from their grasp fought with their bare arms,
encountering one another. The mighty Bhishma also, with shafts capable of
penetrating into the very vitals, slew many mighty car-warriors and
caused the Pandava army to tremble (the while). By him were slain many
combatants in Yudhishthira's host, and many tuskers and cavalry-soldiers
and car-warriors and steeds. Beholding, O Bharata, the prowess of Bhishma
in that battle, it seemed to us that it was equal to that of Sakra
himself. And the prowess of Bhimasena, as also that of Parshata, was
hardly less, O Bharata, (than that of Bhishma). And so also the battle
fought by that great bowman (viz., Satyaki) of Satwata's race, was
equally fierce. Beholding, however, the prowess of Drona, the Pandavas
were struck with fear. Indeed they thought, 'Alone, Drona can slay us
with all our troops. What then should be said of him when he is
surrounded by a larg