vity, afflicted Arjuna's son in that
combat with a thousand arrows. Then Abhimanyu excited with rage, pierced
that prince of the Rakshasas in his wide chest with nine straight shafts
of great sharpness. Piercing through his body these penetrated into his
very vitals. And that best of Rakshasas, his limbs mangled by them,
looked beautiful like a mountain overgrown with flowering Kinsukas.
Bearing those shafts of golden wings on his body, that mighty prince of
Rakshasas looked radiant like a mountain on fire. Then the vindictive son
of Rishyasringa, inflamed with wrath, covered Abhimanyu, who was equal
unto Mahendra himself, with clouds of winged arrows. Those sharp shafts
resembling the rods of Yama himself, shot by him, pierced Abhimanyu
through and entered the earth. And similarly the gold-decked arrows shot
by Arjuna's son, piercing Alamvusha through, entered the earth. The son
of Subhadra then, in that battle, with his straight shafts, obliged the
Rakshasa to turn his back upon the field, like Sakra repulsing Maya in
days of old. That scorcher of foes, the Rakshasa, then, thus repulsed and
struck repeatedly by his adversary, exhibited his great powers of
illusion by causing a thick darkness to set in. Then all the combatants
there, O king, were covered by that darkness. Neither could Abhimanyu be
seen, nor could friends be distinguished from foes in that battle.
Abhimanyu, however, beholding that thick and awful gloom, invoked into
existence, O son of Kuru's race, the blazing solar weapon. Thereupon, O
king, the universe once more became visible. And thus he neutralised the
illusion of that wicked Rakshasa. Then that prince of men, excited with
wrath and endued with great energy, covered that foremost of Rakshasa in
that battle with many straight shafts. Diverse other kinds of illusion
were conjured up there by that Rakshasa. Conversant with all weapons, the
son of Phalguni however, neutralised them all. The Rakshasa then, his
illusions all destroyed, and himself struck with shafts, abandoned his
car even there, and fled away in great fear. After that Rakshasa addicted
to unfair fight had been thus vanquished, the son of Arjuna began to
grind thy troops in battle, like a juice-blind prince of wild elephants
agitating a lake overgrown with lotus.[465] Then Bhishma the son of
Santanu, beholding his troops routed, covered Subhadra's son with a thick
shower of arrows. Then many mighty car-warriors of the Dhartarashtra
army