own his head and looked askance
at him. And Vibhatsu replied very unwillingly, saying, 'To acquire
sovereignty with hell in the end, having slain those who should not be
slain, or the woes of an exile in the woods,--(these are the
alternatives). Which of these should I achieve? Urge the steeds, O
Hrishikesa, I will do thy bidding. I will overthrow the Kuru grandsire
Bhishma, that invincible warrior.'--Thus asked, Madhava urged those
steeds of a silvery hue, to the spot where Bhishma, incapable of being
looked at like the Sun himself, was staying. Then that large host of
Yudhishthira rallied and came again to the fight, beholding the
mighty-armed Partha proceeding for an encounter with Bhishma. Then
Bhishma that foremost one among the Kurus, repeatedly roared like a lion.
And he soon covered Dhananjaya's car with a shower of arrows. Within a
trice that car of his with its steeds and charioteer, became entirely
invisible in consequence of that thick shower of arrows. Vasudeva,
however, without fear, mustering patience, and endued with great
activity, urged those steeds mangled with Bhishma's shafts. Then Partha,
taking up his celestial bow of twang loud as the roar of the clouds,
caused Bhishma's bow to drop from his hands, cutting it (into fragments)
by means of his sharp shafts. Then thy sire, the Kuru hero, whose bow had
thus been cut off, stringed another large bow within the twinkling of the
eye. Arjuna, however, excited with wrath, cut that bow also of his. The
son of Santanu applauded that lightness of hand displayed by Arjuna,
saying, 'Well done, Well done, O mighty-armed one. Well done, O son of
Kunti.'--Having addressed him thus, Bhishma took up another beautiful bow
in that battle, and shot many arrows at Partha's car. And Vasudeva showed
great skill in the management of steeds, for, displaying the circling
motion he baffled all those arrows (of Bhishma). Mangled with the arrows
of Bhishma, those two tigers among men looked beautiful like two angry
bulls marked with scratches of horns. Then that slayer of hostile heroes,
viz., the mighty-armed Vasudeva of Madhu's race beholding that Partha was
fighting mildly and that Bhishma was incessantly scattering his arrowy
showers in battle, and that stationed between the two hosts, he latter
was scorching everything like the Sun himself, smiting down the foremost
of Yudhishthira's combatants, and, in fact, achieving feat on
Yudhishthira's army like unto what happeneth at