hand.'

"Duryodhana said, 'I will not, O grandsire, give back the Pandavas their
kingdom. Let every preparation, therefore, for battle be made without
delay.'

"Bhishma said, 'Listen to what I regard as proper, if it pleases thee. I
should always say what is for thy good, O Kaurava. Proceed thou towards
the capital, without loss of time, taking with thee a fourth part of the
army. And let another fourth march, escorting the kine. With half the
troops we will fight the Pandava. Myself and Drona, and Karna and
Aswatthaman and Kripa will resolutely withstand Vibhatsu, or the king of
the Matsyas, or Indra himself, if he approaches. Indeed, we will
withstand any of these like the bank withstanding the surging sea.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "These words spoken by the high-souled Bhishma
were acceptable to them, and the king of the Kauravas acted accordingly
without delay. And having sent away the king and then the kine, Bhishma
began to array the soldiers in order of battle. And addressing the
preceptor, he said, 'O preceptor, stand thou in the centre, and let
Aswatthaman stand on the left, and let the wise Kripa, son of Saradwata,
defend the right wing, and let Karna of the Suta caste, clad in mail,
stand in the van. I will stand in the rear of the whole army, protecting
it from that point.'"

SECTION LIII

Vaisampayana said, "After the Kauravas, O Bharata, had taken their stand
in this order, Arjuna, filling the air with the rattle and din of his
car, advanced quickly towards them. And the Kurus beheld his banner-top
and heard the rattle and din of his car as also the twang of the Gandiva
stretched repeatedly by him. And noting all this, and seeing that great
car-warrior--the wielder of the Gandiva--come, Drona spoke thus, 'That is
the banner-top of Partha which shineth at a distance, and this is the
noise of his car, and that is the ape that roareth frightfully. Indeed,
the ape striketh terror in the troops. And there stationed on that
excellent car, the foremost of car-warriors draweth that best of bows,
the Gandiva, whose twang is as loud as the thunder. Behold, these two
shafts coming together fall at my feet, and two others pass off barely
touching my ears. Completing the period of exile and having achieved many
wonderful feats, Partha saluteth me and whispereth in my ears. Endued
with wisdom and beloved of his relatives, this Dhananjaya, the son of
Pandu, is, indeed, beheld by us after a long time, blazing