the hair, and slaying meanwhile with a kick,
the latter's driver, he felled his standard with a stroke of his sword.
And as regards Paurava himself, Abhimanyu raised him up, like the Garuda
raising a snake from the bottom of the sea agitating the waters.
Thereupon, all the kings beheld Paurava (standing helpless) with
dishevelled hair, and looking like an ox deprived of its senses while on
the point of being slain by a lion. Beholding Paurava thus prostrated,
placed under the control of Arjuna's son, and dragged helplessly,
Jayadratha was unable to brook it. Taking up a sword as also a shield
that bore the device of a peacock and was decked with a hundred bells of
small size suspended in rows, Jayadratha jumped down from his car with a
loud roar. Then Subhadra's son (Abhimanyu), beholding the ruler of the
Sindhus, let Paurava alone, and leaping up like a hawk from the latter's
car, quickly alighted on the earth. The lances and aves and scimitars
hurled by his foes, Arjuna's son cut off by means of his sword or warded
off by his shield. Thus showing unto all the warriors the strength of his
own arms the mighty [and heroic] Abhimanyu, once more upraising his large
and heavy sword as also his shield,[28] proceeded towards
Vriddhakshatra's son who was a sworn foe of his (Abhimanyu's) father,
like a tiger proceeding against an elephant. Approaching they cheerfully
attacked each other with their swords like a tiger and a lion with their
claws and teeth. And none could notice any difference between those two
lions among men as regards the whirl-strokes, and descent of their swords
and shields.[29] And as regards the descent and the whiz of their swords,
and the warding off of each other's blows, it seemed there was no
distinction between the two. Coursing beautifully in outward and inward
tracks, those two illustrious warriors seemed to be like two winged
mountains. Then Jayadratha struck on the shield of the renowned Abhimanyu
when the latter stretched his sword for making a pass at him. Then, O
Bharata, Jayadratha's large sword sticking into Abhimanyu's shield
covered with golden plate, broke, as the ruler of the Sindhus attempted
to draw it off forcibly. Seeing his sword broken, Jayadratha hastily
retreated six steps and was seen within a twinkle of the eye to be
mounted on his own car. Then Arjuna's son also, that combat with the
sword being over, ascended his own excellent car. Many kings, then, of
the Kuru army, uniting to