rrace of his car and was, O king, overtaken
by a swoon. Afflicted thus by the arrows of Subhadra's son and deprived
of his senses, Duhsasana was speedily borne away from the midst of the
fight by his charioteer. Beholding this, the Pandavas, the five sons of
Draupadi, Virata, the Panchalas, and the Kekayas, uttered leonine shouts.
And the troops of the Pandavas, filled with joy, caused diverse kinds of
musical instruments to be beat and blown. Beholding that feat of
Subhadra's son they laughed with joy. Seeing that implacable and proud
foe of theirs thus vanquished, those mighty car-warriors, viz., the
(five) sons of Draupadi, who had on their banners the images of Yama and
Maruta and Sakra and the twin Aswins, and Satyaki, and Chekitana, and
Dhrishtadyumna, and Sikhandin, and the Kekayas, and Dhrishtaketu, and the
Matsyas, Panchalas, and the Srinjayas, and the Pandavas headed by
Yudhishthira, were filled with joy. And all of them rushed with speed,
desirous of piercing Drona's array. Then a dreadful battle took place
between the warriors and those of the foe. All of them were unretreating
heroes, and inspired by desire of victory. During the progress of that
dreadful encounter, Duryodhana, O monarch, addressing the son of Radha,
said, "Behold, the heroic Duhsasana, who resembleth the scorching sun who
was hitherto slaying the foe in battle, hath at last himself succumbed to
Abhimanyu. The Pandavas also, filled with rage and looking fierce like
mighty lions, are rushing towards us, desirous of rescuing the son of
Subhadra." Thus addressed, Karna with rage and desirous of doing good to
thy son, rained showers of sharp arrows on the invincible Abhimanyu. And
the heroic Karna, as if in contempt of his antagonist, also pierced the
latter's followers on the field of battle, with many excellent shafts of
great sharpness. The high-souled Abhimanyu, however, O king, desirous of
proceeding against Drona, quickly pierced Radha's son with three and
seventy shafts. No car-warrior of thy army succeeded at that time in
obstructing the progress towards Drona, of Abhimanyu, who was the son of
Indra's son and who was afflicting all the foremost car-warriors of the
Kaurava host. Then Karna, the most honoured of all bowmen, desirous of
obtaining victory, pierced the son of Subhadra with hundreds of arrows,
displacing his best weapons. That foremost of all persons conversant with
weapons, that valiant disciple of Rama, by means of his weapons