blazing meteors fell with great noise. The whole earth trembled on that
dreadful occasion. Dry winds blew in all directions, accompanied by
thunder, and driving hard pebbles and gravel when Kunti's son came at the
commencement of battle. Then Nakula's son, Satanika, and Dhrishtadyumna,
the son of Pritha, those two warriors possessed of great wisdom, arrayed
the several divisions of the Pandavas. Then thy son Durmarshana,
accompanied by a thousand cars, a hundred elephants, three thousand
heroes, and ten thousand foot-soldiers, and covering a piece of ground
that measured the length of fifteen hundred bows, took up his position at
the very van of all the troops, and said: "Like the continent resisting
the surging sea, even I will today resist the wielder of Gandiva, that
scorcher of foes, that warrior who is irresistible in battle. Let people
today behold the wrathful Dhananjaya collide with me, like a mass of
stone against another stony mass. Ye car-warriors that are desirous of
battle, stay ye (as witness). Alone I will fight with all the Pandavas
assembled together, for enhancing my honour and fame." That high-souled
and noble son of thine, that great bowman saying this, stood there
surrounded by many great bowmen. Then, like the Destroyer himself in
wrath, or Vasava himself armed with the thunder, or Death's irresistible
self armed with his club and urged on by Time, or Mahadeva armed with the
trident and incapable of being ruffled, or Varuna bearing his noise, or
the blazing fire at the end of the Yuga risen for consuming the creation,
the slayer of the Nivatakavachas inflamed with rage and swelling with
might, the ever-victorious Jaya, devoted to truth and desirous of
achieving his great vow, clad in mail and armed with sword, decked in
golden diadem, adorned with garlands of swords of white flowers and
attired in white robes, his arms decked with beautiful Angadas and ears
with excellent ear-rings, mounted on his own foremost of cars, (the
incarnate) Nara, accompanied by Narayana, shaking his Gandiva in battle,
shone brilliantly like the risen sun. And Dhananjaya of great prowess,
placing his car, O king, at the very van of his army, where densest
showers of arrows would fall, blew his conch. Then Krishna also, O sire,
fearlessly blew with great force his foremost of conchs called
Panchajanya as Partha blew his. And in consequence of the blare of the
conchs, all the warriors in thy army, O monarch, trembled and bec