ance on his car with his bow
incessantly drawn to a circle. Elephants, deeply pierced with long shafts
and vomiting blood from their mouths, fell down, as soon as they were
struck, on the earth. And in the midst of that great carnage, O monarch,
innumerable headless trunks were seen to stand up. Arms, with bows in
grasp, or whose fingers were cased in leathern gloves, holding swords, or
decked with Angadas and other ornaments of gold, cut off from trunks,
were seen lying about. And the field of battle was strewn with
innumerable Upashkaras and Adhishthanas, and shafts, and crowns, crushed
car-wheels, and broken Akshas, and yokes, and warriors armed with shields
and bows, and floral garlands, and ornaments and robes and fallen
standards. And in consequence of those slain elephants and steeds, and
the fallen bodies of Kshatriyas, the earth there assumed an awful aspect.
Duhsasana's forces, thus slaughtered, O king, by the diadem-decked
(Arjuna), fled away. Their leader himself was in great pain, for
Duhsasana, greatly afflicted by those shafts, overcome by fear entered
with his division the Sakata array, seeking Drona as his deliverer.'"

SECTION XC

"Sanjaya said, 'Slaying the force of Duhsasana, the mighty car-warrior,
Savyasachin, desirous of getting at the ruler of the Sindhus, proceeded
against the division of Drona. Having approached Drona who was stationed
at the entrance of the array, Partha, at Krishna's request joined his
hands and said these words unto Drona: "Wish me well, O Brahmana, and
bless me, saying Swasti! Through thy grace, I wish to penetrate into this
impenetrable array. Thou art to me even as my sire, or even as king
Yudhishthira the just, or even as Krishna! I tell thee this truly, O
sire, O sinless one! Even as Aswatthaman deserves to be protected by
thee, I also deserve to be protected by thee, O foremost of regenerate
ones! Through thy grace, O foremost of men, I desire to slay the ruler of
the Sindhu in battle. O lord, see that my vow is accomplished."'

"Sanjaya continued, 'Thus addressed by him, the preceptor, smiling,
replied unto him, saying, "O Vibhatsu, without vanquishing me, thou shalt
not be able to vanquish Jayadratha." Telling him this much, Drona, with a
smile covered him with showers of sharp arrows, as also his car and
steeds and standard and charioteer. Then, Arjuna baffling Drona's arrowy
showers with his own arrows, rushed against Drona, shooting mightier and
more awful s