of
five arrows. And afflicted by the arrows of Partha, Dussasana fled,
leaving the combat. Then Vikarna, the son of Dhritarashtra, pierced
Arjuna--that slayer of hostile heroes, by means of sharp and straight
arrows furnished with vulturine wings. But the son of Kunti within a
moment hit him also in the forehead with straight shafts. And pierced by
Arjuna, he fell down from his car. And at this, Dussaha, supported by
Vivinsati, covered Arjuna with a cloud of sharp arrows, impelled by the
desire of rescuing his brother. Dhananjaya, however, without the least
anxiety, pierced both of them almost at the same instant by means of a
couple of keen-edged arrows and then slew the steeds of both. And there
upon, both those sons of Dhritarashtra, deprived of their steeds and
their bodies mangled were taken away by the warrior behind them who had
rushed forward with other cars. Then the unvanquished Vibhatsu, the
mighty son of Kunti, decked with diadem and sure of aim, simultaneously
attacked all sides with his arrows."
SECTION LXII
Vaisampayana said, "Then, O thou of the Bharata race, all the great
car-warriors of the Kurus, united together, began to assail Arjuna to the
best of their might from all sides. But that hero of immeasurable soul
completely covered all those mighty car-warriors with clouds of arrows,
even as the mist covereth the mountains. And the roars of huge elephants
and conchs, mingling together, produced a loud uproar. And penetrating
through the bodies of elephants and horses as also through steel coats of
mail, the arrows shot by Partha fell by thousands. And shooting shafts
with the utmost celerity, the son of Pandu seemed in that contest to
resemble the blazing sun of an autumnal midday. And afflicted with fear,
the car-warriors began to leap down from their cars and the
horse-soldiers from horse-back, while the foot-soldiers began to fly in
all directions. And loud was the clatter made by Arjuna's shafts as they
cleft the coats of mail belonging to mighty warriors, made of steel,
silver, and copper. And the field was soon covered with the corpses of
warriors mounted on elephants and horses, all mangled by the shafts of
Partha of great impetuosity like unto sighing snakes. And then it seemed
as if Dhananjaya, bow in hand, was dancing on the field of battle. And
sorely affrighted at the twang of the Gandiva resembling the noise of the
thunder, many were the combatants that fled from that terrible confl
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