hat
battle owing to thy fault. Rulers of men came from different realms
invited (by thy sons). And with them perished many steeds and many
elephants. Then those mighty car-warriors headed by Duryodhana (on one
side) and that bull amongst the Pandavas on the other, uttered loud roars
and began the encounter. And the feat that Kunti's son, having Krishna
for his charioteer, achieved there, was highly wonderful, inasmuch as,
alone, he encountered fearlessly all those warriors united together. And
that mighty-armed hero looked resplendent as he stretched his bow
Gandiva, desirous of vanquishing all those tigers among men for slaying
the ruler of the Sindhus. With his shafts shot in thousands, that tiger
among men, viz., Arjuna, that scorcher of foes, made all those warriors
invisible (by means of his arrowy showers). On their side, those tigers
among men, those mighty car-warriors, also made Partha invisible by means
of their clouds of shafts shot from all sides. Beholding Arjuna, that
bull of Kuru's race covered by those lions among men with their shafts,
loud was the uproar made by thy troops.'"

SECTION CV

"Dhritarashtra said, 'After Arjuna had got the ruler of the Sindhus
within sight, what, O Sanjaya, did the Panchalas, attacked by
Bharadwaja's son, do, encountering the Kurus?'

"Sanjaya said, 'In the afternoon of that day, O monarch, in the battle
that took place between the Panchalas and the Kurus, Drona became, as it
were, the stake (for which each fought on to win or lose). The Panchalas,
O sire, desirous of slaying Drona, cheerfully uttered loud roars and shot
dense showers of arrows. Indeed, that encounter between the Panchalas and
the Kurus, fierce, awful, and highly wonderful as it was, resembled that
in days of yore between the gods and the Asuras. Indeed, all the
Panchalas with the Pandavas, obtaining Drona's car (within reach) used
many mighty weapons, desirous of piercing through his array. Car-warriors
stationed on their cars, causing the earth to shake under them, and
showering their arrowy downpours, rushed towards Drona's car, without
much speed. Then that mighty car-warrior among the Kaikeyas, viz.,
Vrihatkshatra, incessantly scattering keen shafts that resembled the
thunder in force, proceeded towards Drona. Then Kshemadhurti of great
fame quickly rushed against Vrihatkshatra, shooting keen arrows by
thousands. Beholding this, that bull among the Chedis, viz.,
Dhrishtaketu, endued with great