ut, for these are now battling against
thee. Those elephants are ridden by Kiratas difficult of defeat in
battle. They are accomplished in fighting from elephants, and are all
sprung from the race of Agni. Formerly, they were all vanquished in
battle by Savyasachin. They are now waiting for me carefully, under the
orders of Duryodhana. Slaying with my shafts, O king, these Kiratas
difficult of defeat in battle, I shall follow in the track of Arjuna who
is intent on the slaughter of the ruler of the Sindhus. Those (other)
huge elephants, sprung from the race of Arjuna, of impenetrable hides,
well-trained, and adorned, and from whose mouths the juicy secretions are
trickling down, and which are well-adorned with armour made wholly of
gold are very formidable in battle and resemble Airavata himself. They
have come from the northern hills, and are ridden by fierce robbers that
are of strong limbs, that are all foremost of warriors, and that are
cased in steel coats of mail. There, amongst them, are persons born of
the cow, or the ape, or of diverse other creatures, including those born
of men. That division of the assembled Mlecchas that are all sinful and
that come from the fastnesses of Himavat, seem at a distance to be of
smoky colour. Obtaining these, and countless Kshatriyas, as also Kripa
and that foremost of car-warriors, viz., Drona and the ruler of the
Sindhus, and the Karna, he thinks lightly of the Pandavas. Impelled by
fate, he regards himself crowned with success. Those I have named will,
however, today be within reach of my arrows. They shall not escape me, O
son of Kunti, even if they be endued with the speed of the mind. Much
regarded always by Duryodhana, that prince who dependeth upon the prowess
of others, those warriors, afflicted with my clouds of shafts, will meet
with destruction. Those other car-warriors, O king, whom thou seest, and
who have golden standards and are difficult of being resisted, are called
Kamvojas. They are brave and accomplished, and firmly devoted to the
science of weapons. Desiring one another's welfare they are all firmly
united. They constitute a full Akshauhini of wrathful warriors, O
Bharata, and are staying carefully for my sake, well-protected by the
Kuru heroes. They are on the alert, O king, with their eyes on me. I
shall certainly destroy them all, like fire destroying a heap of straw.
Therefore, O king, let those that equip cars, place quivers and all
necessaries on my ca