been desirous of enjoying Krishna as a slave, and those
harsh words that Karna spoke to the sons of Pandu when the latter,
attired in deer-skins were about to be banished to the woods, and the joy
in which thy wrathful and foolish son, himself in prosperity, indulged,
thinking the distressed sons of Pritha as veritable straw, the virtuous
Bhima that slayer of foes, remembering these and all the woes he had
suffered since his childhood, became reckless of his very life.
Stretching his invincible and formidable bow, the back of whose staff was
decked with gold, Vrikodara, that tiger of Bharata's race, utterly
reckless of his life, rushed against Karna. Shooting dense showers of
bright arrows whetted on stone, Bhima shrouded the very light of the sun.
Adhiratha's son, however, smiling the while, quickly baffled, by means of
his own winged arrows whetted on stone, that arrowy downpour of
Bhimasena. Endued with great strength and mighty arms, that mighty
car-warrior, the son of Adhiratha, then pierced Bhima with nine keen
arrows. Struck with those arrows, like an elephant struck with the hook,
Vrikodara fearlessly rushed against the Suta's son. Karna, however,
rushed against that bull among the Pandavas who was thus rushing towards
him with great impetuosity and might, like an infuriated elephant against
an infuriated compeer. Blowing his conch then, whose blast resembled the
sound of a hundred trumpets, Karna cheerfully agitated the force that
supported Bhima, like the raging sea. Beholding that force of his
consisting of elephants and steeds and cars and foot-soldiers, thus
agitated by Karna, Bhima, approaching the former, covered him with
arrows. Then Karna caused his own steeds of the hue of swans to be
mingled with those of Bhimasena's of the hue of bears, and shrouded the
son of Pandu with his shafts. Beholding those steeds of the hue of bears
and fleet as the wind, mingled with those of the hue of swans, cries of
oh and alas arose from among the troops of thy sons. Those steeds, fleet
as the wind, thus mingled together, looked exceedingly beautiful like
white and black clouds, O monarch, mingled together in the firmament.
Beholding Karna and Vrikodara to be both excited with wrath, great
car-warriors of thy army began to tremble with fear. The field of battle
where they fought soon became awful like the domain of Yama. Indeed, O
best of Bharatas, it became as frightful to behold as the city of the
dead. The great car, w