their back, and desirous of slaying
Arjuna and Krishna, surrounded Partha, that hero conversant with battle,
who was then dancing along the track of his car, producing fierce sounds
with the bowstring and his palms and resembling the Destroyer himself
with wide-opened mouth. The sun then had assumed a red hue in the sky.
Desirous of his (speedy) setting, the Kaurava warriors, bending their
bows with arms, resembling the (tapering) bodies of snake sped their
shafts in hundreds towards Phalguna, resembling the rays of the sun.
Cutting off those shafts thus sped towards him, into two, three, or eight
fragments the diadem-decked Arjuna, invincible in battle, pierced them
all in that encounter. Then Aswatthaman, bearing on his banner the mark
of a lion's tail, displaying his might, began, O king, to resist Arjuna.
Indeed, the son of Saradwata's daughter piercing Partha with ten shafts
and Vasudeva with seven, stayed in the track of Arjuna's car, protecting
the ruler of the Sindhus. Then, many foremost ones among the Kurus, great
car-warriors, all encompassed Arjuna on all sides with a large throng of
cars. Stretching their bows and shooting countless shafts, they began to
protect the ruler of the Sindhus, at the command of thy son. We then
beheld the prowess of the brave Partha as also the inexhaustible
character of his shafts, and the might, too, of his bow Gandiva. Baffling
with his own weapons those of Drona's son and Kripa, he pierced every one
of those warriors with nine shafts. Then, Drona's son pierced him with
five and twenty arrows, and Vrishasena with seven, and Duryodhana pierced
him with twenty, and Karna and Salya each with three. And all of them
roared at him and continued to pierce him frequently, and shaking their
bows, they surrounded him on all sides. And soon they caused their cars
to be drawn up in a serried line around Arjuna. Desirous of the (speedy)
setting of the sun, those mighty car-warriors of the Kaurava army, endued
with great activity, began to roar at Arjuna, and shaking their bows,
covered him with showers of keen arrows like cloud pouring rain on a
mountain. Those brave warriors, with arms resembling heavy clubs, also
discharged on that occasion, O king, on Dhananjaya's body celestial
weapons. Having caused an immense slaughter in thy army, the mighty and
invincible Dhananjaya, of prowess incapable of being baffled came upon
the ruler of the Sindhus. Karna, however, O king, with his arrows,
res