This is the hour, O mighty-armed
one, for the slaughter of that wicked-souled wretch. Speedily cut off the
head and make thy vow true." Thus addressed by Kesava the valiant son of
Pandu began to slaughter thy host with his arrows resembling the sun or
fire in splendour. And he pierced Kripa with twenty arrows and Karna with
fifty. And he struck Salya and Duryodhana each with six. And he pierced
Vrishasena with eight arrows and the ruler of the Sindhus himself with
sixty. And the mighty-armed son of Pandu, O king, deeply piercing with
his arrows the other warriors of thy host, rushed against Jayadratha.
Beholding him in their presence like a swelling fire with its tongue of
flame outstretched, the protectors of Jayadratha were sorely puzzled.
Then all the warriors, O king, desirous of victory bathed the son of
Indra in that battle with torrents of arrows. Shrouded with incessant
showers of arrows, the son of Kunti, that mighty-armed and unvanquished
descendant of Kuru, became filled with rage. Then that tiger among men,
viz., the son of Indra, desirous of slaughtering thy host, created a
thick net of arrows. Then those warriors of thine, O king, thus
slaughtered in battle by that hero, abandoned the ruler of the Sindhus in
fear and fled away. And they fled away in such a manner that no two
persons could be seen flying together. The prowess that we then beheld of
Kunti's son was extremely wonderful. Indeed, the like of what that
illustrious warrior then did had never been nor will ever be. Like Rudra
himself slaughtering creatures, Dhananjaya slaughtered elephants and
elephant-riders, horses and horse-riders, and (car-warriors and)
car-drivers. I did not in that battle, O king, see a single elephant or
steed or human warrior that was not struck with Partha's shafts. Their
vision blurred by dust and darkness, thy warriors became perfectly
cheerless and unable to distinguish one another. Urged on by fate and
with their vital limbs cut open and mangled with shafts, they began to
wander, or limp, or fall down. And some amongst them, O Bharata, became
paralysed and some became deathly pale. During that terrible carnage
resembling the slaughter of creatures at the end of the Yuga, in that
deadly and fierce battle from which few could escape with life, the earth
became drenched with gore and the earthy dust that had arisen disappeared
in consequence of the showers of blood that fell and the swift currents
of wind that blew over t