illuminated with the
Angadas, the ear-rings, the cuirasses, and the weapons of combatants.
There elephants and cars, adorned with gold, looked in that night like
clouds charged with lightning. Swords and darts and maces and scimitars
and clubs and lances and axes, as they fell, looked like dazzling flashes
of fire. Duryodhana was the gust of wind that was the precursor (of that
tempest-like host). Cars and elephants constituted its dry clouds. The
loud noise of drums and other instruments formed the peal of its
thunders. Abounding with standards, bows formed to lightning flashes.
Drona and the Pandavas formed its pouring clouds. Scimitars and darts and
maces constituted its thunders. Shafts formed its downpour, and weapons
(of other kinds) its incessant gusts of wind. And the winds that blew
were both exceedingly hot and exceedingly cold. Terrible, stunning and
fierce, it was destructive of life. There was nothing that could afford
shelter from it.[193] Combatants, desirous of battle entered into that
frightful host on that dreadful night resounding with terrible noises,
enhancing the fears of the timid and the delight of heroes. And during
the progress of that fierce and dreadful battle in the night, the Pandus
and the Srinjayas, united together, rushed in wrath against Drona. All
these, however, O king, that advanced right against the illustrious
Drona, were either obliged to turn back or despatched to the abode of
Yama. Indeed, on that night, Drona alone pierced with his shafts,
elephants in thousands and cars in tens of thousands and millions of
millions of foot-soldiers and steeds.'"

SECTION CLIV

"Dhritarashtra said, 'When the invincible Drona, of immeasurable energy,
unable to bear (the slaughter of Jayadratha), wrathfully entered into the
midst of the Srinjayas, what did all of you think? When that warrior of
immeasurable soul, having said those words unto my disobedient son,
Duryodhana, so entered (the hostile ranks), what steps did Partha take?
When after the fall of the heroic Jayadratha and of Bhurisravas, that
unvanquished warrior of great energy, that scorcher of foes, viz., the
unconquerable Drona, proceeded against the Panchalas, what did Arjuna
think? What also did Duryodhana think as the most seasonable step that he
could adopt? Who were they that followed that boon-giving hero, that
foremost of regenerated ones? Who were those heroes, O Suta, that stood
behind that hero while engaged in battle?