kings on thy side that were endued with great energy, at
the sight of thy son and of Karna and the heroic Drona and Drona's son, O
monarch!'"

SECTION CLXXII

"Sanjaya said, 'Beholding his own army routed while being slaughtered by
those illustrious heroes, thy son, well-acquainted with words, O monarch,
quickly repairing unto Karna and Drona, that foremost of all victors in
battle, wrathfully said these words, "This battle has been set on foot by
you two in rage, having seen the ruler of the Sindhus slain by
Savyasachin. You are beholding with indifference the slaughter of my army
by the forces of the Pandavas, although you two are fully competent to
vanquish those forces. If you two now abandon me, you should have, in the
beginning, told me of it. 'We two shall vanquish the sons of Pandu in
battle.' Even these were the words, ye givers of honours, that ye then
said unto me. Hearing these words of yours, I sanctioned these
proceedings. I would never have provoked these hostilities with the
Parthas,--hostilities that are so destructive of heroic combatants (if ye
had told me otherwise). If I do not deserve to be abandoned by you two,
ye bulls among men, then fight according to the true measure of your
prowess, ye heroes endued with great prowess." Thus pierced by the goad
of speech of thy son, those two heroes once more engaged in battle, like
two snakes vexed with sticks. Then those two foremost of car-warriors,
those two bowmen above all bowmen in the world, rushed with speed against
the Parthas headed by the grandson of Sini and by others. Similarly, the
Parthas uniting together, and accompanied by all their troops, advanced
against those two heroes, who were roaring repeatedly. Then the great
bowman, Drona, that foremost of all wielders of weapons, excited with
rage, quickly pierced (Satyaki), that bull amongst the Sinis, with ten
arrows. And Karna pierced him with ten arrows, and thy son with seven,
and Vrishasena pierced him with ten, and Suvala's son with seven. In that
impervious wall of Kauravas around the grandson of Sini, these also
stationed themselves, encompassing him. Beholding Drona slaughtering the
Pandava army in that battle, the Somakas quickly pierced him from every
side with showers of arrows. Then Drona began to take the lives of
Kshatriyas, O monarch, like the sun destroying darkness around him by his
rays. We then heard, O monarch, a loud uproar amongst the Panchalas, who
called upon one ano