the heavens, was set up on his car. A carnivorous and awful
vulture of blood-red body perched on it. He came, forcibly drawing his
bow whose twang resembled the thunder of Indra, and whose string was very
hard, and which measured a dozen cubits in length and one cubit in
breadth.[231] Filling all the points of the compass with shafts of the
measure of the Aksha of a car, the Rakshasa rushed against Karna on that
night that was so destructive of heroes. Staying proudly on his car, as
he stretched his bow, the twang that was heard resembled that sound of
the roaring thunder. Frightened by him, O Bharata, all thy troops
trembled like the surging waves of the ocean. Beholding that frightful
Rakshasa of horrible eyes advancing against him, Radha's son, as if
smiling, withstood him speedily. And Karna proceeded against the smiling
Rakshasa, smiting him in return from a near point, like an elephant
against an elephant or the leader of a bovine herd against the leader of
another herd. The collision that took place between them, i.e., Karna and
the Rakshasa, O king, became terrible and resembled that between Indra
and Samvara. Each taking a formidable bow of loud twang, struck and
covered the other with powerful shafts. With straight shafts sped from
bows drawn to their fullest stretch, they mangled each other, piercing
their coats of mail made of brass. With darts of the measure of Akshas,
and shafts also they continued to mangle each other, like a couple of
tigers or of mighty elephants with their teeth or tusks. Piercing each
other's body, aiming shafts at each other, scorching each other with
clouds of arrows, they became incapable of being gazed at. With limbs
pierced and mangled with shafts, and bathed in streams of blood, they
looked like two hills of chalk with rivulets running down their breasts.
Those two mighty car-warriors, both struggling vigorously, both with
limbs pierced with keen-pointed shafts, and each mangling the other,
failed, however to make each other tremble. For a long time, that
nocturnal combat between Karna and the Rakshasas in which both seemed to
sport, making life itself the stake, continued equally. Aiming keen
shafts and shooting them to the utmost measure of his might, the twang of
Ghatotkacha's bow inspired both friends and foes with fear.[232] At that
time, O king, Karna could not prevail over Ghatotkacha. Seeing this, that
foremost of all persons acquainted with weapons, invoked into existence