fts. The welkin being
covered with the darkness caused by that thick arrowy shower, all
creatures became invisible. So great was the lightness of hand displayed
by the Suta's son, that none could mark when he touched his quivers with
his fingers, when he fixed his arrows on the bowstring, and when he aimed
and sped them off. The entire welkin seemed to be shrouded with his
arrows. Then a fierce and terrible illusion was invoked into existence by
the Rakshas in the welkin. We beheld in the sky what appeared to us to be
a mass of red clouds resembling the fierce flame of a blazing fire. From
that cloud issued flashes of lightning, and many blazing brands, O Kuru
king! And tremendous roars also issued therefrom, like the noise of
thousands of drums beat at once. And from it fell many shafts winged with
gold, and darts, lances and heavy clubs, and other similar weapons, and
battle-axes, and scimitars washed with oil, and axes of blazing edges,
and spears, and spiked maces emitting shining rays, and beautiful maces
of iron, and long darts of keen points, and heavy maces decked with gold
and twined round with string's, and Sataghnis, all around. And large
rocks fell from it, and thousands of thunderbolts with loud report, and
many hundreds of wheels and razors of the splendour of fire. Karna
shooting showers of shafts, failed to destroy that thick and blazing
downpour of darts and lances and clubs. Loud became the uproar then of
falling steeds slain by those shafts, and mighty elephants struck with
thunder, and great car-warriors deprived of life by other weapons.
Afflicted by Ghatotkacha with that terrible shower of arrows all around,
that host of Duryodhana was seen to wander in great pain over the field.
With cries of Oh and Alas, and exceedingly cheerless, that wandering host
seemed on the point of being annihilated. The leaders, however, in
consequence of the nobility of their hearts, fled not away with faces
turned from the field. Beholding that exceedingly frightful and awful
shower of mighty weapons, caused by the Rakshasa's illusion, falling upon
the field, and seeing their vast army incessantly slaughtered, thy sons
became inspired with great fear. Hundreds of jackals with tongues blazing
like fire and terrible yells, began to cry. And, O king, the (Kaurava)
warriors beholding the yelling Rakshasas, became exceedingly distressed.
Those terrible Rakshasas with fiery tongues and blazing mouths and sharp
teeth, and with