morning sun rose.'"

SECTION CLXXXVII

"Sanjaya continued, 'The warrior, O king, thus clad in mail on the field
of battle, adored the thousand-rayed Aditya as he rose at morn. When the
thousand-rayed luminary, of splendour bright as burning gold, arose, and
the world became illumined, the battle once more commenced. The same
soldiers that were engaged with each other before the sunrise, once more
fought with each other, O Bharata, after the rise of the sun. Horsemen
engaged with car-warriors, and elephants with horsemen, and foot-soldiers
with elephants and horsemen with horsemen, O bull of Bharata's race.
Sometimes unitedly and sometimes separately, the warriors, fell upon one
another in battle. Having fought vigorously in the night, many, tired
with exertion, and weak with hunger and thirst became deprived of their
senses. The uproar made of the blare of conchs, the beat of drums, the
roar of elephants, and the twang of out-stretched bows drawn with force
touched the very heavens, O king! The noise made also by rushing infantry
and falling weapons, and neighing steeds and rolling cars, and shouting
and roaring of warriors, became tremendous. That loud noise increasing
every minute, reached the heavens. The groans and wails of pain, on
falling and fallen foot-soldiers and car-warriors and elephants, became
exceedingly loud and pitiable as these were heard on the field. When the
engagement became general, both side slew each other's own men and
animals. Hurled from the hands of heroes upon warriors and elephants,
heaps of swords were seen on the field, resembling heaps of cloths on the
washing ground. The sound, again, of uplifted and descending swords in
heroic arms resembled that of cloths thrashed for wash. That general
engagement then, in which the warriors encountered one another with
swords and scimitars and lances and battle-axes, became exceedingly
dreadful. The heroic combatants caused a river there, that ran its course
towards the regions of the dead. The blood of elephants and steeds and
human beings formed its current. Weapons formed its fish in profusion. It
was miry with blood and flesh. Wails of grief and pain formed its roar.
Banners and cloth formed its froth. Afflicted with shafts and darts, worn
with exertion, spent with toil on the (previous) night, and exceedingly
weakened, elephants and steeds, with limbs perfectly motionless, stood on
the field. With their arms (in beautiful attitudes) and wi