d fragments those of the
prince as also the latter's standard and bow. He then killed his
antagonist's driver. Then Dhrishtadyumna, smiling, took up another bow,
and pierced Drona with a keen shaft in the centre of the chest. Deeply
pierced therewith and losing his self-possession in that encounter, that
mighty bowman, then, with a sharp and broad-headed arrow, once more cut off
Dhrishtadyumna's bow. Indeed, the invincible Drona then cut off all the
weapons, O king, and all the bows that his antagonist had, with the
exception only of his mace and sword. Filled with rage, he then pierced
the angry Dhrishtadyumna, O chastiser of foes, with nine keen arrows,
capable of taking the life of every foe. Then the mighty car-warrior
Dhrishtadyumna, of immeasurable soul, invoking into existence the Brahma
weapon, caused the steeds of his own car to be mingled with those of his
foes. Endued with the speed of the wind, those steeds that were red and
of the hue of pigeons, O bull of Bharata's race, thus mingled together,
looked exceedingly beautiful. Indeed, O king, those steeds thus mingled
together on the field of battle, looked beautiful like roaring clouds in
the season of rains, charged with lightning. Then that twice-born one of
immeasurable soul cut off the shaft-joints, the wheel-joints, and (other)
car-joints of Dhrishtadyumna. Deprived of his bow, and made carless and
steedless and driverless, the heroic Dhrishtadyumna, fallen into great
distress, grasped a mace. Filled with rage, the mighty car-warrior,
Drona, of unbaffled prowess, by means of a number of keen shafts, cut off
that mace, while it was on the point of being hurled at him. Beholding
his mace cut off by Drona with arrows, that tiger among men, (viz., the
Panchala prince), took up a spotless sword and a bright shield decked
with a hundred moons. Without doubt, under those circumstances, the
Panchala prince determined to make an end of that foremost of preceptors,
that high-souled warrior. Sometimes sheltering himself in his car-box
and sometimes riding on his car-shafts, the prince moved about, uplifting
his swords and whirling his bright shield. The mighty car-warrior
Dhrishtadyumna, desirous of achieving, from folly, a difficult feat,
hoped to pierce the chest of Bharadwaja's son in that battle. Sometimes,
he stayed upon the yoke, and sometimes under the haunches of Drona's red
steeds. These movements of his were highly applauded by all the troops.
Indeed, while