s of hand,
struck hundreds of Gandharvas with Kshurapras and arrows and Bhallas and
various weapons made of bones and steel. And that mighty warrior, causing
the heads of numerous Gandharvas to roll down within a short time, made
the ranks of Chitrasena to yell in anguish. And although they were
slaughtered in great numbers by Karna endued with great intelligence, yet
the Gandharvas returned to the charge by hundreds and thousands. And in
consequence of the swarms of Chitrasena's warriors rushing impetuously to
the field the earth itself became soon covered by the Gandharva host.
Then king Duryodhana, and Sakuni, the son of Suvala, and Dussasana, and
Vikarna, and other sons of Dhritarashtra, seated on cars the clatter of
whose wheels resembled the roars of Garuda, returned to the charge,
following the lead of Karna, and began to slaughter that host. And
desirous of supporting Karna, these princes invested the Gandharva army,
with a large number of cars and a strong body of horses. Then the whole
of the Gandharva host began to fight with the Kauravas. And the encounter
that took place between the contending hosts was fierce in the extreme
and might make one's hair stand on end. The Gandharvas, at last,
afflicted with the shafts of the Kuru army, seemed to be exhausted. And
the Kauravas beholding the Gandharvas so afflicted sent up a loud sound.

"And seeing the Gandharva host yielding to fear, the angry Chitrasena
sprang from his seat, resolved to exterminate the Kuru army. And
conversant with various modes of warfare, he waged on the fight, aided by
his weapons of illusion. And the Kaurava warriors were then all deprived
of their senses by the illusion of Chitrasena. And then, O Bharata, it
seemed that every warrior of the Kuru army was fallen upon and surrounded
by ten Gandharvas. And attacked with great vigour, the Kuru host was
greatly afflicted and struck with panic. O king, all of them that liked
to live, fled from the field. But while the entire Dhritarashtra host
broke and fled, Karna, that offspring of the Sun, stood there, O king,
immovable as a hill. Indeed, Duryodhana and Karna and Sakuni, the son of
Suvala, all fought with the Gandharvas, although every one of them was
much wounded and mangled in the encounter. All the Gandharvas then,
desirous of slaying Karna, rushed together by hundreds and thousands
towards Karna. And those mighty warriors, desirous of slaying the Suta's
son, surrounded him on all sides,