son of Madri, thus afflicted by
Karna's son, sprang upon Bhima's car like a lion springing upon a
mountain summit, in the sight of Dhananjaya. The high-souled and heroic
Vrishasena then, filled with wrath, poured his arrowy showers upon those
two mighty car-warriors for piercing those two sons of Pandu. After the
destruction of that car belonging to the son of Pandu (Nakula), and after
his sword also had been speedily cut off with (Vrishasena's) shafts; many
other foremost of Kuru heroes, uniting together, approached the Pandava
brothers, and began to strike them with showers of shafts. Then those two
sons of Pandu, Bhima and Arjuna, filled with wrath, and resembling two
fires fed with libations of clarified butter, poured terrible showers of
arrows upon Vrishasena and the other assembled warriors around him. The
son of the Wind-god then, addressing Phalguna, said, "Behold, Nakula here
is being afflicted. The son of Karna is resisting us. Proceed, therefore,
against Karna's son." Hearing these words, the diadem-decked (Arjuna)
approached the car of his brother Vrikodara. Beholding that hero arrived
near, Nakula addressed him, saying, "Do thou speedily slay this one."
Thus addressed in that battle by his brother, Nakula, standing before
him, the diadem-decked Arjuna, that formidable hero, precipitately caused
his ape-bannered vehicle, guided by Keshava himself, to be driven towards
Vrishasena.'"

85

"Sanjaya said, 'Learning that Nakula had been deprived of his car,
afflicted with arrows and mangled with the weapons of Karna's son, and
that he had his shafts, bow, and sword cut off, these eleven formidable
resisters of all foes, the five heroic sons of Drupada, the grandson of
Sini forming the sixth, and the five sons of Draupadi quickly proceeded
on their loud-sounding cars drawn by bounding steeds, with banners waving
in the air, and guided by accomplished drivers. Those well-armed warriors
began to destroy thy elephants and cars and men and steeds with shafts
that resembled formidable snakes. Then Hridika's son and Kripa and
Drona's son and Duryodhana and Shakuni's son and Vrika and Kratha and
Devavridha, those foremost of Kaurava car-warriors, speedily proceeded
against them, armed with their bows and mounted upon their cars of rattle
deep as the roar of elephants or the clouds. These Kaurava warriors,
assailing those foremost of men and first of car-warriors, those eleven
heroes (of the Pandava army), O king, w