shafts on him. The mighty-armed hero, laughing at his foes, who had
once more rallied but who were on the point of death, addressed them in
these soft words,--"Do ye fight to the best of your power and do ye
endeavour to vanquish me. Do ye however, accomplish all necessary acts,
for a great danger awaits you all. See, I fight all of you, baffling your
clouds of arrows. Bent as you are on battle, tarry a little. I shall soon
quell your pride." The wielder of Gandiva, having said these words in
wrath, recollected, however, the words, O Bharata, of his eldest brother.
Those words were,--"Thou shouldst not, O child, slay those Kshatriyas who
will come against thee for battle. They should, however, be vanquished by
thee." That foremost of men, Phalguna, had been thus addressed by king
Yudhishthira the just, of great soul. He, therefore, began to reflect in
this strain. "Even thus was I commissioned by my brother. Warriors
advancing against me should not be slain. I must act in such a way as not
to falsify the words of king Yudhishthira the just." Having arrived at
this conclusion, Phalguna, that foremost of men, then said unto those
Saindhavas who were all fierce in battle, these words:--"I say what is
for your benefit. Though staying before me. I do not wish to slay you. He
amongst you who will say unto me that he has been vanquished by me and
that he is mine, will be spared by me. Having heard these words of mine,
act towards me in that way which may best conduce to your benefit. By
acting in a different way you will place yourselves in a situation of
great fear and danger." Having said these words unto those heroic
warriors the chief of the Kurus began to fight them. Arjuna was inflamed
with wrath. His foes, desirous of victory, were equally enraged. The
Saindhavas then, O king, shot hundreds and thousands of straight arrows
at the wielder of Gandiva. Dhananjaya, with his own whetted shafts, cut
off those arrows of sharp and terrible points, resembling snakes of
virulent poison, before they could come up to him. Having cut off those
sharp arrows equipt with Kanka feathers, Arjuna pierced each of the
warriors opposed to him with a whetted shaft. The Saindhava Kshatriyas,
recollecting that it was Dhananjaya who had slain their king Jayadratha,
then hurled at him darts and javelins with great force. The diadem-decked
Dhananjaya of great might baffled their intent by cutting off all those
weapons before any of them could reach