Vaisampayana said, "After the son of Radha had fled from the field,
other warriors headed by Duryodhana, one after another, fell upon the
son of Pandu with their respective divisions. And like the shore
withstanding the fury of the surging sea, that warrior withstood the
rage of that countless host rushing towards him, arrayed in order of
battle and showering clouds of arrows. And that foremost of
car-warriors, Kunti's son Vibhatsu of white steeds, rushed towards the
foe, discharging celestial weapons all the while. Partha soon covered
all the points of the horizon with countless arrows shot from the
_Gandiva_, like the sun covering the whole earth with his rays. And
amongst those that fought on cars and horses and elephants, and amongst
the mail-clad foot-soldiers, there was none that had on his body a space
of even two finger's breadth unwounded with sharp arrows. And for his
dexterity in applying celestial weapons, and for the training of the
steeds and the skill of Uttara, and for the coursing of his weapons, and
his prowess and light-handedness, people began to regard Arjuna as the
fire that blazeth forth during the time of the universal dissolution for
consuming all created things. And none amongst the foe could cast his
eyes on Arjuna who shone like a blazing fire of great effulgence. And
mangled by the arrows of Arjuna, the hostile ranks looked like
newly-risen clouds on the breast of a hill reflecting the solar rays, or
like groves of _Asoka_ trees resplendent with clusters of flowers.
Indeed, afflicted by the arrows of Partha, the soldiers looked like
these, or like a beautiful garland whose flowers gradually wither and
drop away: And the all-pervading wind bore on its wings in the sky the
torn flags and umbrellas of the hostile host. And affrighted at the
havoc amongst their own ranks, the steeds fled in all directions, freed
from their yokes by means of Partha's arrows and dragging after them
broken portions of cars and elephants, struck on their ears and ribs and
tusks and nether lips and other delicate parts of the body, began to
drop down on the battle-field. And the earth, bestrewn in a short time
with the corpses of elephants belonging to the Kauravas, looked like the
sky overcast with masses of black clouds. And as that fire of blazing
flames at the end of the _yuga_ consumeth all perishable things of the
world, both mobile and immobile, so did Partha, O king, consumeth all
foes in battle. And by the energy of his weapons and the twang of his
bow, and the preter-natural yells of the creatures stationed on his
flagstaff, and the terrible roar of the monkey, and by the blast of his
conch, that mighty grinder of foes, Vibhatsu, struck terror into the
hearts of all the troops of Duryodhana. And the strength of every
hostile warrior seemed, as it were, to be levelled to the dust at the
very sight of Arjuna. And unwilling to commit the daring act of sin of
slaying them that were defenceless, Arjuna suddenly fell back and
attacked the army from behind by means of clouds of keen-edged arrows
proceeding towards their aims like hawks let off by fowlers. And he soon
covered the entire welkin with clusters of blood-drinking arrows. And as
the (infinite) rays of the powerful sun, entering a small vessel, are
contracted within it for want of space, so the countless shafts of
Arjuna could not find space for their expansion even within the vast
welkin. Foes were able to behold Arjuna's car, when near, only once, for
immediately after, they were with their horses, sent to the other world.
And as his arrows unobstructed by the bodies of foes always passed
through them, so his car, unimpeded by hostile ranks, always passed
through the latter. And, indeed, he began to toss about and agitate the
hostile troops with great violence like the thousand-headed Vasuki
sporting in the great ocean. And as Kiritin incessantly shot his shafts,
the noise of the bow-string, transcending every sound, was so loud that
the like of it had never been heard before by created beings. And the
elephants crowding the field, their bodies pierced with (blazing) arrows
with small intervals between looked like black clouds coruscated with
solar rays. And ranging in all directions and shooting (arrows) right
and left, Arjuna's bow was always to be seen drawn to a perfect circle.
And the arrows of the wielder of the _Gandiva_ never fell upon anything
except the aim, even as the eye never dwelleth on anything that is not
beautiful. And as the track of a herd of elephants marching through the
forest is made of itself, so was the track was made of itself for the
car of Kiritin. And struck and mangled by Partha, the hostile warriors
thought that,--_Verily, Indra himself, desirous of Partha's victory,
accompanied by all the immortals is slaying us_! And they also regarded
Vijaya, who was making a terrible slaughter around, to be none else than
Death himself who having assumed the form of Arjuna, was slaying all
creatures. And the troops of the Kurus, struck by Partha, were so
mangled and shattered that the scene looked like the achievement of
Partha himself and could be compared with nothing else save what was
observable in Partha's combats. And he severed the heads of foes, even
as reapers cut off the tops of deciduous herbs. And the Kurus all lost
their energy owing to the terror begot of Arjuna. And tossed and mangled
by the Arjuna-gale, the forest of Arjuna's foes reddened the earth with
purple secretions. And the dust mixed with blood, uplifted by the wind,
made the very rays of the sun redder still. And soon the sun-decked sky
became so red that it looked very much like the evening. Indeed, the sun
ceaseth to shed his rays as soon as he sets, but the son of Pandu ceased
not to shoot his shafts. And that hero of inconceivable energy
overwhelmed, by means of all celestial weapons, all the great bowmen of
the enemy, although they were possessed of great prowess. And Arjuna
then shot three and seventy arrows of sharp points at Drona, and ten at
Dussaha and eight at Drona's son, and twelve at Duhsasana, and three at
Kripa, the son of Saradwat. And that slayer of foes pierced Bhishma, the
son of Santanu, with arrows, and king Duryodhana with a hundred. And,
lastly, he pierced Karna in the ear with a bearded shaft. And when that
great bowmen Karna, skilled in all weapons, was thus pierced, and his
horses and car and car-driver were all destroyed, the troops that
supported him began to break. And beholding those soldiers break and
give way the son of Virata desirous of knowing Partha's purpose,
addressed him on the field of battle, and said, 'O Partha, standing on
this beautiful car, with myself as charioteer, towards which division
shall I go? For, commanded by thee, I would soon take thee thither.'
"Arjuna replied, 'O Uttara, yonder auspicious warrior whom thou seest
cased in coat of tiger-skin and stationed on his car furnished with a
blue-flag and drawn by red steeds, is Kripa. There is to be seen the van
of Kripa's division. Take me thither. I shall show that great bowman my
swift-handedness in archery. And that warrior whose flag beareth the
device of an elegant water-pot worked in gold, is the preceptor
Drona--that foremost of all wielders of weapons. He is always an object
of regard with me, as also with all bearers of arms. Do thou, therefore,
circumambulate that great hero cheerfully. Let us bend our heads there,
for that is the eternal virtue. If Drona strikes my body first, then I
shall strike him, for then he will not be able to resent it. There,
close to Drona, that warrior whose flag beareth the device of a bow, is
the preceptor's son, the great car-warrior Aswatthaman, who is always an
object of regard with me as also with every bearer of arms. Do thou,
therefore, stop again and again, while thou comest by his car. There,
that warrior who stayeth on his car, cased in golden mail and surrounded
by a third part of the army consisting of the most efficient troops, and
whose flag beareth the device of an elephant in a ground of gold, is the
illustrious king Duryodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra. O hero, take
before him this thy car that is capable of grinding hostile cars. This
king is difficult of being vanquished in battle and is capable of
grinding all foes. He is regarded as the first of all Drona's disciples
in lightness of hand. I shall, in battle, show him my superior swiftness
in archery. There, that warrior whose flag beareth the device of a stout
chord for binding elephants, is Karna, the son of Vikartana, already
known to thee. When thou comest before that wicked son of Radha, be thou
very careful, for he always challengeth me to an encounter. And that
warrior whose flag is blue and beareth the device of five stars with a
sun (in the centre), and who endued with great energy stayeth on his car
holding a huge bow in hand and wearing excellent fences, and over whose
head is an umbrella of pure white, who standeth at the head of a
multitudinous array of cars with various flags and banners like the sun
in advance of masses of black clouds, and whose mail of gold looks
bright as the sun or the moon, and who with his helmet of gold striketh
terror into my heart, is Bhishma, the son of Santanu and the grandsire
of us all. Entertained with regal splendour by Duryodhana, he is very
partial and well-affected towards that prince. Let him be approached
last of all, for he may, even now, be an obstacle to me. While fighting
with me, do thou carefully guide the steeds.' Thus addressed by him,
Virata's son, O king, guided Savyasachin's car with great alacrity
towards the spot where Kripa stood anxious to fight."