Vaisampayana said, "Those soldiers then, O king, all went back to
Duryodhana and repeated to him every word that the _Gandharvas_ had
said. And, O Bharata, finding that his soldiers had been opposed by the
_Gandharvas_, Dhritarashtra's son, endued with energy, was filled with
rage. And the king addressed his soldiers, saying, 'Punish these
wretches who desire to oppose my will, even if they have come hither to
sport, accompanied by all the celestials with him of a hundred
sacrifices.' And hearing these words of Duryodhana, the sons and
officers of Dhritarashtra all endued with great strength, as also
warriors by thousands, began to arm themselves for battle. And filling
the ten sides with loud leonine roars and rushing at those _Gandharvas_
that had been guarding the gates, they entered the forest. And as the
Kuru soldiers entered the forest, other _Gandharvas_ came up and forbade
them to advance. And though gently forbidden by the _Gandharvas_ to
advance, the Kuru soldiers, without regarding them in the least, began
to enter that mighty forest. And when those rangers of the sky found
that the warriors of Dhritarashtra along with their king could not be
stopped by words they all went to their king Chitrasena and represented
everything unto him. And when Chitrasena, the king of the Gandharvas,
came to know all this he became filled with rage, alluding to the Kuru,
and commanded his followers saying, 'Punish these wretches of wicked
behaviour.' And, O Bharata, when the _Gandharvas_ were so commanded by
Chitrasena, they rushed weapons in hand, towards the Dhritarashtra
ranks. And beholding the _Gandharvas_ impetuously rushing towards them
with upraised weapons, the Kuru warriors precipitously fled in all
directions at the very sight of Duryodhana. And beholding the Kuru
soldiers all flying from the field with their backs to the foe, the
heroic Radheya alone fled not. And seeing the mighty host of the
Gandharvas rushing towards him, Radheya checked them by a perfect shower
of arrows. And the _Suta's_ son, owing to his extreme lightness 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, with swords and battle-axes and spears. And some cut down the
yoke of his car, and some his flagstaff, and some the shaft of his car,
and some his horses, and some his charioteer. And some cut down his
umbrella and some the wooden fender round his car and some the joints of
his car. It was thus that many thousands of Gandharvas, together
attacking his car, broke it into minute fragments. And while his car was
thus attacked, Karna leaped therefrom with sword and shield in hand, and
mounting on Vikarna's car, urged the steeds for saving himself."