“Sanjaya said, ‘Listen, O king, to me as I describe to thee the wonderful
battle that then took place between the Kurus and the Pandavas.
Approaching Bharadwaja’s son who was staying at the gate of his array,
the Parthas battled vigorously for piercing through Drona’s division. And
Drona also, accompanied by his forces, desirous of protecting his own
array, battled with the Parthas, seeking glory. Vinda and Anuvinda of
Avanti, excited with wrath and desirous of benefiting thy son, struck
Virata with ten shafts. Virata also, O king, approaching those two
warriors of great prowess staying in battle, fought with them and their
followers. The battle that took place between these was fierce in the
extreme, and blood ran in it like water. And it resembled an encounter in
the woods between a lion and a couple of mighty elephants, with rent
temples. The mighty son of Yajnasena forcibly struck king Valhika in that
battle with fierce and sharp shafts capable of penetrating into the very
vitals. Valhika also filled with wrath, deeply pierced Yajnasena’s son
with nine straight shafts of golden wings and whetted on stone. And that
battle between those two warriors became exceedingly fierce,
characterised as it was by dense showers of shafts and darts. And it
enhanced the fears of the timid and the joy of heroes. The arrows shot by
them entirely covered the welkin and all the points of the compass, so
that nothing could any longer be discerned. And Saivya, the king of the
Govasanas on the head of the troops, fought in that battle with the
mighty car-warrior, the prince of the Kasis, like an elephant battling
with another. The king of the Valhikas, excited with wrath, fighting
against those (five) mighty car-warriors, viz., the sons of Draupadi,
looked resplendent, like the mind contending against the five senses. And
those five princes also, O foremost of embodied beings, fought with that
antagonist of theirs, shooting their arrows from all sides, like the
objects of the senses forever battling with the body. Thy son Duhsasana,
struck Satyaki of Vrishni’s race with nine straight shafts of keen
points. Deeply pierced by that strong and great bowman, Satyaki of
prowess incapable of being baffled, was partially deprived of his senses.
Comforted soon, he, of Vrishni’s race, then quickly pierced thy son, that
mighty car-warrior, with ten shafts winged with Kanka feathers. Piercing
each other deeply and afflicted with each other’s shafts, they looked
splendid, O king, like two Kinsukas decked with flowers. Afflicted with
the arrows of Kuntibhoja, Alamvusha, filled with wrath looked like a
beautiful Kinsuka graced with its flowering burthen. The Rakshasa then
having pierced Kuntibhoja with many arrows, uttered awful shouts at the
head of thy host. And as those heroes fought with each other in that
battle, they seemed to all the troops to resemble Sakra and the Asura
Jambha in days of old. The two sons of Madri, filled with wrath, fiercely
ground with their shafts the Gandhara prince Sakuni who had offended
against them greatly. The carnage, O monarch, that set in was awful.
Originated by thee, nurtured by Karna, and kept up by thy sons, the fire
of wrath (of the Pandavas) hath swollen now, O monarch, and is ready to
consume the whole earth. Forced to turn his back on the field by the two
sons of Pandu with their shafts, Sakuni unable to put forth his valour,
knew not what to do. Beholding him turn back, those mighty car-warriors,
viz., the two sons of Pandu, once more showered their arrows on him like
two masses of clouds pouring torrents of rain on a mighty hill. Struck
with countless straight shafts, the son of Suvala fled towards the
division of Drona, borne by his swift steeds. The brave Ghatotkacha
rushed towards the Rakshasa Alamvusha in that battle, with impetuosity
much short of what he was capable. The battle between those two became
fearful to behold, like that which in days of yore had taken place
between Rama and Ravana. King Yudhishthira, having in that battle pierced
the ruler of the Madras with five hundred arrows, once more pierced him
with seven. Then commenced that battle between them which was exceedingly
wonderful, O monarch, which resembled that, in days of yore, between the
Asura Samvara and the chief of the celestials. Thy sons Vivinsati and
Chitrasena and Vikarna, surrounded by a large force, battled with
Bhimasena.’”