“Dhritarashtra said, ‘While mighty Bhimasena was uttering those loud
shouts deep as the roar of the clouds or peals of thunder, what heroes
(of our side) surrounded him? I do not behold that warrior, O Sanjaya, in
the three worlds, who is capable of staying before the enraged Bhimasena
in battle. I do not, O son, behold him that can stay on the field of
battle before Bhimasena armed with mace and resembling Death himself. Who
will stand before that Bhima, not excepting Sakra himself, that destroys
a car with a car and an elephant with an elephant?[153] Who, amongst
those devoted to Duryodhana’s welfare stood in battle before Bhimasena
excited with rage and engaged in slaughtering my sons? Who were those men
that stood in battle in front of Bhimasena, engaged in consuming my sons
like a forest conflagration consuming dry leaves and straw? Who were they
that surrounded Bhima in battle, beholding my sons slain by him one after
another like Death himself cutting off all creatures? I do not fear
Arjuna so much, or Krishna so much, or Satyaki so much, or him (viz.,
Dhrishtadyumna) so much who was born of the sacrificial fire, as I fear
Bhima. Tell me, O Sanjaya, who were those heroes that rushed against that
blazing fire, represented by Bhima, which so consumed my sons?’
“Sanjaya said, ‘While the mighty car-warrior Bhimasena was uttering
those roars, mighty Karna, unable to bear them, rushed at him with a loud
shout, stretching his bow with great force. Indeed, the mighty Karna,
desirous of battle, displayed his strength and checked Bhima’s course
like a tall tree withstanding tempest. The heroic Bhima also, beholding
Vikartana’s son before him, suddenly blazed up in wrath and sped at him
with great force many shafts whetted on stone. Karna received all those
shafts and sped many in return. At that encounter between Bhima and
Karna, hearing the sounds of their palms, the limbs of all the struggling
combatants, car-warriors, and horsemen, began to tremble. Indeed, hearing
the terrible roars of Bhimasena on the field of battle, even all the
foremost of Kshatriyas regarded the whole earth and the welkin to be
filled with that noise. And at the fierce peals uttered by the
high-souled son of Pandu, the bows of all warriors in that battle dropped
on the earth. And steeds and elephants, O king, dispirited, ejected urine
and excreta. Various frightful omens of evil then made their appearance.
The welkin was covered with flights of vultures and Kankas during that
terrific encounter between Bhima and Karna. Then Karna struck Bhima with
twenty arrows, and quickly pierced the latter’s charioteer also with
five. Smiling the while, the mighty and active Bhima then, in that
battle, quickly sped at Karna four and sixty arrows. Then Karna, O king,
sped four shafts at him. Bhima, by means of his straight shafts, cut them
into many fragments, O king, displaying his lightness of hand. Then Karna
covered him with dense showers of arrows. Thus covered by Karna, the
mighty son of Pandu, however, cut off Karna’s bow at the handle and then
pierced Karna with ten straight arrows. The Suta’s son then, that mighty
car-warrior of terrible deeds, taking up another bow and stringing it
quickly, pierced Bhima in that battle (with many shafts). Then Bhima,
excited with rage, struck the Suta’s son with great force on the chest
with three straight shafts. With those arrows sticking at his breast,
Karna looked beautiful, O bull of Bharata’s race, like a mountain with
three tall summits. Thus pierced with mighty shafts, blood began to flow
from his wounds, like torrents of liquid red-chalk down the breast of a
mountain. Afflicted with those shafts shot with great force, Karna became
agitated a little. Fixing an arrow then on his bow, he pierced Bhima,
again, O sire! And once more he began to shoot arrows by hundreds and
thousands. Suddenly shrouded with shafts by that firm bowman, viz.,
Karna, the son of Pandu, smiling the while, cut off Karna’s bow-string.
And then with a broad-headed arrow, he despatched Karna’s charioteer to
the abode of Yama. And that mighty car-warrior, viz., Bhima, deprived the
four steeds also of Karna of their lives. The mighty car-warrior Karna
then speedily jumping down, O king, from his steedless car, mounted the
car of Vrishasena. The valiant Bhimasena then, having vanquished Karna in
battle, uttered a loud shout deep as the roar of the clouds. Hearing that
roar, O Bharata, Yudhishthira became highly gratified, knowing that Karna
had been vanquished by Bhimasena. And the combatants of the Pandava army
blew their conchs from every side. Their enemies, viz., thy warriors,
hearing that noise, roared loudly. Arjuna stretched Gandiva, and Krishna
blew Panchajanya. Drowning, however, all those sounds, the noise made by
the roaring Bhima, was, O king, heard by all the combatants, O sire! Then
those two warriors, viz., Karna, and Bhima, each struck the other with
straight shafts. The son of Radha, however, shot shafts mildly, but the
son of Pandu shot his with great force.’”