The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 4 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 228 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 4.

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 4 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 228 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 4.
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
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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 4 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.