and showering their arrowy downpours, rushed towards
Drona’s car, without much speed. Then that
mighty car-warrior among the Kaikeyas, viz.,
Vrihatkshatra, incessantly scattering keen shafts that
resembled the thunder in force, proceeded towards
Drona. Then Kshemadhurti of great fame quickly
rushed against Vrihatkshatra, shooting keen arrows
by thousands. Beholding this, that bull among
the Chedis, viz., Dhrishtaketu, endued with great
might, quickly proceeded against Kshemadhurti, like
Mahendra proceeding against the Asura Samvara.
Seeing him rush with great impetuosity, like the Destroyer
himself with wide-open mouth, that mighty bowman viz.,
Viradhanwan, proceeded against him with great speed.
King Yudhishthira staying there at the head of his
division from desire of victory, was resisted by valiant
Drona himself. Thy son Vikarna, O lord, endued
with great prowess, proceeded against the rushing
Nakula of great prowess, that warrior accomplished
in battle. That scorcher of foes, viz.,
Durmukha, covered the advancing Sahadeva with many
thousands of swiftly-coursing shafts. The heroic
Vyughradatta resisted that tiger among men, viz.,
Satyaki making him repeatedly tremble by means of
his sharp and keen-pointed shafts. The son of
Somadatta resisted the (five) sons of Draupadi, those
tigers among men, those great car-warriors, wrathfully
shooting mighty shafts. That mighty car-warrior,
viz., Rishyasringa’s fierce son (the Rakshasa
Alamvusha), of awful mien, resisted the advancing
Bhimasena filled with wrath. The encounter that
then took place between that man and Rakshasa resembled,
O king, the battle in days of yore between Rama, and
Ravana. Then, O Bharata, Yudhishthira, that chief
of the Bharatas, struck Drona with ninety straight
shafts in all his vital parts. Enraged by the
famous son of Kunti, Drona struck him in return, O
chief of the Bharatas, in the centre of the chest
with five and twenty shafts. And once more, in
the very sight of all the bowmen, Drona struck him,
with his steeds, charioteer, and standard, with twenty
shafts. Pandu’s son, of virtuous soul,
displaying great lightness of hand, baffled with his
own arrowy showers those arrows shot by Drona, Then
that great bowman Drona, filled with rage, cut off
the bow of the high souled king Yudhishthira the just.
Then that great car-warrior (viz., the son of Bharadwaja)
speedily covered the bowless Yudhishthira with many
thousands of shafts. Beholding the king made
invisible by the shafts of Bharadwaja’s son,
all thought that Yudhishthira was dead, and some thought
that the king had fled before Drona. And many
cried out, O king, saying, ’Alas the king hath
been slain by the high-souled Brahmana.’
Then, king Yudhishthira the just, fallen into great
distress, having laid aside that bow cut off by Bharadwaja’s
son in battle took up another excellent, bright and
tougher bow. And that hero then cut off in that
encounter all those shafts shot in thousands by Drona.