O king, thus slain, Karna, with tearful face, recollected the word of Vidura.  Mounting upon another car that was duly equipped, Karna, endued with great prowess, quickly proceeded against the son of Pandu in battle.  Piercing each other with whetted arrows, equipped with wings of gold, the two warriors looked resplendent like two masses of clouds penetrated by the rays of the sun.  Then the son of Pandu, excited with rage, cut off the armour of Suta’s son with six and thirty broad-headed arrows of great sharpness and fierce energy.  The mighty-armed Suta’s son also, O bull of Bharata’s race, pierced the son of Kunti with fifty straight arrows.  The two warriors then, smeared with red sandal-paste with many a wound caused by each other’s arrows, and covered also with gore, looked resplendent like the risen sun and the moon.  Their coats of mail cut off by means of arrows, and their bodies covered with blood, Karna and Bhima then looked like a couple of snakes just freed from their sloughs.  Indeed, those two tigers among men mangled each other with their arrows, like two tigers mangling each other with their teeth.  The two heroes incessantly showered their shafts, like two masses of clouds pouring torrents of rain.  Those two chastisers of foes tore each other’s body with their arrows, like two elephants tearing each other with the points of their tusks.  Roaring at each other and showering their arrows upon each other, causing their cars to trace beautiful circles.  They resembled a couple of mighty bulls roaring at each other in the presence of a cow in her season.  Indeed, those two lions among men then looked like a couple of mighty lions endued with eyes red in wrath, these two warriors endued with great energy fought on like Sakra and Virochana’s son (Prahlada).  Then, O king, the mighty-armed Bhima, as he stretched his bow with his two hands, looked like a cloud charged with lightning.  Then mighty Bhima-cloud, having the twang of the bow for its thunder and incessant showers of arrows for its rainy downpour, covered, O king, the Karna-mountain.  And once more Pandu’s son, Bhima of terrible prowess, O Bharata, shrouded Karna with a thousand shafts shot from his bow.  And as he shrouded Karna with his winged shafts, equipped with Kanka feathers, thy sons witnessed his extra ordinary prowess.  Gladdening Partha himself and the illustrious Kesava, Satyaki and the two protectors of (two) wheels (of Arjuna’s car), Bhima fought even thus with Karna.  Beholding the perseverance of Bhima who knew his own self, thy sons, O monarch, all became cheerless.’”

SECTION CXXXVI