giver of honours.  Do thou therefore, O Karna, with myself and other brave and mighty car-warriors, with Drona’s son and the ruler of the Madras and Kripa fight with Partha in battle, exerting thyself with the greatest firmness and resolution.’  Thus addressed by thy son, O sire, the son of Radha replied unto Duryodhana, that foremost one among the Kurus, in these words, ’Deeply hath my body been pierced in battle by the brave bowman Bhimasena, capable of striking vigorously with repeated showers of arrows.  O giver of honours, that I am yet present in battle is because that one like me should be present here.  Scorched with the powerful shafts of Bhimasena, every limb of mine is suffering from torturing pain I shall, however, for all that, fight to the best of my powers.  My life itself is for thee.  I shall strive my best so that this foremost one of the sons of Pandu may not succeed in slaying the ruler of the Sindhus.  As long as I shall fight, shooting my whetted shafts, the heroic Dhananjaya, capable of drawing the bow with even his left hand, will not succeed in getting at the ruler of the Sindhus.  All that a person, bearing love and affection to thee and always solicitous of thy good, may do, shall be done by me, O thou of Kuru’s race!  As regards victory, that depends on destiny.  I shall in battle today exert myself to my utmost for the sake of the ruler of the Sindhus, and for achieving thy good.  O king, victory, however, is dependent on destiny.  Relying on my manliness, I shall fight with Arjuna today for thy sake, O tiger among men!  Victory, however, is dependent on destiny.  O chief of the Kurus, let all the troops behold today the fierce battle, making the very hair stand on end, that takes place between myself and Arjuna.’  While Karna and the Kuru king were thus talking to each other in battle, Arjuna began, with his keen arrows, to slaughter thy host.  With his broad-headed arrows of great sharpness he began to cut off in that battle the arms, looking like spiked clubs or the trunks of elephants, of unreturning heroes.  And the mighty-armed hero also cut off their heads with whetted shafts.  And Vibhatsu also cut off the trunks of elephants and the necks of steeds and the Akshas of cars all around, as also blood-dyed horsemen, armed with spears and lances, with razor-faced arrows into two or three fragments.  And steeds and foremost of elephants and standards and umbrellas and bows and Yalk-tails and heads fell fast on all sides.  Consuming thy host like a blazing fire consuming a heap of dry grass, Partha soon caused the earth to be covered with blood.  And the mighty and invincible Partha, of prowess incapable of being baffled, causing an immense slaughter in that army of thine, soon reached the ruler of the Sindhus.  Protected by Bhimasena and by Satwata, Vibhatsu, O chief of the Bharatas, looked resplendent like a blazing fire.  Beholding Phalguna in that state, the mighty bowmen of thy army, those bulls among men, endued with wealth of energy,