not even gaze at Dhananjaya, that foremost of all
bearers of arms, that hero equal to the chief of the
gods himself, that bull among men, seen at the same
time in all directions on his car, scattering his mighty
weapons, dancing in the tract of his car, and producing
deafening sounds with his bowstring and palms, and
resembling the midday sun of scorching rays in the
firmament. Bearing his shafts of blazing points,
the diadem-decked Arjuna looked beautiful like a mighty
mass of rain-charged clouds in the season of rains
decked with a rainbow. When that perfect flood
of mighty weapons was set in motion by Jishnu, many
bulls among warriors sank in that frightful and unfordable
flood. Strewn with infuriated elephants whose
trunks or tusks had been cut off, with steeds deprived
of hoofs or necks, with cars reduced to pieces, with
warriors having their entrails drawn out and others
with legs or other limbs cut off, with bodies lying
in hundreds and thousands that were either perfectly
still or moving unconsciously, we beheld the vast
field, on which Partha battled, resembled the coveted
arena of Death, O king, enhancing the terrors of the
timid, or like the sporting ground of Rudra when he
destroyed creatures in days of old. Portions
of the field, strewn with the trunks of elephants
cut off with razor-headed arrows, looked as if strewn
with snakes. Portions, again, covered with the
cut-off heads of warriors, looked as if strewn with
garlands of lotuses. Variegated with beautiful
head-gear and crowns, Keyuras and Angadas and car-rings
with coats of mail decked with gold, and with the
trappings and other ornaments of elephants and steeds,
and scattered over with hundreds of diadems, lying
here and there, and the earth looked exceedingly beautiful
like a new bride. Dhananjaya then caused a fierce
and terrible river full of fearful objects and enhancing
the fear of the timid, to flow resembling the Vaitarani
itself. The marrow and fat (of men and animals)
formed its mire. Blood formed its current.
Full of limbs and bones, it was fathomless in depth.
The hairs of creatures formed its moss and weeds.
Heads and arms formed the stones on its shores.
It was decked with standards and banners that variegated
its aspect. Umbrellas and bows formed the waves.
And it abounded with bodies of huge elephants deprived
of life, and it teemed with cars that formed hundreds
of rafts floating on its surface. And the carcases
of countless steeds formed its banks. And it
was difficult to cross in consequence of wheels and
yokes and shafts and Akshas and Kuveras of cars, and
spears and swords and darts and battle-axes and shafts
looking like snakes. And ravens and kankas formed
its alligators. And jackals, forming its Makaras,
made in terrible. And fierce vultures formed
its sharks. And it became frightful in consequence
of the howls of jackals. And it abounded with
capering ghosts and Pisachas and thousands of other
kinds of spirits. And on it floated countless