earth, having pierced her through.  Beholding that feat of Drona’s son, viz., his having jumped down and seized that terrible Asani of celestial workmanship, all creatures applauded it.  Proceeding then, O king, to Dhrishtadyumna’s car, Bhimasena’s son, taking up a terrible bow that resembled the large bow of Indra himself, once more shot many keen shafts at the illustrious son of Drona.  Dhrishtadyumna also fearlessly shot at Aswatthaman’s chest many foremost of shafts, equipped with wings of gold and resembling snakes of virulent poison.  Then Drona’s son shot arrows and long shafts by thousands.  These two heroes, however, viz., Ghatotkacha and Dhrishtadyumna, struck and baffled Aswatthaman’s shafts by means of their own shafts whose touch resembled that of fire.  The battle then that took place between those two lions among men (Ghatotkacha on the one side) and the son of Drona (on the other) became fierce in the extreme and gladdened all the combatants, O bull of Bharata’s race!  Then, accompanied by a thousand cars, three hundred elephants, and six thousand horses, Bhimasena arrived at that spot.  The virtuous son of Drona, however, endued as he was with prowess that knew no fatigue, continued to fight with the heroic son of Bhima and with Dhrishtadyumna supported by his followers.[204] The prowess then that Drona’s son displayed on that occasion was exceedingly wonderful, in as much as, O Bharata, none else amongst all creatures is capable of accomplishing such feats.  Within the twinkling of an eye, he destroyed, by means of his sharp shafts, a full Akshauhini of Rakshasa troops with steeds, drivers, cars, and elephants, in the very sight of Bhimasena and Hidimva’s son and Prishata’s son and the twins and Dharma’s son and Vijaya and Achyuta.[205] Deeply struck with the straight-going shafts (of Aswatthaman), elephants fell down on elephants on the earth like crestless mountains.  Strewn all around with the lopped off trunks of elephants, that moved still in convulsions, the earth looked as if overspread with moving snakes.  And the earth looked resplendent with golden staves and royal umbrellas, like the firmament at the end of the Yuga, bespangled with planets and stars and many moons and suns.  And Drona’s son caused a bloody river of impetuous current to flow there.  The blood of elephants and steeds and combatants formed its water; tall standards its frogs; drums formed its large tortoises; umbrellas, its rows of swans, yak-tails in profusion, Kankas and vultures, its crocodiles; weapons its fishes; large elephants the stones and rocks on its banks; elephants and steeds, its sharks; cars, its unstable and broad banks; and banners, its beautiful rows of trees.  Having shafts for its (smaller) fishes, that frightful river had lances and darts and swords for snakes; marrow and flesh for its mire, and trunkless bodies floating on it for its rafts.  And it was choked with the hair (of men and animals) for its moss.  And it inspired