bow as soon as the latter took up one.  Seeing his bows repeatedly cut off, Bhima then hurled, in that battle, a dart made wholly of iron and hard as the thunder.  That dart blazing as a flame of fire, resembled the sister of Death.  The Kuru king, however, in the very sight of all the warriors and before the eyes of Bhima himself, cut in three fragments that dart, which coursed towards him through the welkin with the splendour of fire and dividing it, as it were by a straight line such as is visible on the head of a woman parting her tresses.  Then Bhima, O king, whirling his heavy and blazing mace, hurled it with great force at the car of Duryodhana.  That heavy mace speedily crushed the steeds, the driver, and the car also, of thy son in that encounter.  Thy son, then, O monarch, afraid of Bhima and shrinking within the narrowest compass, ascended another car, viz., that of the illustrious Nandaka.  Then Bhima, regarding Suyodhana to have been slain amid the darkness of that night, uttered a loud leonine roar challenging the Kauravas.  Thy warriors regarded the king to be slain.  All of them uttered loud cries of Oh and Alas.  Hearing the wails of the affrighted warriors and the roars of the high souled Bhima, O king, king Yudhishthira also regarded Suyodhana to have been slain.  And the eldest son of Pandu, thereupon, rushed quickly to the spot where Vrikodara, the son of Pritha, was.  And the Panchalas, the Srinjayas, the Matsyas, the Kaikeyas, and the Chedis, speedily advanced, with all their might against Drona from desire of slaying him.  There also occurred a dreadful battle between Drona and the enemy.  And the combatants of both sides were enveloped in thick gloom and struck and slew one another’.”

SECTION CLXVI

’Sanjaya said, ’Karna, the son of Vikartana,[222] O king, resisted the mighty car-warrior Sahadeva in that battle, who advanced from desire of getting at Drona.  Piercing the son of Radha with nine shafts, Sahadeva once more pierced that warrior with nine straight arrows.  Karna then pierced Sahadeva in return with a hundred straight shafts, and displaying great lightness in hand, cut off the latter’s stringed bow.  Then the valiant son of Madri, taking up another bow, pierced Karna with twenty arrows.  This feat of his seemed exceedingly wonderful.  Then Karna, slaying Sahadeva’s steeds with many straight shafts, speedily despatched the latter’s driver with a broad-headed shaft, to Yama’s abode.  This carless Sahadeva then took up a sword and a shield.  Even those weapons were cut off by Karna smiling the while.  Then the mighty Sahadeva, in that encounter, sped towards the car of Vikartana’s son, a heavy and terrible mace decked with gold.  Karna, then with his shafts, quickly cut off that mace which hurled by Sahadeva, coursed towards him impetuously, and caused it to fall down on the earth.  Beholding his mace cut off, Sahadeva quickly hurled a dart at