possessed of great strength, and which was irrefragable and celestial.  And he fixed on it a fierce arrow, resembling a snake of virulent poison and possessed of the splendour of fire.  That arrow, resembling a fire of fierce flame, while within the circle of his bow, looked like the autumnal sun of great splendour within a radiant circle.  Beholding that blazing bow bent with force by Prishata’s son, the troops regarded that to be the last hour (of the world).  Seeing that arrow aimed at him, the valiant son of Bharadwaja thought that the last hour of his body had come.  The preceptor prepared with care to baffle that shaft.  The weapons, however, of that high-souled one, O monarch, no longer appeared at his bidding.[253] His weapons had not been exhausted although he had shot them ceaselessly for four days and one night.  On the expiry, however, of the third part of that of the fifth day, his arrows became exhausted.  Seeing the exhaustion of his arrows and afflicted with grief on account of his son’s death, and in consequence also of the unwillingness of the celestial weapons to appear at his bidding, he desired to lay aside his weapons, as requested by the words of the Rishis also.  Though filled with great energy, he could not however, fight as before.  Then taking up another celestial bow that Angiras had given him, and certain arrows that resembled a Brahmana’s curse, he continued to fight with Dhrishtadyumna.  He covered the Panchala prince with a thick shower of arrows, and filled with rage, mangled his angry antagonist.  With his own keen shafts he cut off in a hundred fragments those of the prince as also the latter’s standard and bow.  He then his antagonist’s driver.  Then Dhrishtadyumna, smiling, took up another bow, and pierced Drona with a keen shaft in the centre of the chest.  Deeply pierced therewith and losing his self-possession in that encounter, that mighty bowman, then, with a sharp and broad-headed arrow, once more cut off Dhrishtadyumna’s bow.  Indeed, the invincible Drona then cut off all the weapons, O king, and all the bows that his antagonist had, with the exception only of his mace and sword.  Filled with rage, he then pierced the angry Dhrishtadyumna, O chastiser of foes, nine keen arrows, capable of taking the life of every foe.  Then the mighty car-warrior Dhrishtadyumna, of immeasurable soul, invoking into existence the Brahma weapon, caused the steeds of his own car to be mingled with those of his foes.  Endued with the speed of the wind, those steeds that were red and of the hue of pigeons, O bull of Bharata’s race, thus mingled together, looked exceedingly beautiful.  Indeed, O king, those steeds thus mingled together on the field of battle, looked beautiful like roaring clouds in the season of rains, charged with lightning.  Then that twice-born one of immeasurable soul cut off the shaft-joints, the wheel-joints, and (other) car-joints of Dhrishtadyumna.  Deprived of his bow, and made carless and steedless and driverless, the heroic Dhrishtadyumna,