taking up a mace, and jumping down from his car without
loss of time, stood immovable like a hill, with that
heavy mace resembling the very club of Yama, upraised
in battle. Beholding him with mace (thus) upraised
and looking (on that account) like the crested Kailasa,
both the Kuru king and Drona’s son rushed towards
him. Then the mighty Bhimasena himself rushed
impetuously at those two foremost of men thus rushing
together towards him with great speed. Beholding
him thus rushing in fury and with terrible expression
of face, many mighty car-warriors of the Kaurava army
speedily proceeded towards him. Those car-warriors
headed by Bharadwaja’s son, impelled by the
desire of slaughtering Bhimasena, hurled at his breast
diverse kinds of weapons, and thus all of them together
afflicted Bhima from all sides. Beholding that
mighty car-warrior thus afflicted and placed in a
situation of great peril, many mighty car-warriors
of the Pandava army, headed by Abhimanyu, and prepared
to lay down dear life itself, rushed to the spot,
desirous of rescuing him. The heroic ruler of
the low country, the dear friend of Bhima, viz.,
Nila, looking like a mass of blue clouds, rushed at
Drona’s son, filled with wrath. A great
bowman, Nila always desired an encounter with Drona’s
son. Drawing his large bow, he pierced the son
of Drona with many winged arrows, like Sakra in days
of old, O king, piercing the invincible Danava Viprachitti,
that terror of the celestials, who, moved by anger
frightened the three worlds by his energy. Pierced
after the same way by Nila with his well-shot arrows
winged with feathers, Drona’s son, covered with
blood and exceedingly pained, was filled with wrath.
Drawing then his large bow, of twang loud as the roar
of Indra’s thunder, that foremost of intelligent
persons set his heart upon the destruction of Nila.
Aiming then a few bright shafts of broad heads and
sharpened by the hands of their forger, he slew the
four steeds of his adversary and overthrew also his
standard. And with the seventh shaft he pierced
Nila himself in the chest. Deeply pierced and
exceedingly pained, he sat down on the terrace of his
car. Beholding king Nila, who looked like a mass
of blue clouds, in a swoon, Ghatotkacha, filled with
wrath and surrounded by his kinsmen, rushed impetuously
towards Drona’s son, that ornament of battle.
Similarly many other Rakshasas, incapable of being
easily defeated in battle, rushed at Aswatthaman.
Beholding then that Rakshasa of terrible mien coming
towards him, the valiant son of Bharadwaja impetuously
rushed towards him. Filled with wrath he slew
many Rakshasas of formidable visage, that is, those
wrathful ones amongst them who were in Ghatotkacha’s
van. Beholding them repulsed from the encounter
by means of the shafts shot from the bow of Drona’s
son, Bhimasena’s son Ghatotkacha of gigantic
size was filled with rage. He then exhibited
a fierce and awful illusion. Therewith that prince
of the Rakshasas, endued with extraordinary powers