foe as a female struck him not.  Dhrishtadyumna then, in that battle, blazing up with wrath like fire, struck the grandsire with three shafts in his arms and chest.  And Drupada pierced Bhishma with five and twenty shafts, and Virata pierced him with ten, and Sikhandin with five and twenty.  Deeply pierced (with those shafts) he became covered with blood, and looked beautiful like a red Asoka variegated with flowers.  Then the son of Ganga pierced, in return, each of them with three straight shafts.  And then, O sire, he cut off Drupada’s bow with a broad-headed arrow.  The latter then, taking up another bow, pierced Bhishma with five shafts.  And he pierced Bhishma’s charioteer also with three sharp shafts on the field of battle.  Then the five sons of Draupadi, and the five Kaikeya brothers and Satyaki also of the Satwata race, headed by Yudhishthira, all rushed towards Ganga’s son, desirous of protecting the Panchalas headed by Dhrishtadyumna.  And so all the warriors of thy army also, O king, prepared to protect Bhishma, rushed at the head of their troops against the Pandava host.  And then happened there a fierce general engagement between thy army of men and steeds and theirs, that increased the population of Yama’s kingdom.  And car-warriors falling upon car-warriors despatched one another to Yama’s abode.  And so men and elephant-riders and horse-riders, falling upon others (of their class), despatched them to the other world with straight shafts And here and there on the field, O monarch, cars, deprived of riders and charioteers by means of diverse kinds of fierce shafts, were in that battle dragged on all sides over the field.  And those cars, O king, crushing large numbers of men and steeds in battle, were seen to resemble the wind itself (in speed) and vapoury edifices in the firmament (for their picturesque forms).  And many car-warriors cased in mail and endued with great energy, decked with ear-rings and head-gears and adorned with garlands and bracelets, resembling the children of the celestials, equal to Sakra himself for prowess in battle, surpassing Vaisravana in wealth and Vrishaspati in intelligence, ruling over extensive territories, and possessed of great heroism, O monarch, deprived of their cars, were seen to run hither and thither like ordinary men.  Huge tuskers also, O chief of men, deprived of their skilled riders, ran, crushing friendly ranks, and fell down with loud shrieks.  Prodigious elephants looking like newly-risen clouds and roaring also like the clouds, were seen to run in all directions, deprived of their coats of mail.  And, O sire, their Chamaras and variegated standards, their umbrellas with golden staves, and the bright lances (of their riders), lay scattered about.[468] And elephant-riders, O king, deprived of their elephants, belonging both of thy army and theirs, were seen to run (on foot) amid that awful press.  And steeds from diverse countries, decked with ornaments of gold, were seen, by hundreds