sea, even so did thy son (Dussasana) resist the angry son of Pandu.  Both of them were foremost of car-warriors.  Both of them, O Bharata, were invincible.  Both of them, in beauty and splendour, O Bharata, resembled the Sun or the Moon.  Both of them were excited with wrath.  And each of them desired to slay the other.  And they encountered each other in dreadful battle like Maya and Sakra in days of old.  And Dussasana, O king, in that battle pierced the son of Pandu with three shafts and Vasudeva with twenty.  Then Arjuna, excited with rage upon beholding him of Vrishni’s race thus afflicted, pierced Dussasana with a hundred shafts.  These, penetrating through the latter’s armour, drank his blood in that battle.  Then Dussasana, excited with wrath, pierced Partha with five shafts.  And once more, O chief of the Bharatas, he pierced Arjuna in the forehead with three sharp shafts.  And with those shafts sticking to his forehead, the son of Pandu looked beautiful in that battle, like Meru, O king with its tall crests.  That great bowman, viz., Partha, then thus deeply pierced by thy son wielding the bow, looked resplendent in that battle like a flowering Kinsuka.  The son of Pandu then, excited with rage, afflicted Dussasana, like Rahu inflamed with rage on the fifteenth day of the lighted fortnight afflicting the Moon at full.  Thus afflicted by that mighty warrior, thy son, O king, pierced Partha in that battle with many shafts whetted on stone and winged with the features of the Kanka bird.  Then Partha, cutting off Dussasana’s bow and splitting his car with three shafts, sped at him many fierce arrows resembling the darts of Death.  Thy son, however, cut off all those shafts of Partha exerting himself with vigour before they could reach him.  All this seemed highly wonderful.  Then thy son pierced Partha with many shafts of great sharpness.  Then Partha, excited with rage in that battle, placed on his bowstring a number of shafts whetted on stone and furnished with wings of gold and aiming them, sped them all at his foe.  These, O king, penetrated the body of that high-souled warrior, like swans, O monarch, diving into a lake.  Thus afflicted by the high-souled son of Pandu, thy son avoiding Partha, quickly proceeded to the car of Bhishma.  Indeed, Bhishma then became an island unto him who was thus sinking into fathomless waters.  Regaining consciousness then, thy son, O monarch, endued with heroism and prowess, once more began to resist Partha with sharp arrows like Purandara resisting (the Asura) Vritra.  Of huge form, thy son began to pierce Arjuna, but the latter was scarcely pained (at all this).”

SECTION CXII