was for this that they had made arrangements for the
double encounter. The son of Pandu allowed his
heart to waver this side and that, but, at last, resolving
to slay those foremost of warriors, viz., the
Samsaptakas, he baffled the purpose of his enemies.[55]
Then mighty Samsaptakas car-warriors, O king, shot
at Arjuna thousands of straight arrows. Covered
with those arrows, O monarch, neither Kunti’s
son Partha, nor Krishna, otherwise called Janardana,
nor the steeds, nor the car, could be seen. Then
Janardana became deprived of his senses and perspired
greatly. Thereupon, Partha shot the Brahma weapon
and nearly exterminated them all. Hundreds upon
hundreds of arms with bows and arrows and bowstrings
in grasp, cut off from trunks, and hundreds upon hundreds
of standards and steeds and charioteers and car-warriors,
fell down on the ground. Huge elephants, well-equipped
and resembling foremost hills over-grown with woods
or masses of clouds, afflicted with Partha’s
shafts and deprived of riders, fell down on the earth.
Many elephants again, with riders on their backs,
crushed by means of Arjuna’s shafts, fell down,
deprived of life, shorn of the embroidered cloths on
their backs, and with their housings torn. Cut
off by Kiritin with his broad-headed arrows, countless
arms having swords and lances and rapiers for their
nails or having clubs and battle-axes in grasp, fell
down on the earth. Heads also, beautiful, O king,
as the morning sun or the lotus or the moon, cut off
by Arjuna with his arrows, dropped down on the ground.
While Phalguni in rage was thus engaged in slaying
the foe with diverse kinds of well-adorned and fatal
shafts, that host seemed to be ablaze. Beholding
Dhanunjaya crushing that host like an elephant crushing
lotus-stalks, all creatures applauded him, saying,
’Excellent, Excellent!’ Seeing that feat
of Partha resembling that of Vasava himself, Madhava
wondered much and, addressing him with joined hands,
said, ’Verily, O Partha, I think that this feat
which thou hast achieved, could not be performed by
Sakra, or Yama, or the Lord of treasures himself.
I see that thou hast today felled in battle hundreds
and thousands of mighty Samsaptaka warriors an together.’
Having slain the Samsaptakas then,—that
is, who were engaged in battle,—Partha addressed
Krishna, saying, ‘Go towards Bhagadatta.’”
SECTION XXVI
“Sanjaya said, ’At Partha’s desire, Krishna then urged his white steeds, fleet as the mind and covered in golden armour, towards Drona’s divisions. While that foremost one of the Kurus was thus proceeding towards his brothers who were exceedingly afflicted by Drona, Susarman with his brothers, followed him behind, desirous of battle. The ever-victorious Arjuna then addressed Krishna, saying, ’O thou of unfading glory, this Susarman here, with his brothers, challengeth me to battle! O slayer of foes, our host, again, is broken (by Drona)